Marshall Napier: A Trans-Tasman success…

Interview – 2012

Marshall Napier forged a successful acting career playing strong supporting roles in a swathe of Kiwi and Aussie TV dramas and films. His numerous credits include The Governor, Goodbye Pork Pie, Came a Hot Friday, Blue Heelers, Babe, McLeod’s Daughters and Water Rats. He also has a strong pedigree in theatre, and took his own play Freak Winds to New York in 2006.

Marshall Napier died on 14 August 2022. In this ScreenTalk interview first published in October 2012, Napier talks about:

Having only one costume to wear as Sir Richard Seddon in The Governor
Almost driving off the road during a car chase in Goodbye Pork Pie
Being told to smile by director Ian Mune on the set of Came a Hot Friday
The chaotic nature of filming on Vincent Ward’s The Navigator
How people assumed he was a real farmer after his long stint on Australian TV favourite McLeod’s Daughters
Being directed by his nephew in I’m Not Harry Jenson
Being surrounded by grotesque characters in Picnic at Rock Island
Playing a hard-nosed "prick" on City Homicide
How an actor’s life can be a tough one

This video was first uploaded on 25 October 2012, 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

It was only the second time I'd been on camera — I'd done a few stageplays, so I was really very much of a novice. And I got handed this role of Sir Richard Seddon ... I had to do a lot of quick research because I wasn't huge on New Zealand history.
– Marshall Napier on acting in 1977 historical epic The Governor, early in this interview

Marshall's Full Profile