One lucky Australian landed a ‘dream’ job at a major streaming service, reviewing content for the platform.
On Monday, Alex Bain was named Prime Video’s “Buff” after a nationwide survey of people watching new content.
The 36-year-old from Queensland was paid $40,000 for watching content and sharing her opinion for three months. This is no stranger pastime for passionate TV viewers.
Through his social media accounts on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, Bain has shared his love of show and movie reviews since his days in management and customer service roles.
After seeing a job ad, Bain was encouraged by a friend to apply, and spent countless hours editing video submissions before being shortlisted.
“All of it was like looking at my dream job list,” Bain told NCA NewsWire.
“I’m 36 and I want to do something that I’m passionate about, so I decided to do it.
“I got a call from Amazon saying I was a finalist and I was like, ‘Oh my God!
She said the time between when she applied for the role and when she was told she had succeeded passed “very quickly.”
“I submitted my video and was shortlisted about a week and a half later. It didn’t disappoint,” she said.
“I remember thinking that I didn’t have to pretend to be passionate and happy because it was the first time I had such a fun interview.”
Shortly thereafter, she received news that she was the lucky person chosen to play the role.
Unlike a typical 9am-5pm gig, the Buff role comes with some pretty cool perks like exclusive access to Prime Video content, access to red carpet events, and working from your couch .
Small-screen novice Osher Gunsberg was on the selection panel. The television personality said she was “overwhelmed” by the number of applicants for the role.
“Alex quickly caught our attention through the Prime Video Buff review process,” said Gunsberg.
“Alex is creative, confident, charismatic and, above all, obsessed with entertainment.”
“From Alex’s audition video, she contains countless entertainment references and is possibly the most entertainment-savvy person in all of Australia.”
“Her intense impersonation was just an added bonus … Almost immediately, we knew we had found — dare we say — one!”
Bain said he was thrilled to be chosen for the prestigious role where he can share his views on topics he likes.
“When it comes to sharing content, you never know who’s going to see it. What I really like is debriefing after watching something, like going out for a coffee or a drink,” Bain said.
“I follow a lot of YouTube reviewers and they often have a particular take on things, so I wanted to hear their insights and see if they covered something I hadn’t seen. I love to hear you do things for me.
“I love hearing other people’s opinions and extending that line of communication to another level is something I’m really looking forward to.
“This is the most amazing thing ever!”
