Tom Sainsbury is currently touring the country with his Snapchat Dude show. Photo / Supplied
Tom Sainsbury is currently touring the country with his Snapchat Dude show. Photo / Supplied
He's conquered Snapchat to become one of New Zealand's top comedians – now Tom Sainsbury is turning his attention towards the rest of the world.
Sainsbury has long been a figure on New Zealand's theatre and comedy scene, but has become a household name after his viral videos impersonating PaulaBennett and Simon Bridges, as well as portraying his own Kiwi characters.
The Snackmasters NZ and Give us a Clue star has now taken his characters on a national tour in Tom Sainsbury: Snapchat Dude, in what he describes as a "multiversal" adventure.
However, speaking on ZM's Kita and Anita's Happy Hour podcast, hosted by RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under stars Kita Mean and Anita Wigl'it, Sainsbury revealed he is eyeing up a move to the United States next month.
"I have got a writing manager over there. There's nothing guaranteed, I've got no jobs going, but I'm going to go over there and just begin the process of having meetings and things to do, to focus on scriptwriting."
Sainsbury has been a prolific play-writer in Auckland, as well as collaborating on movies and miniseries such as Stake Out, Dead and Sextortion.
Despite the big move, Sainsbury said he is trying to keep his expectations in check.
"If I come crawling back with my tail between my legs and an opioid addiction, at least I've had a good experience," he said.
"There's not too many expectations on it, but all things going well, I'd get a job over there."
And while he has international aspirations, Sainsbury is still keeping an eye on local politics.
In the last Auckland mayoral election, Sainsbury ran as a candidate under his wine and scarf loving character, Fiona. He plans to bring the character back for another electoral run at some point – despite Fiona only getting 2853 votes.
"People were saying 'What if you win' and I said 'I'm not going to win', but then there was one moment where I thought 'What if she wins?' Then she lost by 175,000 votes."
Sainsbury didn't say if Fiona would call for a recount again as she did in 2019.
Kita and Anita's Happy Hour is out every Wednesday. You can follow it on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
