Rawiri Paratene: From Play School to Whale Rider...

Interview – 2010

Rawiri Paratene (Ngā Puhi) was the first Māori student to graduate from the New Zealand Drama School. Since then he has made an indelible mark on Aotearoa's screenscape. Paratene’s screen career began when he co-starred in 1970s sitcom Joe and Koro. He also hosted pre-school show Play School and is an acclaimed writer (Erua, Dead Certs). His movie roles include gang member Mulla in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? and the memorably stern Koro in Whale Rider.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Paratene talks about:

Creating a stir by portraying a realistic Māori accent in 1970s sitcom Joe and Koro
Being asked to 'reign in' his performance while playing dead in The Governor
How hosting iconic kids show Play School was a clever career move
Fighting for Māori language and characters to be included in the show
How ad-libbing boosted the role of Rangi in hit movie Footrot Flats: The Dog's (Tail) Tale
Creating the back story for gang member Mulla in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
The experience of wearing Mulla's tattoos out in public
How his character Koro in Whale Rider was "foolish with his honesty"
Working with director Niki Caro on one of the film's most unforgettable scenes

This video was first uploaded on 13 July 2010, 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

I got there and there were like four lines of dialogue . . . so I did a whole lot of improv stuff and that's the way Rangi got to be as big as it was in the film. The producers liked my voice as the kid so much, that they were having trouble with the voice for the dog, and they actually wanted to have a go to see if I could do both voices . . . I would love to have had a go at the dog too.
– Rawirii Paratene on working on animated hit Footrot Flats - The Dog's Tale

Rawiri's Full Profile