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The Actors
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Andrew Rodoreda (Lucas)
An Australian actor, the lead role in Doves of War is the
largest to date for Andrew Rodoreda.
“On first reading the script I was really drawn to the
character of Lucas, before I even knew I had the part. Lucas is
a pretty complex piece of work, but at the same time he’s an
ordinary man. Within the story he constantly finds himself in
positions where he has to make huge decisions under an intense
amount of pressure. He’s strong, a hero but also a villain. It
was a real treat to play. He’s been in incredible situations,
but is completely human”.
Rodoreda auditioned by sending in a tape to ScreenWorks, then
did another audition for director Chris Bailey in Sydney.
To prepare for the part, Rodoreda researched the Bosnian
conflict. He also met up with a friend who used to fly the SAS
around in Australia, and asked a lot of questions. “After that,
you sort of look into yourself and see the things in you that
match up to your character. Lucas had been through hell, you try
to find your own experiences of hell, and the things that shape
and change you. More than anything, for any artist – you’ve got
to use your imagination. I really enjoyed that process, despite
a few mad moments imagining the dark things.”
“Director Chris Bailey helped guide me to those places. He kept
me on a nice steady line. We had some quick rehearsals, which
was good. I’ve worked quite a lot in theatre, and you don’t get
as much time in TV.”
“I
liked how pivotal my character was to the story, but it was
quite exhausting. I think I only had one mad karaoke night in
Auckland because I was mostly working about 6 days per week for
the two months. But, I just had such a ball! All the people I
worked with were great! I was a bit naïve to how beautiful New
Zealand was as I’d never even been there before! I feel really
blessed to have been paid for working on such a great story set
somewhere so beautiful.”
Rodoreda is a pacifist at heart, but commenting on the scenes
set in the Bosnian conflict he says, “I’m more of a sport head
than a gun head, but I could tell some of the other boys had
fire in their eyes when they were dressed up in camouflage and
firing guns.”
Rodoreda’s previous TV credits include Blue Heelers, Water
Rats and Home and Away. His theatre credits are
extensive and he has had plenty of work in that genre during
2005. When he’s not acting, Rodoreda does care work for
intellectually and physically disabled people, which helps keep
him grounded. In 2006 Rodoreda already has more plays lined up,
taking him until at least the middle of the year.
“It’s wonderful to be able to switch from theatre to TV and in
some respects choose what I want to do.”
“I think Doves of War is streets ahead of anything we’ve
done in Australia lately. In particular my hat goes off to Fred
Renata the cinematographer because the footage I’ve seen looks
amazing.”
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Australian Kate Atkinson has been living and working in the UK
since completing work on Doves of War.
The last part of the TV series was filmed in London, so Kate
decided to stay on afterwards. Through word of mouth, she
auditioned and won a role in the play Serial Killers, by
New Zealander James Griffin. When a London agent came to see the
play, Atkinson caught her attention and is now on the books. She
says, “because of the work I did in that play I got a very good
agent from London to come up and see me. So I got that because
of the Kiwi connection.”
Atkinson was working in Melbourne when she was offered the role
in Doves of War. After several good parts in high profile TV
series’ she felt it was time to test the waters further abroad.
Although Atkinson would love to work in Australia and New
Zealand again, she now plans to stay in the UK for a while.
“I’d been based in Melbourne for 9 years. In Australia my
background had been initially theatre, then I got some guest
roles on TV drama. I was in Seachange on ABC TV, which
was my break, if you like.”
“When I auditioned for the role of Sophie, what I didn’t know at
the time was that they were deciding what nationality she would
be on the spot. They auditioned in NZ, Australia and Britain.
I’ve been lucky enough in my career to land ongoing roles in TV,
and principal cast roles. The job in NZ came up and it was
perfect timing. I had never been to NZ before, but ScreenWorks
were a really warm production company to work for and it was an
entirely positive experience.”
