Tim Roth in New Zealand filming the local coming-of-age drama Punch, in cinemas today.
How? That's the question I've been wanting to know the answer to ever since I saw the trailer for the new local, coming-of-age drama Punch.
It opens with a stunning vista of a black sand beach, as a young man running along the shoreline stumbles and falls in the crashing tide. Another teen sees him and runs to help while delicate and evocative music stirs gently behind to capture a feeling that's both freeing and claustrophobic as the scene cuts to a later scene of the two discussing life in their small New Zealand town. "This whole town smells like testosterone," one says, as it cuts again to one of the lads, gloved up and circling an opponent in a boxing ring and, wait, is that Tim Roth?
Mr Orange? Pumpkin? Archibald Cunningham?
How? Punch isn't a big-budget film by one of our big-name directors like Taika Waititi or Jane Campion, nor is it packed with the Kiwi A-List like Anna Paquin, Karl Urban or Temuera Morrison. This is a small New Zealand movie by a first-time feature film-maker named Welby Ings that stars a cast of unknowns. Except of course, for Roth.
So the first question I have to ask the Bafta-winning, Academy Award-nominated actor Tim Roth is a simple one; how did he come to star in this movie?
"I always make sure I'm eminently approachable for first-time directors," he replies, speaking with that distinctive speed and cadence so instantly familiar from decades of watching his films. "My agents on both sides of the Atlantic are very, very aware of that and are always - always - on the lookout for that."
While many actors of his standing, stature, fan base and reputation wouldn't dream of scaling down to what is essentially entry-level, for Roth it's something he's incredibly passionate about. And has been throughout his career.
"I've always made sure that if a first-time director sends me something, I read it. I have very much a soft spot for working with brand new film-makers. I'm always intrigued by what their launch is," he explains. "What the story is that they want to tell, that they're placing all their effort, all their time and all their brand new energy into. This was a story that Welby wanted to tell. He's been wanting to make this for 15 years. It was a long time in the making."
It was back when the first surge of the pandemic was infecting the world that Roth got a surprising call from his English agent. At the time there was no vaccine so he'd hunkered down in his bubble and resigned himself to not being able to work for a while.
"We'd been in the bubble because my in-laws are pretty on in years and also had some health issues so we had to be very careful. It was getting healthy food to them and keeping them comfy, that was the life," he says, before gushing, "but you guys were leading the game on it. It was probably the safest place on the planet. I got the call from London saying, 'I've got something for you, I think you're gonna like this, it's shooting over in New Zealand.' I was intrigued. But was also, 'Is it even possible to make a film under these circumstances?' and sure enough, it was."
He read the script and fell in love, describing it now as "a beautiful, incredible story. Very gentle in its heart. It's an unusual film in that respect. It's unique."
In Punch, Roth plays Stan, an alcoholic and the boxing coach of his 17-year-old son Jim who is training for an upcoming big fight that will offer a future out of their small town and into the ranks of the pro circuit. But that chance encounter stumbling on the beach sees Jim befriending Whetu, a gay Māori teen, and sees him rethinking his path and his own sexuality. Newcomers Jordan Oosterhof and Conan Hayes play Jim and Whetu respectively, and Roth is quick to sing their praises.
"They're pretty good aren't they?" he says, sounding every bit the proud father. "Absolutely fantastic."
After telling his agent, "I"m down," for the film, things moved fast.
"Pretty quickly after I'd read it I was on the plane. I'd been living in a bubble and looking after our in-laws so it was quite a shock to be on a plane - with people! - heading to New Zealand."
It was Roth's first trip to Aoteoroa and his welcome was solitary as, like everyone at the time, he was plucked from the plane and whisked straight into a two-week quarantine.
"I actually enjoyed it. I really did," he laughs, recalling his time in an Air Force-run facility. "After getting the okay, I went to a Māori blessing of the film straight from the hotel and then to a meal with the director, the cast and the people that were helping make it. It was very overwhelming. And then we went straight into filming. It was quite beautiful, the experience of getting to the place where we were making it. From my perspective, it was as unique as the film is. I'll never forget it. It was extraordinary."
