Robbie Magasiva: On following his heart...

Interview – 2011

Over a decade ago Robbie Magasiva gave himself two choices - rugby or acting. Since then, Magasiva has made audiences laugh in Skitz, The Semisis and Sione’s Wedding, and has starred in numerous screen dramas including Shortland Street, Cover Story, Jackson’s Wharf, Doves of War and The Tattooist. He made the acting call and hasn’t looked back.

In this ScreenTalk, Magasiva talks about:

His first on screen acting role in a party political broadcast
How he landed roles in Skitz and The Semisis
Recently catching his buttoned-down character in Jackson’s Wharf on late night TV and cringing
Behind-the-scenes dynamics on and off the set of Stickmen
His amusing audition process for The Strip
How he joined The Naked Samoans and the joys of making Sione’s Wedding
Cultural insights from the set of The Tattooist
Auditioning for his role on Shortland Street

This video was first uploaded on 25 October 2011, 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 - James Coleman

I came to one point I either could have gone rugby, or I could have gone acting. But the ticker always said 'let's go this way, let's go with this acting thing and see what happens.'
– Robbie Magasiva on his choice to persue acting as a career over rugby

Robbie's Full Profile