Atkinson did not find it difficult to identify with Sophie. “Her
emotional journey was interesting. She starts off very straight
laced, and takes on an intellectual challenge that becomes an
emotional challenge.”
Doves of War
was a new genre for Atkinson, who had mostly done comedy before.
“Doves of War veers into a political thriller, so it was
a new challenge for me, but I really enjoyed it. I loved working
in New Zealand and the South Island was everything they said it
would be!”
Atkinson featured in the successful Australian film Japanese
Story. Her television credits include Kath & Kim, The
Cooks, SeaChange, Blue Heelers and The Man from Snowy
River.
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Scott Wills (Brad)
Wills is a graduate from the New Zealand Drama School,
Wellington. In 1997 he won the Chapman Tripp Best Male Newcomer
Theatre award for his role as Baby in Jez Butterworths’ Mojo.
He lists his most demanding and memorable theatrical role as the
lead Marc Renton in the national tour of Trainspotting,
the play. For this role he received several outstanding reviews
across NZ print media.
In 1998 Wills produced and acted in The Hole which was
accepted to over fifteen international film festivals, the
pinnacle being selected for official competition at the
prestigious Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival,
France. In 2000 The Hole won Best Film at The Drifting
Clouds NZ Short Film Festival.
Wills wrote and acted in the short film Ouch in 2001,
which similarly gained selection at numerous international film
festivals culminating in him winning Best Actor at the Drifting
Clouds Festival the following year.
In 2000 Wills received two acting nominations in the Nokia NZ
Film Awards. They were for Best Actor in a short film for his
work in Ouch and Best supporting Actor for his role as
Phil Hope in his first feature film, Hopeless, which was
renamed Love Bites and made into a 26 part ½ hr. comedy
series for TV3.
Wills he played Wayne in the award winning NZ film Stickmen
in 2001. This gained him a singled out mention in Screen
International magazine and won him the Nokia NZ Film Awards
trophy for Best Actor against Temuera Morrison (Once were
Warriors, Star Wars, Attack of The Clones) and Karl Urban (Lord
Of The Rings, Bourne Supremacy).
In 2004 Wills completed filming in the NZ/UK Feature Film
Perfect Creature (coming to our screens in 2006) playing one
of the principal cast roles, Detective Jones, alongside Saffron
Burrows (Troy, Circle of Friends) and Dougray Scott (Enigma,
Mission Impossible 2).
When Wills read the script for Doves of War he thought it
was “original, intelligent, mature and dramatic.”
Having worked for ScreenWorks before on the TV series Street
Legal, Wills had an idea of what he was in for. The fast
turn around nature of television meant there was pressure on him
to deliver the complex character of Brad.
Wills prepared for the role by researching the Bosnian war. He
says, “One of the great things about acting is that every time
you do a project you gain a perspective into that story.
Doves of War opened my eyes to the futility faced in
international peace keeping. We as the general public can never
truly appreciate the trauma of those situations.”
“I enjoyed working on the series. ScreenWorks had a lot of
passion and commitment to the project. It’s a six hour mini
series on an international scale, which is a massive task! It’s
very global in its subject matter and its execution. ScreenWorks
are great at making action packed muscular drama though, so
you’re always in for a good ride with those guys.”
“I believe this is the first Kiwi mini series of this length on
New Zealand TV. It’s an exciting new genre for NZ television and
a large step for everyone involved. My hat goes off to the
production company for not backing down from what they knew was
a gritty and violent story. They kept their integrity and didn’t
water it down.”
Wills was the winner of the 2001 Nokia New Zealand Film Award
for Best Actor (Stickmen). His film credits include
Perfect Creature, Boogeyman, Stickmen and Hopeless.
Television roles include parts in Mataku, Mercy Peak, Street
Legal, Duggan, Love Bites, Shortland Street, Marlin Bay and
Interrogation.
Wills’ theatre credits include Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,
Howie the Rookie, The Shape of Things, Ranterstantrum, Beautiful
Losers, Trainspotting, Abducting Diana, The Lead Wait and
Mojo.
