ScreenTalk

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

The Cult star Sara Wiseman first got the acting bug while volunteering on the set of Peter Jackson’s feature film Heavenly Creatures. She began her career as a stuntwoman alongside Zoe Bell, but gained her first big acting break in the drama series Street Legal. Her best known role is Dr Nicky Sommerville on Mercy Peak. Some of Wiseman’s other screen credits include Mataku, Sione’s Wedding, Outrageous Fortune and Jinx Sister.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Wiseman discusses:

• How Street Legal introduced her to television acting
• The awkwardness of a sex scene with Jay Laga’aia
• The agony of auditioning for Mercy Peak
• Why she loved playing Nicky Sommerville
• How Outrageous Fortune gives actors the freedom to explore their characters
• The intensity of filming The Cult on location in winter
• Breaking her foot on the set of Jinx Sister

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

Credits: Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Award-winning actor Robyn Malcolm has become one of our most loved performers, and has been voted New Zealand’s sexiest woman two years in a row.

Since joining the cast of Shortland Street in 1994, Malcolm has played a diverse range of gritty characters. Her TV credits include the tele-feature Clare, Mercy Peak, Serial Killers, and Shark in the Park. Her most recent award-winning TV role is Cheryl West in the TV 3 hit Outrageous Fortune. Malcolm’s film acting credits include Perfect Strangers, Absent Without Leave, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lovely Bones.

As well as acting roles, Malcolm has been a panellist on How’s Life?, starred in an episode of Intrepid Journeys, and presented the documentary Our Lost War: Passchendaele – a personal story about the World War I battle in which her great uncle died.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Malcolm discusses:

• Getting the acting bug in school
• How she thought Shortland Street would be her only TV role
• The challenging experience of playing a cervical cancer survivor in the tele-feature Clare
• How playing an ex-porn star turned teacher, and kissing Craig Parker could be included in her list of career lows and highs
• The emotional intensity of the documentary Our Lost War: Passchendaele
• How proud she is that Outrageous Fortune has changed the way we see ourselves on television
• And how a prediction that her career would consist of acting as mothers and whores has come true

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

Credits:  Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Scriptwriter, playwright and columnist James Griffin has been writing for most of his life. Since becoming a scriptwriter in the 1980s Griffin has written many of New Zealand’s most well known and best loved TV shows as well as the feature film Sione’s Wedding.

In this interview, he discusses

• His love of writing from an early age but his desire to be a TV director
• Getting “side-tracked” in to script editing and learning the mechanics of how a script works
• The popularity of Gloss and blending comedy and drama
• His surprise that the TV drama City Life flopped
• The rollercoaster ride that is Outrageous Fortune and when its run should end
• Criticism of NZ comedy
• What it takes to make a “hit” TV show

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

Credits:  Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Vanessa Alexander wrote stage plays before turning her hand to writing, directing and producing for film and television.  She is best known for her feature film Magik and Rose, for producing innovative children’s drama series Being Eve, and as a director on popular westie TV show Outrageous Fortune.

Alexander tells how extreme persistence paid off early in her screen career when she got to make Magik and Rose, and she discusses her strong working relationship with producer Larry Parr.

She credits Parr with being the first reason she made it into film and television, and says South Pacific Pictures head John Barnett is the second reason.

Alexander discusses why she thinks Barnett gave her a break into producing with Being Eve.  She speculates that this was partly because she was young and female and the series needed that, but says she also puts it down to a story she told at the SPADA conference about her energetic marketing work for Magik and Rose.

She explains that this involved buying all the tickets to a premiere screening herself so that it would appear the film had sold out quickly, and seating family and friends near critics to talk up the film.

Alexander also talks about her directing work on popular TV3 drama series Outrageous Fortune.  She says working on the first episode of the series was extremely stressful because the original idea was so good and expectation was very high.

This interview is available on YouTube for distribution under a Creative Commons license (Non-Commercial, Attribution).

Credits: Interview by Clare O’Leary, Camera and Editing by Leo Guerchmann.