Nathaniel Lees: Billy T, Sione, The Matrix and more...

New Zealand-born Samoan Nathaniel Lees has acted on both stage and screen. Lees began his screen career with small roles in movies Death Warmed Up and Other Halves, before joining Billy T James on his sketch comedy shows. Lees went on to appear in varied TV dramas including Shark in the Park , City Life, Gloss, Shortland Street and Street Legal. His many film roles include Sione’s Wedding, The Lord of the Rings, Rapa Nui and The Matrix movies.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Lees talks about:

• Talking with Billy T James about how "big" to play scenes on his comedy shows
• Learning about screen acting on police drama Shark in the Park
• Coming to terms with the pace of production on Shortland Street
• The challenging Easter Island shoot for movie Rapa Nui  
• Not having to audition for a role on Street Legal
• Donning a full body suit to play Ugluk in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• Feeling uneasy at being constantly looked after on The Matrix films — and some good advice from Laurence Fishburne
• Encountering fans of the Matrix movies
• The joy of filming the two Sione’s Wedding films
• Being told that Samoan language film The Orator - O Le Tulafale wouldn't attract audiences
• Feeling fortunate about his acting career

This video was first uploaded on 21 March 2016, 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