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“Playing Joe was my first major TV role for a while so I was
somewhat nervous at the beginning. But once I got into it, it
was fine. There were some monologues that were a real gift.”
“It would have been easy to make Joe an aggressive character,
but the writer made him more interesting and layered. I had a
lot of fun playing Joe. There seemed a lot more depth in this
character that a lot of other characters’ I’ve played.”
“I hadn’t met the ScreenWorks team before, but it was refreshing
to work with such normal blokes. It’s also nice working for a
production company that know what they want. They shoot very
fast and I like working that way. Shortland Street taught
me to act with little preparation and now I prefer it that way.
If I don’t rehearse too much it stays fresh.”
“The soldier part of Doves of War was great fun, though
the actual event that takes place was pretty disturbing.
Dressing up in army gear and going into caves shooting guns has
to be every male actor’s dream. I didn’t think I’d get an
opportunity to play a role like that, so I was glad I did.”
“I think Greg McGee knows how to write men’s parts for men,
which was refreshing. I think women will like it too though
because it’s a good drama.”
“Since filming this year, I had a part in Orange Roughies
for ScreenWorks, where I played an even more hard line
character. The other thing I’ve been doing this year is So
You Wanna be a Popstar. I also work at The Auckland
University Law School, looking after Maori law students, and
next year I’ll be tutoring too. This year has been great; I’ve
managed to fit it all in thanks to the flexibility of the Law
School and ScreenWorks.”
Blair Strang’s TV credits include a core cast role (Rangi) for
several years on Shortland Street, Orange Roughies,
Interrogation and Mataku. He also has numerous
theatre credits including the highly successful show Ladies
Night.
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“When
I read the Doves of War audition scene, I thought it was
really nicely written. It had layers; it had baggage and weight,
which is a gift and a joy for an actor. When I got the stack of
scripts I slumped in a bean bag in the sun and read them from
start to finish. I just wanted to pick up the next and read it.”
After working in the Sates for 4 years in Portland Oregon,
Szusterman returned to NZ and started working with kids, which
is his main joy.
Szusterman is also directing a show, writing a TV series, and a
theatre piece. He has diverse skills, but feels he has to,
because it’s difficult to make a living in NZ just as an actor.
“I’m not interested in the traditional path of trying to make it
in the States, partly because we’ve already been there. Acting
isn’t about money for me. It’s about doing what you love.”
“Working for ScreenWorks was fast. The crew were all very nice
and the producer, writer and director. It was especially nice to
meet Greg because I love his play Foreskin’s Lament. The
space, time and sensitivity that they gave to the call back
audition were great for me, and Irene Drake who did the casting
did a great job. The production team gave us room as actors,
which was important because it was a character driven piece.”
Since Doves of War Szusterman has worked on
Interrogation, the theatre show Suddenly Last Summer
at the Silo theatre and has just finished Talley’s Folley
by Landford Wilson – an American play, which he did with his
wife. They produced it together in conjunction with Limelight
Theatre as a fund and profile raiser for Still Water Rising – a
mentoring program for kids at risk. He and his wife have been
running this program for 3 years.
“I feel quite fortunate to have been part of Doves of War.”
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Robbie
Magasiva (Xavier)
“For
me this project happened all at once. I found out I had the role
and the shoot was about a week or so later, so it was straight
into costume fittings, and the like.”
“Xavier was a complex character because of the event in Bosnia.
When we shot the big dramatic scene, I felt the horror and shock
of it. I think what happened totally affected those soldiers’
lives from then on.”
“War is something I usually have no interest in, but playing
this role made me think about war more than I had before. About
being in a situation where you can see what’s happening but not
do anything about it. I can’t comment on what it’s like in real
life, but can imagine it would be horrible.”
“I did get to live a childhood dream of being in soldier’s
uniform with a gun though! Doing those scenes brought back
childhood memories of playing with sticks, hiding and
camouflaging ourselves.
