Temuera Morrison: From Rotovegas to Hollywood...

Temuera Morrison is best known for one of New Zealand’s most graphic film performances: Jake Heke in Once Were Warriors. He reprised his role in the redemption sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? Before the Warriors films, Morrison played Dr Hone Ropata in the long-running soap Shortland Street. He has appeared in a range of TV productions and a number of Hollywood films including the Star Wars franchise.

In this ScreenTalk, Morrison talks about:

• Having a great time as a child actor on Rangi’s Catch
• Stumbling over medical terms in the scripts of Shortland Street
• Auditioning for a bit part on Once Were Warriors but eventually getting the lead
• Being aware of people’s doubts about whether he could play the role of Jake
• The intense physical work he undertook to create the character of Jake the Muss
• The intensity and brilliance of his co-star Rena Owen
• Feeling more comfortable in the role of Jake in the sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
• Being nervous on the set of Star Wars, and the unreality of the sets
• The challenge and rewards of Tracker, a British co-production co-starring Ray Winstone

This video was first uploaded on 23 May 2011, 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