Shortland Street has been a launching pad for many of New Zealand's most successful actors
Shortland Street has been a launching pad for many of New Zealand's most successful actors
Former Shortland Street star KJ Apa is being hailed as "the next Tom Cruise" by Hollywood execs. But he's not the first Shorty star to crack Hollywood.
Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson played student Stuart Neilson in Shortland Street.
Before he joined the mile-high club with Britney , Martin Henderson made a name for himself on our small screens playing original Shorty Street teenager Stuart Neilson from 1992 to 1995. He moved to the States in 97 to try to make it big in Hollywood - but had more than a year's worth of unsuccessful auditions, before finally scoring a supporting role in John Woo's Windtalkers.
Then he got his break starring opposite Naomi Watts in the horror film The Ring, the success of which helped him win the role of Drew in Perfect Opposites. He's since appeared in Bride and Prejudice, Torque and Little Fish. And despite being cast as the new McDreamy in Grey's Anatomy, we'd still argue that his greatest role ever was as a sleazy pilot in that Toxic video with Britney Spears.
Karl Urban (R) as Jaime Forrest on Shortland St, with Frank Tautali.
Perhaps Shortland Street's most famous export, Karl Urban played paramedic Jamie Forrest, the soap's first openly gay character. His first Hollywood role was the rather terrible 2002 horror Ghost Ship, but he scored significantly higher profile films after that. As well appearing in the second and third Lord of the Rings movies, he's played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek and its sequel Star Trek into Darkness and also starred as Judge Dredd in 2012's Dredd.
Marton Csokas
Marton Csokas as Leonard Dodds on his wedding day with Gina Rossi (Jo Davison)
He's come a long way from his role as eccentric doctor Leonard Rossi-Dodds on the Street - after following the usual Kiwi acting stepping stones through Xena and Hercules, he appeared in many New Zealand and Australian productions before making it big in Hollywood.
Csokas has featured in big budget productions like The Bourne Supremacy, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. He recently starred alongside Denzel Washington in the hit film The Equalizer, playing a fixer for the Russian mafia.
Rose McIver
Rose McIver has hit it big in Hollywood but began her career as a toddler on Shortland Street
At only 26, Rose McIver has a pretty impressive resume for someone so young - but let's not forget her humble beginnings as a child actor playing Holly on Shortland Street.
After a few stints on local productions Hercules, Xena and Maddigan's Quest, McIver landed a major role in Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lovely Bones. She's currently starring in the US comedy-drama series iZombie.
It's hard to say if Tem Morrison is better know as Jake the Muss in Once Were Warriors ... or as Dr Hone Ropata on Shortland Street. The recipient of that iconic line in the first episode, "You're not in Guatemala now Dr. Ropata", he remained on the long-running soap for three years then returned in 2008 for a six-week stint. After landing the role of Jango Fett in the Star Wars prequel Attack of the Clones, Morrison became the prototype for all clone troopers in the franchise.
However, his 2013 reality series The Life and Times of Temuera Morrison saw him struggling to land Hollywood roles, as he toured the sci fi convention circuit.