Punch is a slow-burn movie, beautifully shot and acted and crafted with obvious care and love. It's a moving film, capable of shocks and moments of great violence, but Ings' steady direction and vision have a gentleness and warmth. Sexuality is the main theme but not the only one.
In the characters of Stan and Jim, Punch offers two familiar points of view; the father pushing his hopes and dreams on to his son, and the son struggling to find his own path and identity. While he plays the father, Roth says he identified a little with both.
"More, I suppose Jim, because that's what I had to do. I had to risk it at the very beginning," he says. "I met a very inspiring teacher when I was at school who offered up the notion of me being an actor. He put me in a school play, thought I had something and then said you should do this. I had no idea how to do it! I never studied acting, I just did it. I learned about it on the way, really. That person led me down that path and here I am talking to you. Stan was giving his son all that he knew to give him. But it was for Jim to take that and run with it. When another opportunity presented itself he had to have the guts and bravery to embrace that path and shoot off down it. Likewise, Conan's character, Whetu. In a sense, all three characters have their version of the same thing. It's very interesting in that respect. Lovely story. Beautiful story."
Punch lands in cinemas September 8, but when we talk Roth hadn't yet seen it.
"I've seen the trailer," he laughs, before saying, "I very rarely watch the stuff that I'm in nowadays but I would actually love to see this."
I ask why he doesn't watch his films and he lets out a long, 'Ummm' as he gathers his thoughts.
"I went through a phase of not doing it. I got to that point where after I'd done my job it was for other people to criticise or to view. I took a backseat. It was mine for the time I was working on it but once it was done it wasn't about me, it's about the audience so I stepped back from it," he explains.
Then with a laugh, he adds, "I think it's healthier! I've been acting too long."
"I do break that rule with certain projects," he confesses, citing his work with Michel Franco, the acclaimed Mexican director that he's worked with a number of times as an example, "and Punch will be one of them. Definitely."
He lived here for around six weeks shooting the film and settled into a form of idyllic Kiwi bliss, safe from the ravages of Covid. He lived in a little guest house with a garden and would mosey down to the shops or the little restaurant down the road from where he was staying. "I loved eating there," he smiles.
"It was a nice little life while we were working. I had a lovely time doing it and I loved working with those actors, they're incredible," then with an almost disbelieving chuckle he says, "I got to meet your Prime Minister as well!"
He sounds incredibly chuffed as he proceeds to tell the most Kiwi-as story of how he came to spend the afternoon with Jacinda Ardern.
"I was very impressed with her because of the way she'd handled the Covid situation and I mentioned it on set. The producer said, 'Oh, I know her. Would you like to meet her?' So we went off and got to hang out with her for an afternoon. She was having a barbie for her campaign staff. We met her fella and the baby was running around and all of that. It was very, very nice."
Then he laughs and adds, "Did some selfies."
Taken on a glorious summer's day, the photo, which he posted on his Instagram, sees Roth looking stoked as, his arm around a beaming Ardern.
"It had that otherworldly quality, it was such a strange thing and so delightful," he recalls fondly. "I went to the White House once when Obama was in power, I'd done a film called Selma and Obama invited us all to screen it at the White House. It was very different from when I went to meet with Jacinda Ardern. That was so relaxed and normal and nice."
He starts chuckling again and says, "Okay, let me just say it was very nice behind the scenes with Obama, but with Jacinda it didn't have any of that formality. It was very much in what seems to be her way."
"Yeah," he says with obvious affection at the memory and sounding as if he's recalling a dream. "It was quite something."
THE LOWDOWN
WHO: Acting legend Tim Roth
WHAT: Local coming-of-age drama Punch
WHEN: In cinemas September 8.
Robyn Malcolm's acclaimed TV drama is to air in the UK.