Tom Sainsbury
Request Actor
Request Actor
Profile
photographs by Andi Crown
photographs by Andi Crown
T_Sainsbury_058A6965_8x10
T_Sainsbury_058A7001_8x10.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A6980_8x10.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A6975_8x10.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A7018_8x10.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A6977_8x10v2.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A6997_8x10v2.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A6965_8x10
T_Sainsbury_058A7001_8x10.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A6980_8x10.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A6975_8x10.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A7018_8x10.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A6977_8x10v2.jpeg
T_Sainsbury_058A6997_8x10v2.jpeg
Acting
Skills
Accents
Acting Experience
Feature Film
NT Films Dir: Armagan Ballantyne
Baby Piki Ltd Dir: Curtis Vowell
Lowdown Productions Ltd Dir: Paul Murphy
Supernova Films Dir: Jason Lei Howden
Felicity Limited
Miss Piki Films Ltd Dir: Jackie van Beek & Madeleine Sami
Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Productions Limited Dir: Various directors
Four Knights Dir: Matt Murphy
Television
Great Southern Television, Whitiora Productions Dir: Paula Whetu Jones
South Pacific Pictures Dir: Jesse Griffin
Netflix
Libertine Pictures
Cordell Jigsaw Productions
South Pacific Pictures Dir: Jesse Griffin
MediaWorks Dir: Various
South Pacific Pictures Dir: Various
South Pacific Pictures Dir: Various
TVNZ Dir: Jemaine Clement & Jackie van Beek
MediaWorks Dir: Various
South Pacific Pictures Dir: Various
Nine Network (AU)
Filthy Productions Ltd Dir: Various
MediaWorks TV
Super Fumes Ltd Dir: Oscar Kightley
Theatre
Silo Theatre Dir: Sophie Roberts
Dynomotion
Dynomotion
Dynamotion Dir: Lara Liew & Tom Sainsbury
Basement Theatre Dir: Jessica Wood
Akl Fringe Festival Dir: Kate Simmonds
Dynamotion Dir: Lara Liew & Tom Sainsbury
Dynamotion Dir: Lara Liew & Tom Sainsbury
Basement Theatre / NZ International Comedy Festival
Dynamotion / NZ Comedy Festival Dir: Lara Fischel-Chisholm & Tom Sainsbury
Dynamotion Dir: Lara Fischel-Chisholm & Thomas Sainsbury
BATS
BATS / Basement Theatre Dir: Sophie Roberts
Basement Theatre
Basement Theatre
Dynamotion Dir: Lara Fischel-Chisholm & Tom Sainsbury
Basement Theatre (return season)
Basement Theatre / Auckland Fringe Festival
Basement Theatre Dir: Renee Lyons
Basement Theatre
NZ International Comedy Festival
Basement Theatre Dir: Abigail Greenwood
Herald Theatre / Short+Sweet Auckland Dir: Aidee Walker
Basement Theatre Dir: Sophie Roberts
Basement Theatre Dir: Hera Dunleavy
Web Series
Dir: Hanelle Harris
Stella Maris Productions Dir: Kent Briggs & Kyan Krumdieck
Rebels & Robots Productions Dir: Roberto Nascimento
South Pacific Pictures Dir: Various
Gawky Productions
Television Commercials
Worldwide, 12 months
NZ,12 months
Online Commercials
NZ, 3 months
NZ, 3 months
6 months, Digital Only
3 months, Online Only
NZ, Social Only, 3 Months
Television Appearances
TVNZ
TVNZ
South Pacific Pictures
Discovery NZ
TVNZ
TVNZ
Warner Bros NZ
Discovery NZ
Kevin & Co
MC / Speaker
MC / Speaker
Skills
Actor, After Dinner Speaker, Comedian, Director, Entertainer, Host, Improvisor, Live Performance Host, MC, Satirist, WriterBiography
Tom is an Actor/MC/Comedian/Influencer/Creator and Host – and so much more!
Active in the industry for many years, he exploded onto the mainstream media stage in 2017 after using Snapchat and short form video content to satirise New Zealand politicians during the 2017 election.
He continues to work extensively in this area, parodying New Zealanders from all walks of life in short clips released almost daily on Instagram and Facebook.
Tom is also very active in the local Film and Television space, appearing in many local hits including series Shortland Street & Wellington Paranormal, and feature films Guns Akimbo, & The Breaker Upperers.
Tom loves to entertain, and is an exceptionally engaging host as the testimonials below confirm.
Testimonials
"His set was amazing, so well pitched for our audience and had everyone in stitches. He was so generous with his time for everyone for selfies and the photo-booth, and we loved our conversations with him about education! Thank you so much for your communications through this process- he is our absolute hero and such a talent.
