约翰曾在英格兰和南非（开普敦）生活过，9岁时与家人一起来到新西兰。“他们完全反对种族隔离，所以我们离开了。他19岁时在奥克兰开始了他的职业生涯，在奥克兰的夜总会巡回演出。几个月后，他就出现在当地的综艺节目中，并在当地获得了坚实的追随者。在两年内，他出现在他的第一场大型舞台表演中，不久之后开始将他的俱乐部和电视工作与话剧团结合起来。他在《你是个好人查理·布朗》中扮演“查理·布朗”，获得了大众和评论界的赞誉。

Having lived in England and South Africa (Cape Town) John arrived in New Zealand with his family at the age of 9. "They totally opposed apartheid, so we left." He started his career in Auckland at 19 performing live on Auckland's nightclub circuit. Within a few months he was appearing in local variety television shows and gaining a solid local following. Within two years he appeared in his first major stage show and shortly after began combining his club and television work with repertory theatre. He gained both popular and critical acclaim playing "Charlie Brown" in "You're a good man Charlie Brown".