Jay Laga'aia - Action toy hero and trans-Tasman actor...

Jay Laga’aia is an in demand actor on both sides of the Tasman, having appeared in a number of popular film and TV roles in both New Zealand (Heroes, Gloss, Marlin Bay, Xena and Street Legal), and Australia (Home and Away, Water Rats, Bed of Roses). He says his most memorable achievement was having an action toy created in his likeness after appearing as Captain Typho in Star Wars.

In this ScreenTalk, Laga’aia talks about:

• Thinking he was terrible in his first TV role in Heroes
• Learning to be an actor in Open House
• Believing Marlin Bay was ahead of its time and finished too soon
• The delicious pleasure of playing the first bad guy on Xena
• Forgetting his lines upon seeing Lucy Lawless in full costume
• Causing chaos on Sydney Harbour during a shoot on Water Rats
• How he ‘came of age’ playing the lead character in Street Legal
• How he got a role on Home and Away
• Playing Captain Typho on Star Wars and being made into a plastic toy

This video was first uploaded on 10 August 2010, 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