Michael Galvin

When actor and playwright Michael Galvin came face to face with his hero — British actor John Hurt — on the set of 1997 movie The Climb, his mouth raced ahead of his brain.

"I used to have a picture of him pinned up in my locker at drama school. He walks in, says hello, and I hear myself say ‘I had a drama of you in my picture locker at school'. I was so flustered". The British veteran accepted Galvin’s mangled compliment, setting him at ease, no big ego on display.

Galvin absorbed the lesson. The actor and playwright has played Doctor Chris Warner on Shortland Street for the best part of 30 years. Warner is the longest-serving character on New Zealand’s longest-running soap opera. He’s become a Kiwi TV legend, but Galvin avoids thinking of his long tenure that way. He's as devoted to building an enjoyable working environment as he is to nailing the long list of scenes on the shot list.

Galvin was born in London. His dad Bernie was an economist who worked at Treasury, a lifelong civil servant, and his mum Beverly a senior social work trainer. Galvin ‘loved’ school in Johnsonville, Wellington. Ann Fox, the music teacher at Raroa Normal Intermediate, was inspirational, and it was at Raroa that Galvin got the performance bug, nabbing the lead role in a production of Oliver!  

By comparison, St Patrick's College in town was "miserable". Most of the students hailed from Catholic primaries, leaving Galvin the outsider. Galvin leaned into his love for performing, took up debating, and acted in the (winning) O’Shea Shield drama team.

At Victoria University, Galvin enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, with some theatre papers on the side. Failing his first drama school audition, he took a civil service job and marked time till his next, successful attempt. When Galvin graduated from Toi Whakaari he hit a hot streak, nabbing the role of Phil Everly in Ken Duncum’s hit play Blue Sky Boys, a musical drama about a fictional Kiwi gig by The Everly Brothers.

The season sold out and the play moved from Wellington's tiny BATS Theatre to the St James. The play cemented Galvin’s friendship with co-star Tim Balme. "Tim’s a great guitarist, I’m not — I knew about four or five chords, which was enough for the Every Brothers songs." The pair were soon reunited after both won roles as fledgling male strippers and toured another hit play, Ladies Night.

In 1990 Galvin and Balme played young petrolheads in this episode of police drama Shark in the Park (later, Balme joined the Shortland Street cast as ‘bad boy’ drug dealer Greg Feeney).

Galvin’s very first screen credit was actually quirky short film Revenge of the Word Processors (1989), made by future Weta effects whizz George Port. Galvin played a man battling creatures from a video game.

In this 2017 video interview, Galvin credits a hangover for helping him nab his career-changing role of  ‘Dr. Love’, Chris Warner. "It killed all the nerves and gave me…just the right amount of energy." Auditionees for the new weekday soap were sent six scenes to memorise, an indication of the heavy workload ahead. There was a heady mix of nerves and excitement in the original cast before the soap debuted in May 1992.

Dr. Chris Warner’s introductory scene entered Kiwi TV’s Hall of Fame; a lunchtime tryst with an aerobics instructor (played by Suzy Aiken). But it took the Kiwi audience a good year to fully warm to the soap. "We all thought it was terrific and wonderful and we were getting all this terrific feedback… we went to air and we got slammed". By 1993 the numbers had ticked up, and stayed up. In 2022 Shortland Street celebrated its 30th year in production. It has become a cultural institution.

Playing a core character on Shortland Street requires a solid skill set. "You have to be very moment focussed and live in a two week window. It’s very intense, you’re dealing with one scene after another. It’s nice too when the past comes back to haunt you...for example Chris meeting his triplets for the first time." 

Galvin left the soap in 1996. In an interview that year with actor Peter Feeney, he admitted that "after four years on Shortland Street there was so much of me in Dr Warner I wasn't sure where he ended and I began". 

Work offers came quickly. Galvin played Jeremy, a slick advertising man in 1997 telemovie Highwater, joined Tim Balme for an episode of Cover Story and played a small role as a priest in award-winning John Hurt movie The Climb. Galvin and his partner travelled to Sydney and London, but there his run ended.

"It was frustrating…I felt if I could get into the audition room, I could get the job. London isn’t set up for outsiders the way LA is. It’s still impossible to get work in LA, but at least it is set up for people to come and give it a go. In London, they are not really interested."

