Episode 28 - Tony Ayres - Writer / Director / Producer

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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