Jay Laga'aia: action toy hero and trans-Tasman actor...

Interview – 2010

Actor Jay Laga’aia is in demand on both sides of the Tasman, having had a number of popular TV roles in both New Zealand (Heroes, Gloss, Marlin Bay, Xena and Street Legal), and Australia (Home and Away, Water Rats, Play School). He says his most memorable achievement was having an action toy created in his likeness after appearing as Captain Typho in Star Wars.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Laga’aia talks about:

Thinking he was terrible in his first TV role in Heroes
Learning to be an actor in Open House
Believing Marlin Bay was ahead of its time and finished too soon
The delicious pleasure of playing the first bad guy on Xena: Warror Princess
Forgetting his lines upon first seeing Lucy Lawless in full costume
Causing chaos on Sydney Harbour during a shoot on Water Rats
How he ‘came of age’ playing the lead character in Street Legal
How he got a role on Home and Away
Playing Captain Typho on Star Wars and being made into a plastic toy

This video was first uploaded on 10 August 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

It was a coming of age for me really. It was the first time that I really truly felt that I could lead a cast; that I was clever enough to remember lines and say them, but also to break a character down...
– Jay Laga'aia on finding his stride with his starring role on TV series Street Legal

Jay's Full Profile