Native Affairs - Series 11, Episode Three
Māori Television’s award-winning news and current affairs show took its bold name from a colonial government department. This 2017 episode profiles four non-conformists: Mongrel Mob boss Rex Timu’s war on P; Raihania Tipoki's waka protest against East Coast oil surveying; Taranaki mother Tina Tupe's preparations for her own tangi; and globetrotting screenwriter David Seidler. Seidler makes an annual trip to a Tarawera cabin – he has a Kiwi son to a Māori woman – and talks about his Oscar-winning movie The King’s Speech, and his admiration for kapa haka.
Danielle Cormack
Danielle Cormack has showcased her naturalistic, seemingly effortless acting style on both sides of the Tasman. After roles in TV soaps Gloss and Shortland Street, she began a run of big screen starring roles — Topless Women Talk About Their Lives, The Price of Milk and Via Satellite (playing twins). On Australian TV, Cormack has starred as a prisoner (Wentworth), crime lord (Underbelly: Razor) and barrister (Rake).
Diana Rowan
If the measure of success for a casting director is the subsequent success of the actors they pluck from the crowd, then Diana Rowan has certainly done time at the top of her field. She is the casting director who helped Anna Paquin, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Kerry Fox and Lucy Lawless on their way to international careers, while developing her own talents as a writer and director of short films.
Dwayne Cameron
Dwayne Cameron got his screen break as a teen with an ongoing role on science fiction hit The Tribe. Since then he has co-starred in horror movie The Locals, acted on television shows Street Legal, Mercy Peak, and Agent Anna, and directed a number of short films. In 2017 he played race car legend Bruce McLaren in Roger Donaldson docudrama McLaren, and join Nicolas Cage in bank heist drama #211.
Alison Bruce
With a CV that includes everything from judges to Amazon queens, Alison Bruce has often been cast as the strong unsmiling type. Yet two of her biggest screen roles completely break that mould: the fraudulent but well-meaning fortune teller in 2001 feature Magik and Rose, and the eccentric mother in award-winning series Being Eve.
Willa O'Neill
Actor Willa O'Neill won awards for her work in two 90s movie hits: Dunedin student thriller Scarfies, and ensemble piece Topless Women Talk about their Lives.
Lucy Lawless
Eight years after debuting on TV sketch show Funny Business, Lucy Lawless won international fame for her starring role on Xena: Warrior Princess. The series won her a devoted fan following, and invitations to guest-star on everything from The Simpsons to Bro' Town. Since the end of Xena's six season run, Lawless has mainly acted for American television, including a role as bad girl Lucretia in locally-shot series Spartacus.
Jay Saussey
Jay Saussey, the daughter of a drama teacher, started her career as one of the young stars of Deepwater Haven in 1993, after previously playing a small role in Vincent Ward film The Navigator. Deepwater Haven saw Saussey play one of the two children of tugboat skipper Jack Wilson, played by Australian actor Vince Martin. The role earned her Best Juvenile Performer at the NZ Film and TV Awards. Since then, Saussey's had an active film and television career, appearing in everything from Hercules and Shortland Street (she played nurse Tamsin Yates for two years), to Outrageous Fortune and Fracture.
Barbara Darragh
Barbara Darragh's screen costumes have been worn by ghosts, prostitutes, Māori warriors and Tainuia Kid Billy T James. An award-winner for The Dead Lands, River Queen and The End of the Golden Weather, Darragh's CV includes TV shows Under the Mountain and Greenstone, plus more than a dozen other features. She also runs Auckland costume hire company Across the Board.
Charlie Haskell
After cutting his teeth commanding action scenes for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Charlie Haskell has gone on to direct a range of television dramas: from the American-funded Xena: Warrior Princess and Jack of All Trades, to local productions Tangiwai: A Love Story, The Almighty Johnsons, and the Moa-nominated Pirates of the Airwaves.