QT: What did you have for lunch today?
MB: I'm dining out on a Maggi sachet meal, just celebrating my nomination for Best Comedy Programme - The Millen Baird Show on TV3 - at this year's Qantas Film and TV Awards. This is a shameless plug!
QT: What is your favourite food?
MB: My favourite food, um . . . shrimp cocktail. I used to order one every time the family dined at Cobb and Co when I was younger. That was before I worked there as a waiter when I was 16. I got the job through my sister. She was an exceptional waitress. I wasn't so blessed! People used to come in and ask that I not be their waiter!
QT: What is your favourite spot in Queenstown?
MB: Top of the Gondola there. Magnificent views. I did a paraglide from up there last August. Awesome! I felt like Icarus, before his wings melted! There was even a moment there when I felt I didn't have a student loan! Also, my sister is building a home in the Gibbston valley area, which is a fantastic spot, for obvious reasons.
QT: Queenstown needs more...
MB: Daylight! So much to do, so little time! I've only got two days to ski. Where am I gonna go, man!
QT: Queenstown needs less...
MB: They say less is more but that doesn't apply to Queenstown, surely! Adventure capital of the world! Line 'em up! Rack 'em and stack 'em! Love it!
QT: Who are your role models?
MB: Ma and Pa - cliche but true! Gotta lotta time for them! Ricky Gervais and Chris Lilly are my favourite comedians who have truly nailed the comedy documentary genre. My next TV show will follow a similar vein which I will partly shoot in Queenstown.
QT: What was the latest CD you bought?
MB: CDs, um . . . Both the Flight of the Conchords and The Mighty Boosh BBC Radio series. Absolutely brilliant comedians! And Green Day!
QT: And the latest DVD?
MB: Top Gun! "It's not your flying, Maverick, it's your attitude!" What an awesome film! How good is that volleyball scene!
QT: What is your favourite way to relax?
MB: Driving range. Visualising and meditation is amazing. Facebook, YouTube, Aitutaki would be enjoyable, I'm sure. Going into a holiday shop and nicking all their brochures. Juice TV, Chicane, a massage, daydreaming with good mates over a Waitiri Creek pinot noir!
QT: What winds you up?
MB: Sitting next to a non-stop talker on an airplane or a bus. "What's your name, mate?", "Millen", "Gidday Dylan . . . whadda you do?", "Actor", "Oh, strewth, it must be hard for you buggers, oh, someone give the boy a steak! Oh, don't know how ya do it, Milton. Listen . . . bit of backstory, I played Hamlet in me sixth form play back at New Plymouth Boys High School in the '50s. Best Hamlet they'd ever seen, apparently, Martin . . . so where ya headed?". "For another seat, pal!"
QT: What cracks you up?
MB: Dad reckons I owe him $900,000 for bringing me up. Ha ha! Now he cracks me up!
QT: What are you reading at the moment?
MB: The Success Principles by Jack Canfield - he wrote Chicken Soup For The Soul. Great book! It's amazing that something as simple as writing out your top 50 goals and looking at them every day can change your life!
QT: Do you have a favourite quote you live by?
MB: I did Outward Bound in 2001 and 2006 and there was a quote that really resonated with me: "Man cannot discover new oceans, until he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." So true! Those courses were life changing and I have since approached them to do my next solo stage show based on the Outward Bound experience. I recommend it to anyone!
QT: If you could do anything, what would it be?
MB: Creatively, I love playing characters, so I'm loving making TV and stage shows, but my ultimate would be making a comedy film with the guys from my TV show! Absolutely brilliant bunch of talented guys who made me soil myself every single day we worked together! Apart from that, I wanna do the Nevis bungy!
• Wedding Speeches, Queenstown Memorial Hall, Friday, August 21, 8pm. Tickets ($25 adults, $22 students) are available from the Queenstown Events Centre, i-Site Queenstown and Ticketdirect.
