ScreenTalk » Shortland St

Paul Gittins – from doctor to director

Screen Talker — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:51:09 +0000

Actor Paul Gittins is best known for his portrayal of Dr Michael McKenna, the original clinic director, on the long-running soap opera Shortland Street. He has also acted in a number of feature films, including Other Halves, The End of the Golden Weather, and The Whole of the Moon. Gittins’ love of history led to the creation of two popular docu-drama series Epitaph and Shipwreck, which he hosted and sometimes directed.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Gittins talks about:

How a novice actor inspired him on the set of Other Halves
Learning lessons about life in Ian Mune’s The End of the Golden Weather
Initially struggling to adapt to the face-paced shooting schedule on Shortland Street
How Epitaph gave him a unique sense of New Zealand history
Learning how to research, write, and direct television by doing the show
Finding a solution to his seasickness while shooting Shipwreck
Loving the process of ‘getting into someone else’s head’ when acting

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

Stephanie Tauevihi – escaping Donna Heka

Screen Talker — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 10:51:21 +0000

At the age of 15 actor and singer Stephanie Tauevihi debuted on TV as a reporter on the youth current affairs show InFocus. She gained nationwide fame playing Donna Heka on Shortland Street for seven years. Tauevihi has been in two feature films: Rest for the Wicked and Russian Snark. She won Best Supporting Actress at the 2010 Qantas Awards for her role in the latter film.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Tauevihi talks about:

Being a presenter on the teen-focused current affairs show InFocus
The terror of an autocue failing on her first live TV experience
The ‘surreal’ experience of acting on Shortland Street
Overcoming ‘intimacy issues’ with Blair Strang on the soap
Never truly getting away from the role of Donna Heka
Her amazing trip to India for Intrepid Journeys
Acting with thespian legends and ‘wiping their bums’ in the film Rest for the Wicked
How playing Rosanna in the film Russian Snark enabled her to develop her acting further

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

Geraldine Brophy: character actress

Screen Talker — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:37:25 +0000

Geraldine Brophy describes herself as a character actress, but her television and film roles have been very memorable ones. She played the lovable Moira Crombie in Shortland Street for four years, before moving on to roles in Serial Killers, The Insiders Guide to Love, and Outrageous Fortune.

One of her favourite roles was playing the control freak bureaucrat Marion in Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby. More recently Brophy danced up a storm on Dancing with the Stars, and had a small but memorable part in Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong. In 2008, she received a NZ Film and TV Award for best actress for her lead role in the feel-good feature film Second-Hand Wedding.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Brophy discusses:

Having a wonderful time on Shortland Street playing the lovable Moira
Playing a “plumptious woman with a rampant sexuality” in Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby
The joy of performing on Dancing with the Stars even though she knew she’d never win
Working with Peter Jackson on King Kong
Working with director Paul Murphy on Second-Hand Wedding
How her many acting roles have changed her life

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

Credits: Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Craig Parker

Screen Talker — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:19:39 +0000

Craig Parker made his television debut in the 80s soap Gloss and then went on to Shortland Street where he played a womanising social worker. After checking out of the long-running soap, Parker played an elf in Lord of the Rings, a doctor on Mercy Peak, a villain in Legend of the Seeker and a diplomat in Diplomatic Immunity. Some of his other screen credits include Hercules the Legendary Journeys, Xena and the soon to be released Spartacus.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Parker discusses:

How terrifying Gloss was but how it taught him about TV
Playing annoying social worker Guy Warner on Shortland Street
The fun of Hercules and Xena
Fighting with Lucy Lawless on set
The dangers of on-set catering on Mercy Peak
An awkward sex scene with good friend Robyn Malcolm
The enormity of Lord of the Rings
How he loved making Diplomatic Immunity despite it not being a complete success
Being part of the yet to be screened TV series Spartacus

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

Peter Elliott – 2009 Qantas Film & TV Award winner

Screen Talker — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:12:39 +0000

For more than 20 years, actor Peter Elliott’s career has spanned theatre, film, television and radio. His most notable screen credits include playing Rex on Gloss, Dr David Kearney on Shortland Street, and more recently he was the TV ad face encouraging us to take civil defence seriously.

As well as TV drama, Elliott has fronted and narrated a range of documentary TV series such as Captain’s Log, Explorers, Frontier of Dreams and Secret New Zealand. He also wrote and presented Jungle Rain, a documentary about Agent Orange. Elliott was the first celebrity to appear in Intrepid Journeys. Now 50, Elliott has recently added a new skill to his repertoire – directing theatre.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Elliott discusses:

The experience of being a ‘star’ in Gloss and why he had to pretend to be single
How he got burned out and burned by his four years on Shortland Street
Why he thinks male characters get a rough deal on the soap
How being part of Captain’s Log was a dream come true and a boost to his morale
What a confronting experience it was visiting Kenya in Intrepid Journeys
The great experience of being in Until Proven Innocent and the talent of co-star Cohen Holloway
And how he has finally become comfortable with himself and his transition into being a director

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

Credits: Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Robyn Malcolm

Screen Talker — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 05:08:07 +0000

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