“I worked most closely on set with the lead Andrew Rodoreda. I
hadn’t met him before, but I felt like we had a good on-screen
relationship – even though he’s Australian.”
Magasiva particularly enjoyed working with ScreenWorks whom he
had worked for previously on Skin & Bone. Since this
series was shot Magasiva has worked on the Kiwi film Sione’s
Wedding, and another war program for gay cable TV in the US
called Airforce 2 Down. “It was very very funny! My first
experience working with American actors - they’re a weird
species, but the show was great fun!” Other than that Magasiva
has been playing golf, exercising, being a house-boyfriend and a
father.
“I think Doves of War has an international flavour that
will serve it well. After ScreenWorks’ previous success with
Street Legal, this will go off with a roar.”
Magasiva is most recognised for his role in the TV series The
Strip. His other TV credits include Skin & Bone, Mataku,
Power Rangers and Jackson’s Wharf. Films include
Sione’s Wedding and Perfect Creature. Magasiva has
had a wide range of theatre roles including Ladies Night,
the comedy group The Naked Samoans, and the dance group
Black Grace.
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Nick
Kemplen (Danny)
Danny was the most intense role I’ve ever taken on. As much as I
love acting, turning up on a shoot day and going to such a dark,
traumatic place is not pleasant. There are some heavy emotions
to portray so a lot of preparation went into it for me. I
watched some movies based on the Bosnian war, which helped me
put myself in that zone and get a feel for what it might have
been like, since that is so far from my own experience. I worked
with a friend who’s an actor on the script, which really helped.
Otherwise I may not have been able to go to that place on the
day.”
Kemplen did some rehearsing with lead actor Andrew Rodoreda,
which helped ready him for the fest turn around times of
shooting television. He has previously worked with director
Chris Bailey on Street Legal so was used to his style and
not unfamiliar with TV drama.
“The soldier part was fun, because it was all seven of us. We
had soldier training at a warehouse in Henderson and learnt how
to hold the guns and fire them and how to make it look real in
terms of technique. For me, there didn’t turn out to be a lot of
shooting involved, though some of the other actors were shooting
a lot.
“On Street Legal I had smallish parts in a couple of
different episodes. Recently I did the first series of Orange
Roughies. My role in that is very light and humorous. It was
quite a turn around from Doves of War."
Kemplen also spent some of 2005 putting together a comedy pilot
for TV2’s comedy initiative, and is in negotiations with TVNZ to
get a comedy series together. Comedy being where he feels his
strength as an actor lies. “It’s good to be challenged like I
was with the Doves of War role though.”
Kemplen has mostly worked in television; his key roles have been
for Orange Roughies, Street Legal, Xena Warrior Princess
and the lead in Young Hercules.
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Henry Mackenzie has played a lot of disturbed characters. As a
role play specialist he plays mentally ill patients for Auckland
University medical students. “In the same way as regular acting
you’re given a past which affects your present.”
For this role, Mackenzie had to place the visions of what
happened in Bosnia at the forefront of his mind whenever his
character was confronted with tension. “Playing traumatic roles
is demanding. The internal monologue is challenging to have in
your head. It’s not particularly pleasant to play, but I tend to
get troubled roles.”
Mackenzie has worked with ScreenWorks before on Street Legal
and this experience made it easier to cope with the fast turn
around of TV.
The script for Doves of War is great. For my character I
felt that it allowed me to develop – because Simon is
continually caught. The writing allowed me to grow and evolve
comfortably.
Mackenzie’s credits include The Lunatic’s Ball, Lawless,
Street Legal, Shortland Street, Mercy Peak and various
theatre shows. He also teaches drama to children.
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Sarah
McLeod (Grace)
Best known for the part of Rosie Cotton in The Lord of the
Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the
King, Sarah McLeod immersed herself in the dramatic and
emotional role of Grace.
About getting the role of Grace, McLeod says, “the audition was
slightly different to normal n that we were given a key piece of
information as soon as we walked into the audition room. It was
something that affected me straight away and I felt I connected
emotionally with Grace at that moment. As an actor I like the
really emotional roles like this.”
