Diaspora.nz S2 | E13 — Rhys Darby and Rosie Carnahan-Darby on championing Kiwi humour around the world, Tall Poppy syndrome, losing creative jobs to AI, and "going direct" with your fans to survive social media.
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He’s been Murray Hewitt, Psycho Sam, Norman from Yes Man, Guy Mann, Hypno-Potamus, a stand-up comedian, a sit-down band manager, a children’s book author, a soldier… and now Binkle-bonk the Tree Goblin in upcoming “Badjelly the Witch” 🤩
In this week’s Diaspora pod, legendary Kiwi comedian Rhys Darby joins us - live from L.A - to talk through his rise from Canterbury to Edinburgh to Hollywood in a career that’s seen him star in multiple comedy specials, voice over countless animated shows and co-star with everyone from Jim Carrey to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
Rhys hasn’t made the journey alone: also joining us is his incredible wife & long-time manager, Rosie Carnahan Darby, who talks about her career in entertainment management, production, writing comedy, how comedians can get ahead, how entertainers can be devastated by changes in AI and tech… and shares the creative projects of their two sons in this very funny family.
In today’s episode, we discuss
* Rosie and Rhys’s entwined journeys over 25 years in the global comedy industry, dating back to Rhys's "Dad's Army"-inspired entry into the NZ Army, and Rosie's rise as one of the most sought after comedy club managers in NZ.
* The business of comedy: how they think about new opportunities, structure and finance their ventures... and what the future holds.
* Tall poppy syndrome in NZ, and imposter syndrome in the U.S... how NZ's (over?) orientation towards equality and "fairness" actually holds back our highest achievers, and can drive them offshore.
* Raising a family in L.A. vs. NZ, finding balance and getting the best of both cultures.
* How some projects Rosie and Rhys write together don’t succeed, though the pair focus on creating future opportunities for other projects.
* How Rhys found the next phase of his career after Flight of the Conchords finished.
* Why and how Rhys is now using Substack to build a direct connection with fans
* Advice on how to break out as a comedian and what managers like Rosie are looking for — comparing finding emerging creative talent with seeing talent in startups, from the POV of a talent manager/agent vs. venture capitalist.
* Whether AI might be able to help actors and voice actors, and whether AI is taking human jobs in a future in which screen entertainment might be created by robots
Make sure you head on over to Rhys’s substack and subscribe!
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Also - quick shout-out from me: Blackbird’s Sunrise festival is coming up soon — November 26th in Wellington, NZ.
As we like to say, this is our love letter to startups and the people building them … a one-day festival that brings together ~500 tech founders, operators, policy people and ecosystem supporters to be inspired, challenged and entertained.
Tickets are half gone and won’t be around for long… IF you’ve been looking for an excuse to get back to Wellington, this is it! Head over to thesunrise.live for more info + tickets!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.diaspora.nz