Thomas Sainsbury (born 1982) is a New Zealand actor, writer, comedian and filmmaker. He began his career in theatre as an actor and playwright, before gaining widespread recognition in New Zealand from 2017 for his short-form comedy videos released on social media.[1][2][3]
As a screenwriter and performer, Sainsbury has contributed to many local television shows, including Wellington Paranormal, and feature films Pork Pie and Loop Track.[1] With Madeline Sami he co-wrote Super City, which won the SWANZ Scriptwriters Best Comedy Script Award in 2011.[1][4]
Sainsbury was born in Matamata and is the youngest of three children.[6] He was raised on a dairy farm and attended Matamata College.[1][7] Sainsbury was encouraged in acting and drama by his parents, including at age 9, accompanying them to the Matamata Operatic Society rendition of Little Shop of Horrors. He was immediately inspired to write a sequel for his school assembly and thrived in the creative process of writing and performing it.[6]
After graduating from the University of Auckland in 2004, Sainsbury established himself as a playwright in New Zealand, producing over 50 plays. Notable theatre works include And Then You Die,The Christmas Monologues, The Mall, Loser, A Simple Procedure and Sunday Roast. Several of these plays have been performed internationally.[6][10][11]
He has also written, co-written and performed in numerous live comedy theatre productions, including The Opening Night Before Christmas, Infectious, Camping, D.O.C.ing, Giggly Gerties, Dynamotion, Gays in Space and Hauraki Horror. These productions frequently featured collaborations with other New Zealand comedians including Kura Forrester, Brynley Stent and Chris Parker.[12][13][14]
In 2010, Sainsbury and Madeline Sami co-wrote Super City, a TV comedy series set in Auckland, New Zealand. It won the 2011 SWANZ Best Comedy Script award and was optioned by American network ABC in 2012.[1][10]
Sainsbury has written and collaborated on many New Zealand web series and comedy shows, including International Emmy Awards winner INSiDE.[1][10][15]
Sainsbury has worked as a comedian in New Zealand since 2014.[4]
From 2017, Sainsbury gained widespread recognition for short-form comedy videos released on social media, which combined character comedy with satire of New Zealand culture and public figures. His most viewed videos from this period featured impersonations of politicians, including Paula Bennett, Simon Bridges and Jacinda Ardern.[19][20][21] These performances often made use of wigs, costumes and Snapchat face-manipulation filters. While political impersonation formed a notable part of his early online output, Sainsbury later shifted focus toward broader character-based and narrative comedy.[22]
His social media work earned widespread recognition, including being named the New Zealand Herald's Entertainment Hero of the Year in 2020.[23] The same year, he released a non-fiction book called New Zealanders: A Field Guide, which expanded on characters developed in his online comedy and offered satirical descriptions of familiar New Zealand archetypes.[24][25]
Sainsbury is openly gay. In interviews, he has spoken about his coming out and his experiences prior to publicly identifying as gay. He has also discussed his role as a sperm donor for a lesbian couple, describing his relationship with their children as similar to that of an uncle.[32][33]
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