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Tony Ayers on Surviving Instability, Finding Story, and Building an Australian Screen Career
In this episode of Not a Rich Kid, host Kath Dolheguy sits down with acclaimed writer, director, producer and showrunner Tony Ayres. Arriving in Australia from Macau at age three, Tony grew up in poverty, living in housing commission flats, above fruit shops, and in the back rooms of Chinese restaurants while his mother battled severe mental health challenges. After losing his mother at 12 and his stepfather three years later, Tony experienced homelessness before being taken in by a high school teacher who helped him finish his education.
Driven by imagination and a fierce sense of agency, Tony channelled his early instability into storytelling, first as a survival mechanism, and eventually as a career. Free tertiary education allowed him to attend university and art school, setting him on a path that would lead to some of Australia’s most celebrated screen work, including The Home Song Stories, The Slap, Stateless, and Clickbait.Tony reflects on class mobility, imposter syndrome, the inequities of the screen industry, and the importance of telling stories that broaden Australia’s cultural mosaic. His journey from underclass beginnings to creative leadership, including co-founding Matchbox Pictures, is a testament to resilience, craft, and the power of being told, at the right moment, “you can write.”
The episode notes the season is recorded on Wurundjeri land and supported by City of Melbourne Arts Grants, with studio space from the Victorian College of the Arts.
00:00 Welcome to Not a Rich Kid + Meet Tony Ayers (Matchbox, The Slap, The Survivors)
02:01 Early Life: Migrating from Macau & Growing Up in Poverty and Instability
03:27 Chaos at Home: Mental Health, Sister as Protector, and Learning Hypervigilance
06:04 Story as Survival: Comics, Martial Arts Fantasies, and the Drive to Excel at School
10:13 Loss, Shame & Steel: Mum’s Death, Bullying, and Refusing Self‑Pity
14:47 High School Survival: Stepdad, Homelessness, and Teachers Who Stepped In
22:37 Escape Plan: Scholarships, ANU, Burnout—Then Finding Chosen Family at Uni
26:45 Class Transition 101: Learning ‘Middle‑Class’ Life (Dinner Parties, Norms, Cultural Capital)
31:23 Education as a Lifeline: Free Uni, Debt Fear, and Why Access Matters
34:18 No Plan, Just Stories: From Art School to Screen—Writing, Postmodern ‘Bullshit,’ and Not Dropping Out
37:05 From Art School to Storytelling: When Words Took Over the Pictures
37:40 Applying to VCA: The Portfolio That Got Him In
38:50 Choosing Screenwriting (and the Teacher Who Changed Everything)
41:07 Fear of Finishing: Perfectionism, Validation, and Learning the Process
44:35 First TV Breakthrough: ‘The Long Ride’ and Writing What You Know
47:06 Slow-and-Steady Career, No Safety Net: Risk, Class, and Imposter Feelings
50:17 Self-Worth vs Entitlement: Power, Inequality, and Who Gets to Make Screen Work
55:25 Class on Screen: Why TV Defaults to Aspiration (and How to Show Real Lives)
59:10 What’s Missing in Australian TV + Comfort Watches and Relationship TV Habits
01:01:25 Odd Jobs, Class Signals, and Marginality in the Arts
01:06:27 Looking Ahead: Writing a Book, Being Seen in Art, and a Working-Class Recommendation
01:10:18 Final Thanks & Credits
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Post audio - Mike Tillbrook
‘Barry Michael Takes a Train’ by Sand Pebbles - Written & performed by Ben Michael and performed and mixed by Murray Ono Jamieson.
Not a Rich Kid would not be possible without the support of:
Supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Grants
