Life

TV Quickfire: Chai Hansen and Josh Thomson from The New Legends of Monkey

With Netflix’s The New Legends Of Monkey back for series two, we quiz stars Chai Hansen (Monkey) and Josh Thomson (Pigsy) about the show, which has a cult following, particularly among children and teens

Chai Hansen and Josh Thomson, The New Legends of Monkey
Chai Hansen and Josh Thomson, The New Legends of Monkey Chai Hansen and Josh Thomson, The New Legends of Monkey

WHERE DO WE FIND MONKEY AND PIGSY AT THE START OF SERIES TWO?

Josh: Running for their lives! We do a lot of running.

Chai: They put the camera up on this huge wire, which was like a 100m long – a cable cam. It looked like we were running like a 100 miles hour. It was amazing.

Josh: Chai was at the front; he was setting the pace, so we had to keep up with Chai. And we did take after take…

SO DO YOU FEEL FIT AFTER FILMING?

Chai: Oh yeah! After I finish a season of The New Legends Of Monkey, I have my six-pack back and everything – and two months after, it’s gone.

Josh: There’s heaps of action in the second series – there’s a lot more action than in the first series. But, without going into it, Pigsy gets incapacitated, so I didn’t have to do as much running.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT PLAYING THESE CHARACTERS?

Chai: The costumes. I love getting into costume. It just makes me feel like an actual superhero.

Josh: You’ve got a very hero-y vibe – I’m basically wearing a blanket. When I was young, and I would watch TV, there was a lot of fun action stuff that I could watch with my family, and I think being part of something like that is something really rewarding because I’ve got friends that watch it with their kids and they get a kick out of it.

And knowing the messages that are in it, friendship, strong female characters, and it’s got an incredibly diverse cast, it’s a good buzz.

THERE'S A LOT OF MARTIAL ARTS IN THE SHOW. HAVE YOU KEPT UP WITH THAT IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

Chai: I haven’t, no. I’ve been a little bit lazy.

Actually, because of the pandemic, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to give my body a rest because being actors you’re constantly having to be at the top of your game, be in peak physical condition and whatnot.

So, I was like, perfect break for me to just not do any workouts, just relax and watch movies.

Josh: I wish I could, but you go into different roles; I’m in another series playing a funeral director now. And I’ve got two babies, so it’s just hard trying to do stuff.

HAVE YOU BEEN RECOGNISED A LOT SINCE THE FIRST SERIES?

Chai: Yeah, actually; quite a lot in Europe. I was doing a couple of conventions there for some of the other shows I do and a lot of the people that come up to me they just rave about Monkey.

I had a 12/13-year-old kid come up to me and recite the Sutra (an ancient religious text or scripture). I still don’t get it right! And I looked it up on Google and I was like, “That was word for word – you’re amazing”.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A ROLE MODEL IN A SHOW THAT’S SO DIVERSE?

Chai: I’m half-Chinese, half-Australian, and throughout my entire career, I constantly get just mainly Asian roles.

There’s a lot of people out there who are 'half' like me, and to see people messaging me saying, ‘You’re an idol because I’m just like you’, it does make you feel so much better to just be able to represent a community like that.

:: Series two of The New Legends Of Monkey launches on Netflix on Friday August 7.