ScreenTalk

Vivacious actor Nicole Whippy has created some memorable characters on our television screens. She debuted playing a warrior queen on Xena and then appeared in the film Vertical Limit. She made a splash on the drama Jackson’s Wharf before appearing in a slew of TV series such as Mercy Peak, Being Eve, The Strip and Outrageous Fortune. In 2011, she starred in the comedy/drama hit Nothing Trivial.

In this ScreenTalk, Whippy talks about:

• Being terrified having to ride horses on Xena
• Having all her acting flaws pointed out by a producer on Jackson’s Wharf
• How a sexy costume helped her create Elektra in Being Eve
• Being taken on an intense emotional journey on the set of Mercy Peak
• Filming scenes from The Strip in a real strip club and refusing to go in the spa pool
• Playing an extreme version of herself on Outrageous Fortune
• How people on the street had some negative reactions to the role
• Auditioning for a role on Nothing Trivial that was modeled on her
• Feeling that her role on the show is the ‘big one’ in her career

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger (Ngāi Tahu, Rangitane) can thank a childhood lisp for his busy career as a screen director today. Having been sent to speech lessons, he found himself in the wrong class, and discovered the joys of performance in a drama class at a young and impressionable age. Since then, Burger has directed numerous film and television productions, including Until Proven Innocent, which won five Qantas awards in 2009, The Tattooist, Fish Skin Suit, short film Turangawaewae, staring the late Wi Kuki Kaa, as well as the TV series Outrageous Fortune, Go Girls and The Cult.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Burger reveals:

• How he started out behind the camera
• The joys and anxieties of directing the late Wi Kuki Kaa
• Why editing short film Tama Tū was so satisfying
• How he came to be bestowed the title of Matai while making feature film The Tattooist
• How he approached his work on Outrageous Fortune
• Interesting insights into how lead actor Cohen Holloway created his character in tele-feature Until Proven Innocent
• His thoughts on making Billy, the tele-feature about the life of Billy T James

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Tandi Wright spent some of her childhood in the dressing room at Avalon TV Studios – waiting for her actor parents to finish work on Close to Home. But rather than encouraging her to follow suit, Wright insists they were always “realistic about how nearly impossible it is to make a career out of acting”. She agrees – but seems to have pulled off the “impossible” anyway. Wright has been acting for television since the age of six, playing lead roles in some of New Zealand’s top productions including Shortland Street, Willy Nilly, Being Eve, Serial Killers, Outrageous Fortune, This Is Not My Life and Nothing Trivial. Her film credits include Not Only But Always, Black Sheep, and Out of the Blue.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Wright reveals:

• How she learnt to cope with the disappointment of “hitting the cutting room floor” from a very early age
• How she felt about her time at Shortland Street and her reasons for leaving the soap
• Her experiences on the set of Street Legal
• The joys of working with Mark Hadlow and Sean Duffy on Willy Nilly
• An insight into the characterisations on TV series Serial Killers
• What it was like to join the cast of Outrageous Fortune in series six
• Her feelings on playing Julie Ann Bryson and the grueling subject matter in the feature film Out of the Blue, based on the Aramoana shootings
• Her impressions of the production and her character in TV series This Is Not My Life
• The benefits of an ensemble cast in Nothing Trivial

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Shane Cortese made a name for himself on stage in London’s West End before coming home to New Zealand to begin a career in television. Since his return, Cortese has played TV roles across the spectrum of characters, including the evil Dominic Thompson in Shortland Street, and more recently Hayden Peters in Outrageous Fortune.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Cortese reveals:

• His tumultuous contract wrangles upon leaving a UK stage show to return to NZ to be in Shortland Street
• What it is like playing the bad guy
• His initial feelings about the prospect of being on Dancing with the Stars
• How he developed his craft hosting So You Think You Can Dance
• The amusing story of learning about his starring role in Burying Brian
• How it felt to be part of the West family in Outrageous Fortune
• Details of his latest work in Brown Bruthas and The Almighty Johnsons

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Aussie import Gavin Strawhan is a screen writer who has had a hand in many of our recent TV drama successes. After assisting with the set up of Shortland Street, Strawhan then teamed with writing colleague Rachel Lang to create the drama series Jackson’s Wharf, Mercy Peak, Lawless, and This is Not My Life. Strawhan has worked on Burying Brian, Go Girls, and Outrageous Fortune; and co-created the kidult drama Being Eve. He also helped develop a number of feature films such as Crooked Earth, Whale Rider, and Jubilee, and in 2010 wrote the screenplay for Matariki.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Strawhan talks about:

• The difficulty in finding experienced writers at the beginning of Shortland Street
• How bringing on writer Rachel Lang made a huge difference to the soap
• How Shortland Street brought real kiwi accents and characters to the small screen
• Realising the impact writers have on a show while writing for Lawless
• Go Girls being a show about kindness and optimism
• How This is Not My Life was partly a critique of capitalism
• How the finished version of Matariki was a lot more serious than the script he worked on
• How a director’s vision differs from a writer’s vision
• Why being a writer involves ‘fraud’

