The Rich List
We chat to Josh McKenzie, star of New Zealand’s very own Filthy Rich, which is returning for its anticipated second season. From fitness to charity work, we find out what makes Joshua tick.
So you are back for a second season of Filthy Rich, how did you feel when you heard that this second season had been approved? It was pretty good, it was nice to kind of get reassurance that we were doing something that people like.
And there is nothing really like this on New Zealand TV is there? Yeah, New Zealand is pretty concerned with keeping things pretty tame, very risk-averse. You know Outrageous Fortune was quite out there, but at the same time the style of it was quite Westie, where with Filthy Rich, it all about the people we love to hate.
From where did you draw inspiration to play John Jr? There are certain affectations [I adopted] once I kind of understood how this guy ticks. I make references to people I have brushed shoulders with in the past, where I don’t particularly agree with their view, but they have these certain things I found really interesting with them, and they slowly started become parts of John Jr.
So what does a normal day for you usually look like? There really is no such thing as a normal day for me; my schedule is constantly changing, no real routine, which is a little bit scary, but there are a couple of things that I try to tick of the list every day, like always trying to do a cryptic crossword just to keep my brain ticking over, doing a bunch of exercise to keep healthy…
What do you do to keep fit? I sort of gave up on the gym, but try do something interesting and physical like going to a park, and they are setting up all of these bars over the city to use to workout, so I use those a lot. One of my friends is a Commonwealth [Games] sprinter, and he’s training for the Olympics, so sometimes I go down with him and do some sprint training. He’ll kick my ass, but it’s a good workout. Then another one of my friends does MMA, so I’ll sometimes do some fighting with him. I also do some martial arts with a club, which is good because it’s not just about throwing weights around, it’s a discipline.
So has acting always been a career focus for you? I have always been interested in the creative side of things, I suppose. It’s those sort of things that keep the world distracted from realities. But I have always been in love with music, and I always wanted to be a musician, and play guitar and piano, and sing also, and they kind of built a foundation for me to explore other instruments; but music is something that is very personal for me and not something I really share with other people yet.
What was it that made you excited to work with the Filthy Rich team this time around? I guess the character, that was really exciting to get into again and it is also a really nurturing environment, and very collaborative. What got me really fired up was the fact that I had been part of season one, and all the anxiety with it had passed and this time was far more liberal, and I was able to play with things a lot more, and we will soon see if that was a good thing.
So what is something at the top of your bucket list? That’s something that changes a lot, but at the moment I want to get over to Africa and am hoping to do some work there. I have a family friend who has a small charity that is doing some really cool things in terms of shining a light on other areas and issues in Africa where other bigger charities aren’t. So that is probably the number one thing on my list at the moment. There is a certain amount of satisfaction you get from doing something like that, and it’s all about building a better you, starting with the foundations and doing the right things so you can then be a better person for the people around you.