Giant step as Katikati 12-year-old Riley Warren shines in TV ad role

Twelve-year-old Riley Warren is dwarfed by the monster in the Westpac TV ad. Photo / FINCH wwwfinchcompany.com

Riley Warren is passionate about acting and made her debut on national television starring as the main character Maisie - a tiny girl with a large mythical character - in the new Westpac bank Together Greater campaign.

The 12-year-old from Aongatete says being on set to create the video was amazing, it was like being in a whole different world.

Seeing herself on TV for the first time, "it seemed like a dream, and having her friends sending videos of them watching it".

Proud mum Sara Elliott-Warren says, "As a parent having your kid turn up on TV is next level amazing!"

Husband Ben is as proud as she is.

Riley has really natural acting talent, but also took direction well and coped with the long, cold filming days, says Westpac NZ's chief marketing officer Suraiya Phillimore-Smith.

"It's important to Westpac to support the awesome local talent we have in Aotearoa New Zealand, so we were thrilled when Riley came up on the casting tapes for our TV ad, and surprised to find out this was her first real acting gig."

Riley's been keen on acting for years. When she was 4 she started ballet and moved into musical theatre, and then realised dance was not for her.

"Pure acting was her thing."

A student at Otumoetai Intermediate, Riley has been involved with the school's performing arts academy and for the last three years has been learning drama for film and television through the Tauranga-based BOP Actors Studio.

She has been attending classes there with founder Tanya Horo since it first opened. The school provides a programme of specialised skills and technique workshops to help actors develop their craft.

Riley Warren enjoys cosplay (dressing up as a character) and does all her own makeup.

Riley joined a talent agency, Jam Talent, based in Auckland about three years ago and has had a good number of auditions in Auckland.

"We've had a couple of callbacks for second auditions. Riley did get a job for a specific extra role, in a movie, The Power of the Dog.

"We were driving to Auckland for that the day we went into lockdown last year, sadly her role wasn't used when filming restarted post lockdown."

When they got the brief for the Westpac ad earlier this year it was almost like it was written for Riley, says Sara.

"The character Maisie is a small 12-year-old, she has a big brother that teases her and she comes from a small town, all the things in the brief.

"I knew we had to go to this audition. This is Riley, it's like the stars aligned."

Riley had a great audition in Auckland then had to wait to hear if she had got through to the next level.

"We got the call Riley was at the second audition stage. They gave us dates for filming and I could actually do those dates.

"When you own your own business sometimes committing to dates is impossible."

When attending the second audition, Sara says the casting director was there.

"He said she was fabulous but he wouldn't be making a decision for weeks. I heard two days later he was down to the last two kids. He had seen her and found the right kid."

Filming for the Westpac campaign was in May near Queenstown in the South Island. Sara says they had the "best week".

"We stayed at the Glenorchy Hotel and were out the door from 7am-5.30pm working in Paradise sometimes in 3-4 degrees. Riley never complained about being cold or tired. She'd jump up with a smile on her face, and say, 'what's next'.

"I noticed how easy it was for her … she didn't act."

Being on a working set Riley learned so much and got to sit in the director's chair.

A few weeks ago, with the ad almost ready to be released Riley got the call-up and was asked to do an internal video interviewing the acting CEO of Westpac, Simon Power, around the campaign.

"I'm a worrier but when she gets in there and sits with Simon, the cameras go on and she turns into this completely different person.

"That is where I realised how far she'd come as an actress."

The Westpac ads are Riley's first proper job. Being Maisie, it's all her, and she is very lucky with that, Sara says.

"The dream is if this ad goes well they may look at this to be a continuing relationship."

Riley says her favourite actress is Millie Bobby Brown. Her goal is to be a millionaire, living in a mansion and be a famous actress.