Tom Sainsbury

Thomas Sainsbury (born 3 February 1982) is a New Zealand comedian, actor, TV presenter, filmmaker, writer, and podcaster.. He started his acting and writing career in theatre before gaining national fame in 2017 as the "Snapchat Dude" using synthetic wigs and face manipulation to satirise New Zealand politicians and parody New Zealanders from all walks of life in short clips released almost daily on Instagram and Facebook.
Sainsbury has over 100 screen credits, he co-wrote the TV series Super City with Madeleine Sami, co-wrote and starred in the horror film Dead, stars in Pork Pie and appears in many local shows such as Jono and Ben, 7 Days, Shortland Street, Snackmasters, Give Us A Clue, Educators and Wellington Paranormal.
==Early life==
Sainsbury was born in Matamata and is the youngest of three children. He was raised on a dairy farm and attended Matamata College.
The budding writer and director discovered his creative talents at a young age. Encouraged by his parents, at age 9, he accompanied them to a production of Little Shop of Horrors by the Matamata Operatic Society and was inspired to write a sequel for the school assembly. The experience would quickly cement a passion for live theatre.
In 2000, Sainsbury moved to Auckland to study a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Auckland and decided on English Literature and Theatre as his major. Throughout his studies, he wrote and produced plays in Auckland theatres like the Silo Theatre and The Basement Theatre.
==Career==
===Theatre===
After graduating University of Auckland in 2004, Sainsbury went on to become a prolific playwright in New Zealand. He has produced over 50+ plays and several of them, including The Christmas Monologues, The Mall, Loser, Sunday Roast, And Then You Die and A Simple Procedure having had seasons in London, United States, France, Greece and Australia.
===Film and television===
Sainsbury has gone on to write a plethora of local comedy shows and web series, including International Emmy Awards winner INSiDE and won Best Comedy Script for Wellington Paranormal (series four, episode four) at the New Zealand TV AwardsNew Zealand film and television awards|.
In 2023, Sainsbury is currently developing his first feature film called Loop Track. He is the director, writer and star of the film.
===Comedian===
Sainsbury has performed in New Zealand as a stand-up comic in New Zealand since 2014.
In 2020, he released a novel called New Zealanders: A Field Guide which is essentially a written extension of his Snapchat videos by compiling detailed descriptions of all his favourite Kiwi archetypes into a book. During that same year, Sainsbury was awarded the New Zealand Herald's Entertainment Hero of the Year for his take over of the local entertainment world.
In 2021 and 2022, he was asked to be a team captain (regular) on the TVNZ revival of the British game show Give Us a Clue and to co-host Snackmasters. 
He released a fictional comedy murder mystery podcast series called Small Town Scandal that was produced and distributed by New Zealand Media and Entertainment in 2023
==Filmography==
Television
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
2011 	Super City 	Writer, Casting, Actor, Executive Producer 	Super Fumes Ltd
2015–17	Jono & Ben 	Various – Sketch Comedy 	MediaWorks TV
2016 	Filthy Rich 	Actor – season II, 'Dylan Mayberry' 	Filthy Productions Ltd
2017 	True Story with Hamish and Andy	Actor – 'Sam' 	Nine Network (AU)
2017–18	Shortland Street 	Actor – 'Jason Kirkpatrick' 	South Pacific Pictures
2018–22	Wellington Paranormal 	Actor – season I – IV, 'Constable Parker' (recurring)	TVNZ
2019 	The Bad Seed 	Actor – 'Political Panelist' 	South Pacific Pictures
2019 	Golden Boy 	Actor – season I, 'Groundskeeper' (recurring) 	MediaWorks
2019–22	Educators 	Actor – season I – III, 'Rudy Beard' (core cast) 	South Pacific Pictures
2019–22	Have You Been Paying Attention?	Self – Panelist (regular) 	TVNZ
2021–22	7 Days 	Self – Panelist and Team Captain 	Discovery NZ
2021 	My Life is Murder 	Actor – season I, 'Brett' 	Cordell Jigsaw Productions
2021 	The Masked Singer 	Self 	Warner Bros NZ
2021–22	Give Us a Clue 	Self – season I & II, Team Captain 	TVNZ
2022 	Snackmasters 	Self – host 	TVNZ
2022 	The Love Hour 	Self – host 	South Pacific Pictures
2022 	Under the Vines 	Actor 	
Film
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2016	Pork Pie 	Actor – 'Bongo' 	Four Knights Ltd
2016	Waru 	Actor – 'Jason' 	Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Productions Limited
2017	The Breaker Upperers	Actor – 'Man 1' 	Miss Piki Films Ltd
2018	Dead 	Writer, Actor – 'Dane 'Marbles' Marbeck' (lead role)	Felicity Ltd
2018	Guns Akimbo 	Actor – 'Singstar Dude' 	Supernova Films
2020	Baby Done 	Actor – 'Stupid Man' 	Baby Piki Ltd
2021	Nude Tuesday 	Actor – 'Commuter' 	NT Films
2023	Loop Track 	Director, Writer, Casting, Actor – 'Ian' 	Upcoming
Category:1982 births
Category:People from Matamata
Category:New Zealand people
Category:Comedians
Category:Actors
Category:Television presenters
Category:Filmmakers
Category:Writers
Category:Podcasters