“The scripts for Doves of War were great. They gave us
as actors a lot to work with. I felt that even the secondary
characters all had substance and a lot going on individually as
well as just supporting the main characters.
McLeod had previously worked with the production company
ScreenWorks on Skin & Bone along with some of the other
cast members.
“I’ve had a really good year this year, with quite a lot of
acting work. It sounds like next year there are lots of projects
happening in Auckland too.”
As well as a busy acting career, McLeod is mum to two energetic
children. “Career wise I like the fact I have a family as well,
as it gives me balance. I play the mum a lot these days, which
suits me fine.”
“I think Doves of War is going to be a really good drama
– raw and gripping. While making the series, you really got a
sense that everyone cared about the project. It was great being
able to sit down at lunch with the writer Greg McGee and have
conversations about the character, and you always felt you could
pop in and have a cup of tea with all the production team.”
McLeod’s
past work includes the part of Rosie Cotton in The Lord of
the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring and Return of the
King, for which she still receives fan mail. She has
extensive acting experience, including roles in Skin & Bone,
Forgotten Silver, and Shortland Street.
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Marissa Stott (Fiona)
A regular
on Kiwi screens of late, Marissa played the intellectually
handicapped Amanda on Shortalnd Street. “Amanda is the
antithesis of Fiona, who is full of life and youth.”
When Stott
read the scripts she was excited to be involved in such a good
project. Initially she had happened upon the character of Fiona
when helping a friend audition. “When I was reading her lines it
just clicked with me. I could feel the rythym of her character.
I certainly had an affinity for her, so I rang my agent to ask
specifically about Fiona.”
“I had
never worked with ScreenWorks before, but I have been working on
Shortland Street this year. My acting experience is
pretty spread between TV, Film and Theatre, but my last two
films were Toy Love and Orphans and Angels.
Preparing
for the role of Fiona, Stott wrote back story, to get into the
mind of a writer. “There was a lot of fear in the text, but I
played against that grain and toyed with Fiona’s sexually
manipulative side.”
“I like the
look of what I have seen of Doves of War so far. It looks
fresh and intelligent.”
Stott’s
credits include Shortland Street, Secret Agent Men, Blood
Crime, Orphans & Angels, and Toy Love.
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Tandi Wright (Rowan)
Tandi
Wright auditioned for a different role initially, but then
enjoyed the challenge of playing Rowan, who was so different
from herself.
“Rowan was new territory for me, and it’s always a joy to play
someone different from you. I had quite a lot of empathy for
her, caught as she is between her ex-husband and her new
husband. She’s also a very reserved person, but she wasn’t one
dimensional, which is great because she’s not the largest role.”
Wright had worked with ScreenWorks before so it was a very
comfortable experience. Doves of War is quite different
subject matter from Street Legal though. “I’m quite lucky
because I get diverse roles. There’s a real luxury to it.”
“2005 has been a great year, I’ve been really busy. I did a
play at Downstage called Boston Marriage by David Mamot
who’s a beautiful writer. That play went for three weeks, and
then I did a lovely TV series called The Lost Children.
That was a children’s series set in the 1870s. I had a great
time on that because I love period pieces. I played a mother who
gets separated from her kids, trailing through the NZ bush in
completely inappropriate attire.”
“I’ve just wrapped another series of Seven Periods with Mr
Gormsby. I love making comedy because you always end up
laughing all day at work!”
Wright’s acting experience is extensive. Her major credits
include Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby, Serial Killers, Mercy
Peak, Street Legal, Maddigan’s Fantasia, Xena Warrior Princess
and Shortland Street.
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Gregor
McLennan (Sonny)
Gregor McLennan worked on two and a half series’ of Street
Legal, which he says was a great apprenticeship, learning
the nuts and bolts of acting. “Working with the same crew again
allowed me to relax as an actor, and ScreenWorks’ projects are
always a nice environment to work in.
