I've been lucky in life, that's for sure, but it all started with being born in the greatest country in the world - New Zealand.
When I grew up, one of comedy idols was Rowan Atkinson, who of course is Mr. Bean and uses physical comedy. Same with Jim Carrey. Both of those guys. And Peter Sellers. Most of my comedy idols are physical comics.
I haven't done a lot of voice work, but I know that a lot of shows will just bring in the actors individually, and they will just do what is on the paper. You miss out on that connection of having everyone there.
Certainly, when I left New Zealand, there was no career there as a comedian. I was doing more live gigs than anyone, and I was maybe doing three a week. Even then, it would often be the same people in the audience, going, 'I saw you on Tuesday, mate!'
I remember when I got my first (and only) iPad - excitement filled the air as I opened the box and stared at what was essentially a big iPhone but without the phone part. I knew I really wanted it, and at the same time, I knew I didn't need it.
The freeways of America are like giant veins twisting and turning, rushing life from one zone to the next. The landscape is a giant body just lying there feeling the rumble.
I can't stand going to those sandwich bars where you've got to choose your own stuff, because I don't know what goes together. It does my head in. I'd rather them tell me. I'm not the expert. I haven't spent years learning these different combinations.
Whether it be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or dealing with your children, life is an adventure, and it's how you perceive it.
In New Zealand, we have a thing called 'tall poppy syndrome,' which, you might not have heard of it, but it's essentially where - it happens in small populations usually, but can actually happen in the U.K. - where, if someone sticks out, they get their head cut off because they are being outside the ordinary or they are showing off.
My youngest son has a very clear idea of what he wants to be when he grows up: he wants to be Indiana Jones, Batman and Jack Sparrow. Yes, all three at the same time. So he basically wants to be an archaeologist who wears tights and fights crimes on pirate ships. That's pretty cool, huh?
I do enjoy walking, but there's got to be a goal at end of it. It's one of the reasons I hate treadmills. All that jogging and going nowhere - it's too frustrating.
When I do the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I always go across to Loch Ness and stay there.
For anyone who's a fan of the 'X-files' show - I mean, I have the ultimate role. I got to deal with Mulder. I got to talk to him; I had a fight sequence with him. Really, for anyone who is a fan of the show, I think I fulfilled a lot of young boys' dreams.
I don't think you can beat a costumed monster. It's brilliant. I'll take that over CGI any day.
I have a radio show/podcast called 'The Cryptid Factor,' which is about the search for creatures that may or may not exist.
Being a perfectionist is really difficult. You're never really happy with what you're doing, no matter how good it is. When you can just release that pressure and be in someone else's work and still have the respect of those creators to bounce off the page and give your ideas that they can take or leave? I really enjoy that.
I'm used to sort of improvising a lot when I do my comedies.
I had dreams of becoming an officer and a gentleman. But hey: One out of two ain't bad.
I think I'm probably a monster-of-the-week guy, and that comes back down to my old favorite show, which as a kid was always 'Scooby-Doo.'
'Greatest American Hero,' I really dug that as a kid because it had an alienation to it, where he was given a gift and didn't know why, and yet he was forced to do something with it, and he was very much an out-of-place character who was trying to cope with his own surroundings, and I can kind of relate to that guy.