Ella Murdoch, NZ Association of Teachers of English
"Tom was so great to work with, he helped with the process and was patient in working out how we wanted to do things. In the end it all went super smooth and everyone raved about him. Tom is super fun and just made the whole process really easy. "
Erika Henderson, ITicket, 2024
"Tom was an excellent host and had the audience engaged from start to finish, his crowd work is phenomenal…..The audience all looked like they were having a great time and the feedback heard on the floor was really great."
Ralph Corke, MOTAT, 2024
"Tom was a great add on to our gala event. He had the crowd laughing throughout the evening with his very relatable local humour. Would definitely recommend."
Mel Tukapua, MTA, 2022
"Tom was a magnificent MC for our event. He really captured the tone of the evening, made the teams feel special and kept us all laughing. We appreciated his professional approach - he prepared well and was really just a total pleasure to work with."
Ruth Korver, Vista 48 hour Grand Final, 2022
"Tom was great. Very funny and well received. An absolutely lovely guy. Many selfies with him were taken by attendees!"
Josie, Acting Secretary, Canterbury Faculty, RNZCGP, 2022
"We were really happy with how things went on Friday. Tom was an excellent MC, and his humorous and irreverent style really reflected the ‘fresh’ and ‘unexpected’ brand of our museum. Tom was also a real pleasure to have on board – he came fully prepared and knowing the script, he communicated beautifully with the other performers to work out small moments of interaction, and I just generally felt relaxed knowing that the gig was in really safe hands."
Isobel MacKinnon, The Dowse Art Museum 50th Birthday, Hutt City, 2021
"Tom Sainsbury was the Host for our 2020 IAB New Zealand Digital Advertising Awards held on Thursday 12 November at The Wharf. It was an opportunity for over 250 people in the digital advertising industry from advertising agencies, brands, publishers, tech companies and other key stakeholders to get together and not only celebrate Award finalists and winners, but generally network after what has been a difficult year. Digital advertising revenue commands a 45.4% share of total advertising industry revenue in New Zealand, so this event enjoys an increasingly higher profile in the industry each year, and it’s important to us that our host reflects this. Tom hosted the event seamlessly, injecting his own style of humour, which the audience loved. It was a noisy crowd, as everyone was enjoying the opportunity to get together after quite some time, however Tom managed to hold the audience and deliver the Awards show brilliantly, ensuring that the winners received the acknowledgment they deserved. It was a privilege to have him hosting the show."
Gill Stewart, CEO, IAB New Zealand, 2020
"Tom was an absolute pleasure to work with for our awards gala dinner at PINZ 2020. His professional, humorous approach was a real hit with our audience. I would absolutely recommend Tom as an MC for any event."
Nikki Wright, PINZ, 2020
Voice
Voice Characteristics
Retail, Character, Bubbly, Comedy, Energetic, Friendly, Impersonations, Kiwi, Upbeat, WarmCreator
@tomsainsbury6
@thomasssainsburyCreator
Biography
Comedian, Actor & Writer Tom Sainsbury was a named ‘Herald Entertainer of the year’ 2020. This came after years of creating comedic social media content, writing the comedy book New Zealanders: A Field Guide and starring in local TV shows Wellington Paranormal and The Educators. The skills these require make Tom the perfect partner for social collaborations. Tom specialises in creating original characters and is a master in placing his unique flavour into campaigns for brands & causes he aligns with. Since then he has become a regular on New Zeland television with Snackmasters and Give Us A Clue.
He came into prominence in 2017 by using Snapchat and short video content to satirise New Zealand politicians. He has since expanded to parodying New Zealanders of all walks of life on his Facebook page. He can cater or originate characters to specific products or causes.
Tom has also written scripts for Wellington Paranormal and the emmy-winning iNside and has been on the writer’s tables for Golden Boy, The Creamerie and Kid Sister. He has also written many theatre shows including Comedy Festival favourites Camping and Giggly Gerties. Tom very much enjoys being at the grassroots of a campaign and likes formulating the whole rollout with the client.
Comedy
Comedy
Biography
Tom Sainsbury became a social media star with his irreverent comedy sketches amassing hundreds of thousands of views. You may know him from his characters ‘Gingerbread’, ‘Fiona the wine reviewer’ or ‘Boomer Dad’, or you may have seen him on TV shows Taskmaster Season 5, Wellington Paranormal, Educators and the recent Spinal Destination. Tom is regular on the stand up comedy circuit and whether it’s 5 to 50 minutes, he’s always brimming with comedy content. Tom has had two sold out solo shows including The Man with the Cup from the Staffroom and Gone Bananas that both premiered at the prestigious New Zealand Comedy Festival. Tom jumped the ditch early 2024 to take Gone Bananas to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and will be returning with a fresh take on life in 2025.
