Screentalk

Simon Prast made his television debut in cop drama Mortimer’s Patch. Best known for playing spoilt rich kid Alistair Redfern in Gloss, Prast’s biggest film role was playing a gay man in 1998 movie When Love Comes. He also has a strong background in theatre, and for 11 years ran the Auckland Theatre Company. In this ScreenTalk, Prast talks about:

• Learning how to ‘deliver the goods’ on Mortimer’s Patch
• The satisfying intensity of acting on ground-breaking AIDS drama A Death in the Family
• Auditioning alongside Peter Elliott for Gloss
• Finding the show very urban and fresh
• Enjoying playing a psychopath on Shortland Street
• Love and dignity being at the heart of the film When Love Comes
• The irony of the transition from playing sons to fathers on Go Girls
• Realising that an aging actor can develop new roles

Nancy Brunning's television debut was in the first episode of Shortland Street as series regular Nurse Jaki Manu. She turned in a memorable performance as gang girl Tania in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, and played a fun loving lesbian in When Love Comes.  Brunning has appeared in a number of TV projects including Mataku and Fish Skin Suit. As well as acting, she also directed the WWII-era short Journey to Ihipa. In this ScreenTalk, Brunning talks about:

• How it took six months to get used to working on the set of Shortland Street
• Feeling the pressure of playing the only Māori female character on primetime TV
• Having to tell her father she was playing a lesbian in When Love Comes
• Writing a diary to develop her tough role in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
• Learning to stand up to director Ian Mune on set
• Finding it hard to work out the character of Joy in The Strength of Water
• Why a particular scene in the movie proved to be the hardest to shoot