Top five Kiwi entertainment heroes of 2020

Political satire Sexploitation was just one of comedian Tom Sainsbury's successes this year. Photo / Supplied

There were some obvious choices for Our Heroes in entertainment this year. Taika won an Oscar (yes, that was THIS YEAR. Feels like a lifetime ago), Benee won, well, everything. But these five did what felt like the impossible in March, when the country went into lockdown and was faced with a scary, uncertain future: they kept us smiling and helped to lighten the mood. For that, we salute them.
By Karl Puschmann, Lydia Burgham, Sinead Corcoran

WINNER: Tom Sainsbury

2020 has truly been the year of Tom Sainsbury. The comedian, social media star, impressionist, satirist, television actor, movie actor and author, perfectly captured the zeitgeist to take over the local entertainment world this year in a typically polite and unassuming fashion.

Which is why we've named him the New Zealand Herald's Entertainment Hero of the Year.

"Oh. My God. That's amazing. I'm really honoured," he says, when we call to tell him the good news. "Bless your sweet hearts."

During 2020, a year we've all flocked to entertainment to escape the worry and anxiety of the raging global pandemic and the new reality we've found ourselves in, Sainsbury has been an inescapable presence and a reliable source of comedic comfort.

Swipe through your social media channels and there he was, sporting a scruffy wig, an ear-piercing rising inflection and a jolly, "Hi sweeties, it's me Paula Bennett', as he riffed on the former National MP in his overwhelmingly popular series of satirical videos that went viral on social media during the dark days of the first lockdown.

"Obviously with Covid I had a trapped audience that I could entertain," he laughs, thinking back. "The universe conspired to help me out."

Perhaps. But flick on your telly and there he was. Firstly leading his own political sitcom, the very funny Sextortion, or hilariously cameoing in guest roles on Educators and the Covid safety videos put out by Jemaine Clement's Wellington Paranormal crew and the New Zealand Police.

Go to the movies and there he was on the big screen. First as the star of supernatural crime comedy Dead, and then in a supporting role in heist comedy Low Down Dirty Criminals.

"They're all dream roles," he says. "I'm very lucky."

And this week, if you walked into a bookstore or your library there he was as author of the newly published New Zealanders: A Field Guide. This is essentially a written extension of his Snapchat videos, in which he sends up Kiwi stereotypes and politicians.

The book has received praise ("this man is talented," exclaimed Duncan Garner during an interview on The AM Show) but unlike his other work this year, criticism ("he is a white guy wandering around explicitly stereotyping people for the lols," reviewer Catherine Woulfe noted).

"I was expecting that in a way. Once you get to the end of the book I discuss that side of it," Sainsbury says. "I am a white male so the world's geared around me and I understand that, so it's a fair criticism."

Nevertheless, he remains proud of the book, which he wrote during lockdown, and he hopes that people who read it like it.

"I love it. When I reread the book just before it came out I was worried it would be really, really bad but I enjoyed it. It's an enjoyable read."

From the outside 2020's been a game-changing year. But for Sainsbury it's been a "wonderful progression" of his career to date.

"Rather than game-changing, things conspired to work in my favour to increase what was already there," he says. "The groundwork was already there."

No other entertainer captured the zeitgeist across so many forms as Sainsbury. He even broke into the news cycle after landing the political scoop of the year by announcing - in character - Paula Bennett's retirement from politics with Paula Bennett herself.

"Crazy, right? I can't even process it," he says, before perfectly summing up this strangest of years.

"The whole thing's like some weird kind of dream," he says. "I'm glad I was part of it."

RUNNERS UP:

Hilary Barry

With much of the country glued to news media this year, Seven Sharp host Hilary Barry was the bright spark amid the lockdown coverage that helped get us through.

You could almost hear the nation breathe a collective sigh of relief when she announced her lockdown #FormalFridays – encouraging workers and students to give the track pants a break once a week and don a ball gown or a suit instead. Her efforts also raised money for charity and put a smile on the face of teens who had their high school balls cancelled due to Covid-19.

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But fans of the TVNZ presenter will also point to her zero tolerance for sexism. She made the point this year of addressing ridiculous complaints about her outfit choices.

It was a refreshing take that put the trolls in their place – whether it was Ken, Geoff, or Jocelyn. And that's not to mention her flawless presenting skills.

We can look forward to more of Hilary in 2021 - as well as her regular television hosting duties, she will also be returning to radio, stepping in to cover Laura McGoldrick's maternity leave on The Hits' 3pm Pick-Up show.

Jawsh 685

While Benee, Six60 and other Kiwi acts had massive years in the music industry, there was one unanimous contender on our writers' minds who made big waves in the music world – South Auckland producer Jawsh 685.

He was honoured at the Aotearoa Music Awards In November for that very reason, winning Breakthrough Artist of the Year and the International Achievement Award.

Real name Joshua Nanai, he first uploaded Laxed (Siren Beat) to YouTube in 2019, but it wasn't until this year that TikTok sparked a worldwide dance craze called the Culture Dance, soundtracked to Nanai's catchy beat.

It caught the attention of RnB star Jason Derulo and earned him a major record deal with Sony's Columbia Records. After a feud over Derulo's sampling of the track, the pair teamed up for a collaboration: Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat).

Since then, the song has amassed a staggering amount of streams: more than 584 million, and a further 62 million on the BTS remix, which earned the teenager from Manurewa a number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Jawsh 685's influence can be measured in streams, charts and high-profile media features, but what's remarkable is the artist's ability to inspire a new generation of savvy producing talent from South Auckland.

The New Zealand-born artist of Samoan descent put it best when he reached the top of the Billboard charts: "A kid from South Auckland y'know, showing other kids you can do it, any street you're from, anywhere. You can do it, believe in yourself, you can do it. Trust me."

We sense that 2021 could be even bigger for him and can't wait to see what he does next.

Rose Matafeo

Comedy queen Rose Matafeo captured our attention in 2018 when, at age 26, she won the top award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Fast forward two years, and she's just debuted her first movie, Baby Done, to rave reviews, alongside Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis.

And just in case the achievement of a full-on feature film wasn't enough to brag about in a pandemic-heavy year, her comedy special Horndog was also released on HBO Max (available to Kiwi viewers on Neon).

While we'll forever claim her as our own, she's gone on to become an international comedy star with appearances on Taskmaster UK and US talk show Conan, hosted by late-night legend Conan O'Brien.

But all those over-achieving accomplishments aside, our favourite thing about Rose is that no matter how famous and successful she becomes – she'll continue to remind her fans that she took a leather briefcase to school instead of a school bag, was never asked out on any dates, and will forever be a normal dork just like the rest of us.

Chris Parker

While Jacinda Ardern and Dr Ashley Bloomfield may have (fairly) received all the praise and recognition for being New Zealand's pandemic heroes, another equally worthy hero remains unsung.

From panic-buying toilet paper, to wandering aimlessly around his house - comedian Chris Parker took it upon himself to narrate the highs and lows of lockdown, and did so with such hilarious accuracy that his Instagram videos were reshared across the entire country.

And when he wasn't impersonating the director general of health in a Vogue-worthy "morning beauty routine", he was sharing the result of his creative lockdown hobby – felting.

Yes, you heard right – tiny crafted versions of our other lockdown heroes, including Dr Siouxsie Wiles, Ardern, and Bloomfield.

His little felt family was so well-received in fact, they were accepted into Te Papa museum where they were displayed proudly on a crown – aptly titled This Is How I Felt.