Jessica Hansell - Funny As Interview

Jessica Hansell (aka Coco Solid) is a creative chameleon — she's an artist, musician, writer, director and actor. The creator of animated series Aroha Bridge talks about a variety of topics in this Funny As interview, including:

• Realising the power of comedy to tell important stories — and be a "political weapon"
• How writing and acting in Māori news satire Brown Eye in 2015 "made people realise I wasn't messing around"
• How her Aroha Bridge characters are a "Frankenstein of Māori and multicultural archetypes I see every day"
• The "massive effect" Billy T James had on her, and how his Captain Cook sketches "taught you about the truths of colonisation"
• Rating the acting of childhood friend Madeleine Sami as the "standard that I hold other performers to"

This interview was recorded for 2019 TV series Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy. All audiovisual content is copyright to Augusto, and may not be reproduced. Publication of Funny As extended interviews made possible with funding from the NZ Lotteries Grants Board.