John Sumner

After making a career in marketing at record company RCA, English-born John Sumner switched back to his original love of performing in 1992. Since then he’s appeared in Shortland Street and had a memorable role in political satire Spin Doctors as Giles Peterson — "the buffoon", as Sumner calls him — the boss of a PR agency. He played the producer of a current affairs show on TV's Cover Story, and on the big screen was cameraman Herb in Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong. Sumner has also lent his voice talents to numerous shows and documentaries, including Going Going Gone, Treasure Island and Piha Rescue.

In terms of the character of Giles, it was simply a guy who had gone in early, made a hell of a lot of money, decided he was gonna be a winemaker, it sucks, he creates vinegar, and it was just a wonderful character to be able to play ... "a buffoon", who's well-meaning but very conscious of himself. John Sumner on his role in Spin Doctors, in an interview for The Beat Goes On, 25 March 2013