MitchellManuel
- Actor
- Writer
Mitchell Manuel burst onto the small screen in Mike Walker's 1981 bros-in-borstal drama Kingi's Story, playing the title role of a petty thief. Manuel followed it with acting and writing credits for acclaimed feature Kingpin (1985) and tele-movie Mark II (1986) — for which he won critical praise, and a best acting award.
Screenography
Biography
Mitchell Manuel began acting via an unusual route: as a teenage inmate at a Levin boy's home, his experiences fed into the script of 1981 borstal drama Kingi's Story.
Mike Walker, the Levin-based writer and director of Kingi’s Story, felt that the talents of young Polynesians had been underrepresented on screen. After extensive auditions, Walker cast the Kiwi-born Raratongan in the lead role of Kingi, and enlisted him in the film's fundraising missions.
Awards
1987 Listener Television Awards (New Zealand)
Best Male Performance in a Dramatic Role: for Mark II
“Manuel’s Kingi was the scene-stealer whenever on camera, a hawk-eyed fugitive running from a nasty bunch of heavies; brave, if bitter, at heart. Manuel had a presence that made Mark II much more than just a caper.”
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