“I actually auditioned for the role of Michael, but was
recalled back and read for Sonny. I was intrigued by both roles,
but Sonny appealed to me because he was more volatile, which was
something I hadn’t played before.”
“As part of my research I read up on library books about the
Bosnian conflict, which was something I was already interested
in. Escape from Bosnia was a great personal story that
gave me an insight into that part of history.”
“I have always been interested in war history, so Doves of
War was especially interesting for me in that respect. I had
a real interest in and connection with the story, and the
research also really helped me understand what was going on.”
Before the shoot, McLennan hung out with Jeff Szusterman, who
plays his on-screen brother, to help develop a brotherly bond.
“We talked about the characters and what we could do. Jeff was
really forthcoming and useful.”
McLennan had to use his imagination a lot to put himself into
this character’s head. “Obviously I hadn’t experienced anything
like what Sonny had, so I did a lot of research, and just tried
to be sensitive to what those people went through.”
The character McLennan plays in Doves of War was
different from the straight laced cop of Street Legal.
“It was important for me to step away from Detective Mike
Butterworth. Sonny is a dynamic character and one I relished.
Plus I got to grow some facial hair, which I enjoyed!”
McLennan is currently doing theatre in Wellington, with a play
called Dinner by Moira Buffini. He was involved in
several comedy pilots in 2005, as part of the TVNZ comedy
initiative project. He also did an advertising campaign in
Dunedin, where he met his new wife – May-ana Tirikatene-Sullivan.
McLennan also ventured to the US for an acting course and scoped
out the market over there in case he ever wants to work there.
The majority of McLennan’s experience has been in television,
with the largest, a recurring role in Street Legal –
series 2, 3 and 4 as Detective Mike Butterworth. McLennan has
also appeared in Hercules, Shortland Street, various
theatre shows, and films such as Ike, Big Time Love, and
Red Head ‘Lucy’.
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FULL
CAST LIST:
Role
Actor
Lucas
Andy Rodoreda
Sophie
Kate Atkinson
Brad
Scott Wills
Joe
Blair Strang
Michael
Jeff Szusterman
Xavier
Robbie Magasiva
Danny
Nick Kemplen
Simon
Henry Mackenzie
Rosa
Ginette McDonald
Grace
Sarah McLeod
Fiona
Marissa Stott
Kylie
Charmaine Guest
Rowan
Tandi Wright
Sonny
Gregor McLennan
Jools
Kama Brown
Gibbon
Nathaniel Lees
DS Parker Andrew Robert
DS Grant
Darren Young
Ray Kissel
Stephen Hall
Roly
Greg Johnson
Anna
Laura Hutton
Jamie
Ethan
Renata
Luke
Julius
Barrington
Army Base Barman
Mike Oldershaw
Ophir Pub Barman Ben Brown
Queenstown Receptionist Ascia Maybury
UK
News Editor Raymond Trickitt
Major Sowden
Paul Norell
Major Leonard
Peter Feeny
Reverend Stephen Papps
Leo
Ian Hughes
TV3 Newsreader
Alistair Wilkinson
Overseas Newsreader
Alison Hofer
Hague Reporter Jacque Drew
Clare
Irene Drake
Airport Policeman
Mark Harlen
Taxi Driver
Edith Thompson
Queenstown Policewoman
Brooke Petersen
Prison Warden
Patrick Kuhtze
Serb Sergeant
Jarrod Martin
Soldier #1
Nicholas Kovacevich
Soldier #2
Cameron Smith
Serbian Soldier Rob Kennedy
Serbian Soldier Paul Martin
Serbian Soldier Roberto Lucas Mendes
Serbian Soldier Raoul Cotter
Serbian Soldier Aleksandar Ristov
Serbian Soldier David Azoulay
Serbian Soldier Aleksandar Janev
Serbian Soldier Wayne Gordon
Serbian Soldier Michael Box
Serbian Little Boy Avdo Mandal
Serbian Little Girl Aida Ibrahimbegov
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