PaulYates
- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Writer, producer and actor Paul Yates is a comedic "everyman". His CV includes sketch shows Facelift and Telly Laughs, pre-teen series Freaky and The Killian Curse, and teen sitcom Girl vs Boy. He’s written for popular sitcoms Willy Nilly and Sunny Skies, and is producer and co-writer for Wellington Paranormal, the hit spin-off from 2014 movie What We Do in the Shadows.
Screenography
Biography
Paul Yates’ love of British comedy is a given; he was born in Hemel Hempstead in England, and grew up devouring episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus and Not the Nine O’Clock News. He emigrated to New Zealand at age six; his family eventually settled in Palmerston North, where he tormented his teachers at Palmerston North Boy’s High with impersonations and "silly voices".
Awards
2022 New Zealand Television Awards
Nominated for Best Comedy: for Wellington Paranormal - Season 4
2020 New Zealand Television Awards
Best Comedy/Comedy Entertainment Programme (shared with Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi): for Wellington Paranormal - Series 2
Best Script - Comedy: for Wellington Paranormal - Season 2
“They were doing a big sweeping shot and all I had to do was say, 'Proceed to sector seven', but I started speaking too early. A minor mistake, but James Cameron was like 'Hey! What the eff are you doing, Paul? You dropped the ball!' I was like, 'Oh my God! James Cameron swore at me!'”