Galvin returned to New Zealand in time for Shortland's 2000 season finale — Doctor Chris Warner was back in Ferndale. Fans were delighted, but Galvin felt torn. In 2022 Galvin told Stuff how he worried that "everyone would be judging me. But nobody cares. Nobody is interested in you".

Across 30 plus years Chris Warner has dealt with a long list of (often) traumatising events. Some high — and low — lights include the infamous musical episode where Galvin performed a rap (“very painful"). It aired on September 12, 2001, so was completely overshadowed by global strife. Chris Warner has been married five times, is a father to six children and grandfather of one. He has been imprisoned, overcome leukemia, been a CEO, had suicidal moments, and survived explosions and volcanic eruptions. Galvin views Chris Warner in middle age as a mellowed father figure, keen to offer advice to younger generations.

In 2017, a moment between Chris Warner and his son Harry went viral. When Galvin uttered the line "tell me that isn’t your penis", Ferndale enjoyed a global moment. Galvin had the surreal experience of watching Americans Alec Baldwin and Jimmy Kimmel recreate the scene in front of millions. Galvin later told The Spinoff he still couldn’t get his head around it. "It was too incongruous …I thought Alec Baldwin did a really interesting filmic performance of Chris Warner. My daughter watched both and she said 'oh you were better Dad, you had more expression'. I’ll take that win." Galvin writes about penis infamy here.

Although show producers and writers sometimes ask him about potential plot ideas, Galvin doesn’t project his wishes onto his character. "Early on I gave up any expectations or thoughts of what Chris can do or should do. I try not to think of him in that way. I try to just appreciate it and leave it in the writers hands."

Galvin’s respect for writers is personal. In his downtime he has written seven plays, including Station to Station, The Ocean Star and New Gold Dream. In 2007  he won New Zealand's most significant award for theatrewriting, the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award. Pop music, spiritual hunger and the desire for artistic recognition are frequent themes in his stage work.

Galvin finds ways to keep the magic of being Chris Warner alive. "Chris has existed for 30 years and the writers keep coming up with new stuff. My job is to ‘keep saying yes’ to each new thing."

Shortland Street is also known for its cliffhangers, special episodes and special guests, all of which keep things fresh. In 2021 Galvin appeared in full drag in an episode involving a staff fundraiser for Ferndale’s LBTQ+ centre; he spent three hours in make-up to become ‘Dr Crystal Love’, an experience he found exhilarating. In 2013’s Christmas episode Galvin showed his musical skills when his character serenaded co-stars on a guitar to 'Anchor Me'.

Galvin’s seventh play Mannbannd opened at Palmerston North’s Centrepoint Theatre in late 2023. A musical comedy about a middle-aged songwriter resurrecting his old boy band, it starred Shortland Streeter Blair Strang. Galvin's aim was to write a play that had "a positive message about leading a hopeful and happy life".

Written by Gabe McDonnell; long profile published on 20 December 2023  

Sources include
Michael Galvin
'Michael Galvin: Shortland Street's Dr Love' (Video interview) NZ On Screen website Director Andrew Whiteside. Loaded 22 May 2012. Accessed 20 December 2023
Alex Casey, 'The oral history of 'please tell me that is not your penis' (Interview) The Spinoff website. Loaded 13 February 2022. Accessed 20 December 2023
Peter Feeney, 'Peter Feeney on Michael Galvin' (Interview) - Quote Unquote, December 1996 
Kerry Harvey, 'Shortland Street's Michael Galvin recalls his famous moments from the show' (Interview) Stuff website. Loaded 22 May 2019. Accessed 20 December 2023
Steve Kilgallon, 'The serious doctor: the serenity of the real 'Chris Warner' (Interview) - Sunday, 24 April 2022 
'Fast Favourites: Michael Galvin aka Dr Chris Warner shares on boy bands' (Radio interview) Radio New Zealand website. Loaded 22 October 2023.Accessed 20 December 2023
'Michael Galvin', Playmarket website. Accessed 20 December 2023
Unknown writer, 'Shortland Street heart-throbs reunite on stage for boy band comedy' - The Manawatū Standard, 19 October 2023