Malcolm Hall
British-born Malcolm Hall moved from newspaper journalism into television, after emigrating downunder. Since then his career as a producer and director has seen him helming current affairs, comedy, children's TV, and varied documentaries which have screened around the globe. At the turn of the millennium, Hall began making television for company NHNZ.
Anna Cottrell
Christchurch-raised Anna Cottrell is a prolific documentary maker, with a keen interest in the stories that people tell. Her work ranges widely, from documentaries on immigrants (An Immigrant Nation) and family (Other People's Children), to five seasons of the bite-sized Great War Stories. Cottrell launched her company AC Productions in 2001.
Craig Parker
At high school Craig Parker was "the world's most uncoordinated kid". After discovering that taking drama would mean less time in PE, he picked acting. The decision launched a 30+ year career around the globe. His screen roles include Shortland Street, Mercy Peak, and TV movie Shackleton's Captain. Since winning a keen fan base for a bit part in Lord of the Rings, he has also acted in Spartacus and Reign.
Barry Shaw
Barry Shaw wrote about television for more than two decades. A longtime critic for both The Auckland Star and The NZ Herald, he was on hand to note many key moments in Kiwi screen history. Shaw passed away in August 2011, at the age of 82.
Paul Henry
Paul Henry has run his own radio station, and reported from Bosnia and Iraq. After presenting episodes of TV staples This is Your Life and Close Up, he won both fans and regular controversy during seven straight-talking years co-hosting live show Breakfast. After joining company MediaWorks he began hosting the three-hour long Paul Henry in April 2015. The morning show plays simultaneously on TV3, radio and online.
John Harris
After two decades working in television, director/producer John Harris set up independent production company Greenstone in 1994. The company's factual programming won awards and overseas sales. Greenstone has also made successful forays into children's drama. Harris sold the company to Australia's Cordell Jigsaw Zapruda in 2013; Kiwi Richard Driver took over as managing director the following year.
Hamish McFarlane
Hamish McFarlane's screen career began when he was only 11 — he won a NZ Film Award after starring as a boy on a quest for survival, in Vincent Ward classic The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey. After co-starring in kidult show Strangers and a few further screen roles, he moved behind the camera to be an assistant director. Since then he has worked on both TV and movies, including Super City and The Dead Lands.
Trevor Spitz
Trevor Spitz, who died in March 2012, was a key player in the 1989 launch of channel TV3. The musician turned promoter had begun working in television in the 70s as a talent scout and producer of entertainment shows, and won success — and controversy — with hit television export That's Country. He was influential in the careers of many performers, including comedic duo McPhail and Gadsby and singer Suzanne Prentice.
David Harry Baldock
After almost two decades of directing and producing documentaries, David Harry Baldock left TVNZ in 1988 to launch Ninox Television. The company’s roster of reality-based programming included export hit Sensing Murder, local award-winner Our People Our Century and nine seasons of Location Location Location. These days Baldock is busy making arts programmes from Shanghai.
Colin Tapley
Dunedin-born actor Colin Tapley found character parts gave his movie career longevity. Tapley argued that the average time for a leading man in 1930s Hollywood was seven years. He played supporting roles in pre-World War II Hollywood films, and after the war extended his career into the late 60s with performances in British movies and TV. His best remembered film is 1955 classic The Dam Busters.