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Some of Antony Starr’s first roles in front of the camera were on Shortland Street, where he played three different characters. But in contrast to playing brothers Van and Jethro West in Outrageous Fortune, these first roles were played one at a time not all at once. In the intervening years, Starr has breathed life into scripts from many of NZ’s most popular film and television productions.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Starr reveals:

• How he coped with the relentless shooting schedule of Shortland Street
• Reflections on knife fights and leaping to his death on Street Legal
• How his role on Mercy Peak provided inspiration for Outrageous Fortune
• The importance of the director to an actor
• What it was like sharing the set with Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian
• The satisfaction of playing nasty characters like in feature film In My Father’s Den
• What the audition was like for Outrageous Fortune’s twin brothers Van and Jethro West
• Some of the processes behind portraying the contrasting characters of the twin brothers
• What it was like to play a grieving father in feature film After the Waterfall
• An insight into the story behind tele-feature Spies and Lies

Many thanks to The Hilton Auckland for providing a room with a view for the interview!

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence

Rachel Lang has been one of the driving forces behind some of New Zealand’s most popular television dramas. Beginning as a story editor on 80s dramas Shark in the Park and Open House, she moved onto Shortland Street as a story-liner and then as the show’s executive producer for a number of years. Lang collaborated with writer Gavin Strawhan to create the South Pacific Pictures dramas Jackson’s Wharf and Mercy Peak. Later she developed the enormously successful Outrageous Fortune, as well as Maddigan’s Quest and Go Girls. In 2010, Lang helped develop another major TV drama – This is Not My Life.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Lang talks about:

• Enjoying her first acting role and learning to march in Marching Girls
• How Shortland Street changed the face of drama on New Zealand television
• How the soap gave voice to the Kiwi accent
• Loving creating Mercy Peak with its subtle approach to drama
• How initial despondency over network responses to the show led to major improvements
• How a spark of creativity in the shower led to Outrageous Fortune
• Wanting to make the show rude enough that people ‘had’ to watch it
• How Sex in the City influenced the home-grown show Go Girls
• Why This is Not My Life proved to be the most difficult show she’s worked on
• The need for a writer to be involved in the process of casting parts

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Tammy Davis (Ngāti Rangi, Atihaunui a Paparangi) grew up in Raetihi, and studied acting at Northland Polytechnic before landing his first major role (alongside fellow graduate Clint Eruera) as Mookie in the feature film What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

Following supporting roles in Whale Rider, and TV dramas Jacksons Wharf, The Market and Mataku, Davis starred in macabre feature Black Sheep, and Taika Waititi short film Tama Tū, before securing the role of Munter in long-running TV series Outrageous Fortune. Davis won Best Performance by a Supporting Actor at the 2008 Qantas Film and Television Awards for his role as Munter.

Davis now lives in Auckland with his partner, film producer Ainsley Gardiner and their three daughters.

In this ScreenTalk interview Davis reveals:

• How he got into acting and details of his first acting role
• His experiences working on What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? with Temuera Morrison
• How his personal struggle with alcohol affected his career
• His experiences auditioning for his role in Black Sheep
• What he inherited from the set of Black Sheep which scares his kids
• How the tattoo “Westside Forever” came about and
• Other fascinating insights into the meticulous research and creation of Outrageous Fortune’s Munter

This video is available on YouTube and Vimeo to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Former Commonwealth Games athlete Kirk Torrance (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa) struggled with asthma and school as a child, before realising his potential as an internationally competitive swimmer. Following his exploits at home and abroad in the pool, Torrance graduated from Toi Whakaari and embarked on a successful career in film and television. His most memorable performances to date include Toa in Fish Skin Suit, Lee Kapene in Shortland St, Holden in award-winning feature film Stickmen, and detective Wayne Judd in the hit TV series Outrageous Fortune.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Torrance shares his experiences on:

• Growing up as an asthmatic kid in Dargaville
• Traveling overseas to swim on the world stage
• Facing unexpected nudity at drama school
• Issues behind the scenes of Fish Skin Suit
• Shooting feature film Stickmen
• His double life on Shortland St
• The Outrageous audition process for Wayne Judd, and the complexities of realising the character
• Facing his family with Wayne Judd’s mustache

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

When not riding the motorcycles he loves, Craig Hall performs in a wide variety of theatrical, film and TV roles. His big screen debut was in the feature film Savage Honeymoon and his first major TV role was playing the sexy but dumb Clint in The Strip. He has also made regular appearances on the TV shows Burying Brian and Outrageous Fortune. Hall has co-starred in large Hollywood film projects King Kong and The World’s Fastest Indian. His other New Zealand film credits include The Ferryman, Eagle vs Shark and Show of Hands.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Hall discusses:

• How stripping in front of a group of pensioners caused a stir on The Strip
• Working with Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian
• Being directed by Peter Jackson in King Kong
• Struggling to like his character Nicky Greegan in Outrageous Fortune
• How he loved being in the mini-series Burying Brian and the craziness of the story
• Anthony McCarten‘s storytelling and the challenges of the script for the film Show of Hands
• Still getting excited whenever he gets a role

This video is available on YouTube to embed via a Creative Commons licence.

Credits:  Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside