Screentalk

Actor and director John Callen has a voice that is hard to forget. Callen has appeared in a number of TV shows and films including Close to Home, The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and, most recently, The Hobbit. His directing credits include Shortland Street, and the documentary series Epitaph and Taonga.

In this ScreenTalk, Callen talks about:

• Why The Hobbit has been his most extraordinary job
• Still enjoying a good fight despite being older than his contemporaries
• How costuming proved to be a big hassle on the set, and a light moment with co-star Billy Connolly
• How playing a murderer on Close to Home appealed to autograph hounds
• The excitement of directing actors on Shortland Street
• Enjoying directing 'real' stories for Epitaph
• Learning about Māori history on the series Taonga
• The challenge of re-writing scripts on war documentary The Kiwi Who Saved Britain

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

Simon Bennett's extensive CV includes producing and directing episodes of long-running successes Shortland Street and Outrageous Fortune. He has also spent time in executive roles at South Pacific Pictures, the production house behind these shows, and directed SPP feature film Sione's 2: Unfinished Business.

In this ScreenTalk, Bennett talks about:

• Having to clean up horse manure for his first TV directing job on Riding High
• Learning to direct fast-turnaround TV drama on Shortland Street
• Being told off by the actors when directing Mercy Peak
• Taking up the reigns as Head of Drama at South Pacific Pictures
• How fantastic writing and acting made Outrageous Fortune a hit
• The unlikely premise of The Almighty Johnsons
• The challenges of making a sequel to a successful film, with Sione's 2: Unfinished Business
• Being intrigued by the scripts of The Blue Rose
• Enjoying the fast-paced nature of the show

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

Actor Stelios Yiakmis created a name for himself playing doctor Johnny Marinovich for five years on Shortland Street. He gained further acting credentials in a range of Australian and Kiwi TV shows such as McLeod's Daughters, All Saints, and Underbelly – Land of the Long White Cloud, and the Australian feature film Jindabyne. Yiakmis is currently appearing as bad guy Derek Peterson in crime drama The Blue Rose. 

In this ScreenTalk, Yiakmis talks about:

• Being overawed by his first scene on Shortland Street
• How a fellow actor couldn’t help him adjust to the work schedule
• Loving the polarising nature of his character Johnny Marinovich
• How a role in Street Legal gave him a chance to stretch his acting wings
• Confusing the local population on the set of McLeod's Daughters
• Wanting to punch director Ray Lawrence while filming Jindabyne
• Playing a real life criminal in the Kiwi version of Underbelly
• Relishing the chance to be a 'bastard' in The Blue Rose
• How not knowing the plot in advance made the role harder

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

Actor and director Murray Keane's first big role on screen was in 1980s television series Peppermint Twist. His acting credits also include Away Laughing, Chunuk Bair and Braindead. In the 1990s, Keane moved into directing, working on popular drama series Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune, The Almighty Johnsons and Go Girls. In this ScreenTalk, Keane talks about:

• Playing a semi-mute drummer on Peppermint Twist
• Working in mud and unwashed costumes for movie Chunuk Bair
• Why the film Braindead was the worst experience of his career
• The pressure of directing episodes of Shortland Street
• Being proud of directing Diplomatic Immunity despite its disappointing ratings
• Enjoying public praise for his contribution to Outrageous Fortune
• How Go Girls proved a great way of improving his directing skills

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

After making her television debut on Shortland Street in 2004, Siobhan Marshall won fame as straight-talking sister Pascalle West over six seasons of Outrageous Fortune. In 2005 she won celebrity singing contest Sing Like a Superstar. More recently she made a guest appearance on The Almighty Johnsons, and will next join her Outrageous screen sister Antonia Prebble as co-star of The Blue Rose. In this ScreenTalk, Marshall talks about:

• Being inspired into acting by seeing Les Miserables
• Playing her name-sake in Shortland Street
• Being accused of playing a slut on the show
• Moving from comic relief to ‘meaty’ drama in Outrageous Fortune
• Getting room to develop her acting and character on the show
• Having a serious migraine while taping Sing Like a Superstar
• Learning how to behave like a man on The Almighty Johnsons
• Discovering a penchant for bending the truth on Would I Lie to You?
• Being one of the only actors in the cast of Duncan’s Lady to speak English
• Playing a cool Kiwi girl in new drama series The Blue Rose
• Believing acting is the only thing she’s good at

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

Actor Dean O’Gorman won his first lead role in a feature film in Bonjour Timothy at the age of 17. Soon after he starred in Shortland Street, then went on to appear in a long list of international and local TV dramas including Young Hercules, McLeod’s Daughters and The Almighty Johnsons. O’Gorman’s next big screen appearance will be in The Hobbit. In this ScreenTalk, O’Gorman talks about:

