Ruud Kleinpaste: The Bug Man...

Interview – 2012

Originally from Holland, beloved 'Bug Man' Ruud Kleinpaste has called New Zealand home for over 30 years. His TV career began in 1990, hosting farming documentary series The Enduring Land. He soon made a name for himself talking about bugs on children’s programmes The Early Bird Show and What Now?. Kleinpaste was then a primetime regular on Maggie’s Garden Show. Documentary The Bug House led to international success with Animal Planet’s World’s Biggest Baddest Bugs.

In this ScreenTalk, Kleinpaste talks about:

How bugs are really our overlords and that’s why he loves them
Having to attend elocution lessons for The Enduring Land
Hating having to learn the script verbatim
Talking about bugs with a hyperactive chicken on The Early Bird Show
Educating a generation on What Now?
Adding science to "garden porn" on Maggie’s Garden Show
Explaining why insects infest our dwellings in The Bug House
Wearing a beard made from killer bees on World’s Biggest Baddest Bugs
Scaring a fellow guest with a scorpion on a US talk show
How hosting the Dutch episode of Here to Stay reinforced his love of New Zealand

This video was first uploaded on 3 September 2012, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview, Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside

What Now? is one of those things I believe — this is a Dutch thing — if you want three generations for the price of one, you go to the kids. And thats what it's about. If you don't give kids the tools to look after the environment, to help to restore the planet, then I don't know what will.
– Ruud Kleinpaste on teaching kids about the environment on What Now?

Ruud's Full Profile