Annie Whittle

Annie Whittle argues that her career has had its share of good luck. But Whittle's good luck is the kind that comes of trying — and being good at — many things. She has piloted planes, been a champion fencer, danced ballet, won awards for her music, and acted in Kiwi classics A Week of It, The Makutu on Mrs Jones, and The Billy T James Show.

Whittle was born in Lancashire, England. Her family emigrated to Christchurch when she was three (her father lectured at Canterbury University).  She traces her gift with mimicry to the need to switch accents, from her family's frequent journeys between the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Whittle first performed on-stage at around age seven. Later she "fell into entertainment", after deciding against a career in teaching or academia. 

After singing at high school, she made her television debut as a member of folk group the Sinclair Trio, on 60s magazine programme Town and Around. Later she sang on this episode of talent show Studio One, and worked with her future Week of It colleague David McPhail on this 1974 music show. Halfway through an arts degree, Whittle exited Christchurch for a four year OE. She toured Europe with a jazz band, then two years playing rock in Australia. Back in New Zealand, her entry in a TV music quest kickstarted a trail of music awards, gold singles, and popular albums — plus her 1978 TV special Annie.

By then stage two of Whittle's career had begun. After winning an audition to become the "token female" in Christchurch comedy group Merely Players, Whittle was invited to join many of the team in pioneering sketch show A Week of It. In the first season she played all the female characters: from royalty to prostitutes, to the role that won her enduring fame: somewhat "vapid blonde" barmaid Charlene, a character she was never a fan of. As she describes in this extended video interview, the cast rushed through each show, jumping from sketch to sketch in front of a live audience. She thinks that overall that energy benefited the performances. "There was a lot of adrenaline, a lot of hilarity... you were flying by the seat of your pants."

Whittle flew from Auckland to Christchurch each Wednesday, to work on the show. Whittle was "completely gobsmacked" when she won a Feltex Award for Best Actress at the end of the first season. She recalls rushing up on-stage to grab the award. "I thought maybe they've made a mistake."  

A Week of It gave Whittle a high profile, opened doors, and gave her the courage to take on other roles. Whittle had already met future husband, director Bruce Morrison, when they worked together on Castaways of the General Grant, made as part of series Castaways. The 75-minute drama was based on an incident where a group were shipwrecked on the Auckland Islands. The pair later worked together on short fairytale The Sea Child (Whittle co-produced, and composed music). Trainspotters will notice her screaming inside a car in Morrison's third feature, Queen City Rocker.

Over the next few years Whittle concentrated on live theatre, though she found time to star in two noteworthy short films: the surreal, dialogue-lite Blackhearted Barney Blackfoot, and Larry Parr's comic-drama The Makutu on Mrs Jones. Whittle played the title role of a rural mail woman, who refuses to kow-tow to a local tohunga.

In 1984 she made her big screen debut in thriller Trial Run. Born partly from director Melanie Rodriga's desire to "create a non-stereotyped woman's role", the film revolved largely around Whittle. She played a nature photographer living in an isolated cottage, who finds herself stalked by an anonymous figure. During the six week shoot, Whittle only had one day off. Twenty of the 29-strong crew were women. 

Television suddenly remembered who she was, and Whittle returned to comedy on the high-rating Billy T James Show, and (while pregnant) short-lived Tom Scott press gallery series Press for Service. In 1989 she co-starred in miniseries The Shadow Trader. Whittle and Miranda Harcourt played chalk and cheese café-owners, facing off against a scheming property developer who fantasises about wrecking balls. Harcourt would memorably describe their laughter-filled working relationship as "like going to work with a whoopee cushion every day".

Whittle has also been a presenter on a range of programmes, including episodes of the long-running Heartland, and 80s where are they now show Then Again. She has also written and presented for TV3 gardening show The Living Earth, and travel show Holiday.

In 2001, following a brief, unsuccessful flirtation with real estate, Whittle began a four year stint on the "glossy sausage factory" of Shortland Street. She auditioned for a role as the head of the hospital, but ended up playing Chris Warner's bubbly PA Barb Heywood, who battles on despite blindings, a drug-addicted son and a boyfriend  nicknamed ‘Sticky'. Whittle loved the role; its mixture of fragility and fun meant that she could do be doing "something terrible, something funny, something very sad". She was often recognised for the role, but was surprised how often people seemed unable to differentiate between the actor and the role.

Shortly before leaving Shortland, Whittle's agent and mentioned an audition to play Anthony Hopkins' girlfriend. Whittle won the role, and The World's Fastest Indian became one of New Zealand's most successful films. But the keen competition for the role, and lack of work for older women, led to a decision to devote more time to her second job, as a veterinary nurse.

Yet Whittle has refused to throw in the towel. Since Fastest Indian she has starred opposite Kiwi acting legend George Henare in Māori Television comedy Kai Korero, and appeared on episodes of Outrageous Fortune, where her character won the attention of Grandpa West. In 2009 she took a leading role in Fiona Samuel's tele-movie Piece of My Heart, playing a woman dealing with the fallout of having to give up her child as a teenager. She followed it by beginning an ongoing role on Go Girls, as the quirky grandmother of barmaid Britta (Alix Bushnell).

After playing one half of a chalk and cheese rural couple in 2014 short film Ross and Beth, Whittle returned for Bellbird, a full-length feature based on the same story. 

Profile updated on 6 February 2020 

Sources include
'Annie Whittle - Funny As Interview' (Video Interview) NZ On Screen website. Director Rupert Mackenzie. Loaded 19 August 2019. Accessed 6 February 2020
Alistair Bone, 'Annie Whittle' (Interview) - The Listener, 11 June 2005 (Issue 3396), page 12 (broken link)
Kirstie Hamilton, 'A feminist thriller?' (Interview with Melanie Read) - NZ Listener, 6 October 1984, page 23 (broken link)
Roger Horrocks, ‘New Zealand Film Makers at the Auckland City Art Gallery: Bruce Morrison' (Catalogue) 1985
Pauline Swain, 'Back again' (Interview) - The Listener, 23 August 1986, page 26 (broken link)
Diana Wichtel, 'Out of the Shadows' (Interview) - The Listener, 8 July 1989, page 16 (broken link)