• Getting the lead role in Bonjour Timothy at just 17
• Being at the mercy of the writers on Shortland Street
• Learning to play with swords on the set of Xena
• A physically demanding role on Young Hercules
• Playing a gay character in the film When Love Comes
• Being a ‘man women would like to see’ on McLeod’s Daughters
• A small but satisfying role in Serial Killers
• Learning to play cricket with his left hand for Tangiwai: A Love Story
• Being more conservative in real life than his character in The Almighty Johnsons

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

Actor Elizabeth McRae is best known as Marge the receptionist on Shortland Street. She began her TV career in the 70s on shows such as The Games Affair. Since then she has appeared in television dramas Hanlon, About Face, Terry and the Gunrunners, and Go Girls. Her film credits include Jubilee, award-winner A Death in the Family, and Rest for the Wicked. In this ScreenTalk, McRae talks about:

• Working with Rudall and Ramai Haywood in The Doll’s House
• Melting a vinyl floor during the shoot for The Games Affair
• Playing a sympathetic aunt in ground-breaking AIDs drama A Death in the Family
• Being accused of ‘prostituting her art’ by appearing in Shortland Street
• Having a memorable scene with a bull in Jubilee
• Playing a slightly batty pākehā mother in Nancy Brunning’s short film Journey to Ihapa
• The joy of working with other acting veterans in rest-home feature film Rest for the Wicked
• Acknowledging the importance of writing to the TV and film industry

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

Samoan-born actor Pua Magasiva was inspired by his older brother Robbie Magasiva to get into show business. He is best known for his role as Nurse Vinnie Kruse in Shortland Street, but has had roles in a number of TV productions including Power Rangers, Outrageous Fortune and Diplomatic Immunity. He has also appeared in films Sione's Wedding, 30 Days of Night, The Other Side of Heaven, and Matariki. In this ScreenTalk, Magasiva talks about:

• Having a fantastic time playing the 'leader' in Power Rangers
• Cringing after looking at his first acting stint on Shortland Street
• How the pace of production on the show has improved his performances
• Not appearing much in Sione's Wedding, despite his character being in the title
• Creating a machine to fight vampires in 30 Days of Night
• Hoping he wouldn’t stuff it up on the set of Outrageous Fortune
• Ad agency qualms about the popular Lift Plus commercials
• How putting on a costume made him feel like a cop in Matariki
• Willing to be handcuffed and hurt for the TV series East West 101

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

Shavaughn Ruakere began her career as a presenter on kids TV show What Now?. She graduated to a more adult role as a presenter on music channel C4, after a stint co-presenting UK morning show SM:TV. Since then Ruakere has made the switch to acting and appeared in a number of shows including The Jaquie Brown Diaries and Legend of the Seeker. She is currently starring in Shortland Street as core cast member Roimata Ngatai. In this ScreenTalk, Ruakere talks about:

• Being scared by going on live TV for What Now?
• Not being shy about being a ‘dick’ on a kids show
• Witnessing two experienced actors ‘ad-libbing’ on the set of River Queen
• Managing not to do a nude scene in the film
• How presenting on C4 showed a more mature side of herself
• Getting a chance to wear leather and high heels in Legend of the Seeker
• How her role on Shortland Street pulled her out of a slump
• The similarities and differences between her and her character Roimata
• Coping with the time restraints and pace of shooting on the show
• Loving working with her on-camera family
• How ‘being someone else’ on set helps her overcome doubt

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

Ray Henwood, ONZM  — father of Dai —  arrived here from Wales just in time for the birth of professional theatre downunder. Best known to TV viewers for five seasons as Hugh on hit office comedy Gliding On, Henwood’s screen roles include villains (The Legend of William Tell) surgeons (Shortland Street), and experts in hydrothermia (Such a Stupid Way to Die). Which is not to mention an epic theatre career which has seen him play Stalin, Einstein and Richard Burton, and star in early plays at Downstage and Circa. In this ScreenTalk interview, Henwood talks about:

• Falling in love with New Zealand after arriving here on a gap year in the 60s, to work as a teacher
• How his long Kiwi acting career began after impressing theatre legend Nola Millar playing an abbreviated Henry V, at a British Drama League festival
• How in the days before the birth of the drama school, Kiwi actors often trained overseas, and never returned
• Balancing a famous Moro bar commercial with his other job as a forensic toxicologist
• The breakthrough success of Roger Hall play Glide Time
• His annoyance at the first, 1978, TV adaptation of Glide Time
• Warm memories of doing Gliding On with a live audience at Avalon’s Studio 8, and how few times things sent wrong on set
• Surviving a runaway horse while playing second villain to actor Andrew Robertt, on the Wellington set of The Legend of William Tell
• Being proud Dad to comedian Dai Henwood

Many thanks to Sarah Gaitanos (author of biography Nola Millar - A Theatrical Life) for her help with this interview. This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.