Stephanie Tauevihi: Escaping Donna Heka...

Interview – 2011

At the age of 15, actor and singer Stephanie Tauevihi made her TV debut as a reporter on youth series InFocus. She gained fame playing Donna Heka on Shortland Street for seven years. Tauevihi has also appeared in feature films Rest for the Wicked and Russian Snark. She won Best Supporting Actress at the 2010 Qantas Awards for her role in Russian Snark.

In this ScreenTalk, Tauevihi talks about:

Being a presenter on teen-focused current affairs show InFocus
The terror of an autocue failing during her first live TV experience
The surreal experience of acting on Shortland Street
Overcoming intimacy issues with Blair Strang on the soap
Never truly getting away from the role of Donna Heka
Her amazing trip to India for Intrepid Journeys — "I didn't want to come home"
Joining local acting legends, and playing a caregiver who washes bums in film Rest for the Wicked
Loving playing Roseanna in movie Russian Snark, as she had the time to develop her character

This video was first uploaded on 28 June 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

It was like this huge hole had been ripped out of me, like I was missing a limb . . . so it's hard to shake that brand of Donna Heka.
– Stephanie Tauevihi on how she felt when she stopped acting on Shortland Street

Stephanie's Full Profile