Ross Girven: Trans-tasman star...

Interview – 2012

Alongside a successful career in musical theatre in Australia, actor Ross Girven has tackled a variety of television roles on both sides of the Tasman, and starred in landmark 1987 New Zealand film Ngāti. He debuted on television here in trucking drama Roche, then had roles in a run of 80s TV shows, including Peppermint Twist and The Marching Girls. Girven has also acted in Gloss and Shortland Street, and movie thriller Dangerous Orphans. He went on to appear in Aussie cop show Water Rats, and NZ dramas Orange Roughies and The Cult.

In this ScreenTalk, Girven talks about:

Joining a mostly female cast on The Marching Girls
Feeling that Peppermint Twist was ahead of its time
How the location of Ngāti became a spiritual home for him
Being upset that Gloss was cancelled
Enjoying working with Lisa Crittenden (aka Robo-nurse) on Shortland Street
How editing changed the nature of the film Dangerous Orphans
Loving the scripts on The Cult but feeling the final product didn’t quite deliver
Getting to shave his head for a role on series Legend of the Seeker

This video was first uploaded on 6 June 2012, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview, Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside

It still rankles that Gloss wasn't allowed to continue. I never really got to the bottom [of it] . . . It could potentially have gone in a number of different directions. There were years worth of storylines, and a fantastic core cast.
– Ross Girven on the cancellation of hit soap Gloss after three seaons

Ross's Full Profile