The Making of Stickmen

If the sharks come and hassle us man, we're just gonna get whipped. Because we had the New Zealand pool champ training us; you see how top pub pool players are superb. The real guns out there are amazing players. We can hold our own though, I think...

– Actor Paolo Rotondo on his real life pool skills

High art.

– Actor John Leigh sums up Stickmen, early in this documentary

We put them in an apartment together — partly budgetary reasons, but also we felt that it would be a make or break situation. So it was a bit nerve-racking but they all seemed to have got on, and I do think it's worked. I think there's a real bond between them that you perhaps wouldn't have if they were all living apart.

– Stickmen producer Michelle Turner on the lead actors flatting together during filming

He's one of the very few . . . classically good-looking actors in New Zealand who are humble enough to sort of make their character flawed, which Jack is  . . .  Jack had the propensity to become unlikeable because of his rogueish nature with women, but the way Robbie played him you really liked his charm.

– Stickmen director Hamish Rothwell on casting Robbie Magasiva as Jack

Scott's got brilliant comic timing. Especially with a character like Wayne, it's very hard to pull off because you've got to basically be the funny guy  . . . Scott really pulled off playing Wayne as a real person.

– Stickmen director Hamish Rothwell on Scott Wills' approach to playing Wayne

Wayne's great. He's a simple boy...from the Lower Hutt.

– Actor Scott Wills describes his chaarcter, Wayne

She's quite direct about things. If she knows what she wants, then she'll go out and get it . . . But she's also a very loyal person, and caring. Sometimes I think her conscience kind of gets in the way of things. 

– Anne Nordhaus on playing Sara

She's a bit sassy, a bit sarky. She's incredibly insecure, but she puts on this mask and flashes herself up . . . she's not a rocket science or anything, but I think she's got a good heart and a great sense of humour.

– Simone Kessell on her character Karen

Holden is the consequences, basically. And there's certain rules, and pool's a metaphor for life for Holden. And you break the rules? Holden's the consequences.

– Kirk Torrance describes his character Holden

He's a freaky-looking guy anyway, and then when they added all the dreads and the contact lenses..you had to hit him.

– Kirk Torrance on production designer Neville Stevenson's turn as scarey pool player Caller

Nigel [Bluck] and Hamish [Rothwell] and myself worked on a lot of commercials last year, so we got to the point where we were communicating really well, which is everything that you want between the HODs. 

– Production Designer Neville Stevenson on having worked often with director Hamish Rothwell and cinematographer Nigel Bluck

How do I feel about pool? I feel...a bit bored! I mean it's a good game and a lot of people play it, but I'm not very good.

– Actor Simone Kessell 'fesses up