The new Australian series Plum will feature Flight of the Conchords’ star Jemaine Clement. Photo / Getty Images
The new Australian series Plum will feature Flight of the Conchords’ star Jemaine Clement. Photo / Getty Images
Powerful new Australian series Plum questions the lasting head trauma experienced in the NRL, and it stars a lineup of Kiwi talent, including Jemaine Clement, John Tui and María Dupláa. Meanwhile, other stars with New Zealand connections are making moves.
Three Kiwi actors will appear in a powerful new Australian series Plum, which shines a light on the brain trauma caused by knocks a former NRL player took on the field — a tale which will resonate on both sides of the Tasman.
Jemaine Clement, John Tui and María Dupláa are all starring alongside Aussies Asher Keddie and actor and writer Brendan Cowell in the series, which has been filming in New South Wales and is understood to wrap filming soon.
The six-part series is based on Cowell’s book of the same name about Peter “The Plum” Lum (who Cowell plays in the show), a 49-year-old ex-star NRL player living with his son and girlfriend Charmaine (Dupláa) in Cronulla. Plum is living a pretty cruisy life until one day he suffers an epileptic fit and discovers that he has a brain disorder as a result of the thousand-odd head knocks he took on the footy field in his 20-year career. It’s set to be an important show, with high-calibre local talent.
María Dupláa plays Peter Lum's girlfriend in the series. Photo / Gail Cowan Management
Argentinian-born, New Zealand-based Dupláa is on Kiwi screens at the moment as Candy in Sky NZ Originals Dark City: The Cleanerand audiences will also know her from roles on Shortland Street and The Brokenwood Mysteries.
Keddie, who starred in Nine Perfect Strangers, is one of Australia’s biggest acting talents and plays Plum’s ex-wife and mother of his child.
How Flight of the Conchords’ star Clement and The Legend of Baron To’a star Tui fit into the series is still under wraps, although with Plum’s new diagnosis, he would sooner hide, run and head to the pub for drinks with the boys than face up to things, so they may appear there.
How John Tui fits into the series is still under wraps. Photo / Supplied
Clement is having a massive year. Not only does he have his character Dr Garvin appearing in the Avatar 3, 4 and 5 movies, but he is also understood to have recently been filming Andrew Niccol’s I, Object in Wellington.
Minecraft co-star, Emma Myers (from Netflix’s Wednesday) was out seeing the sights of the Tongariro Crossing last weekend, sharing pictures with her 11 million Instagram followers. ”Climbed Mount Doom. Ran into one orc on the way, but don’t worry, I dealt with him pretty fast,” wrote Myers.
Last week Black was at the premiere of his movie Kung Fu Panda 4. At the Oscars this week, Brookes looked radiant as a nominee for best supporting actress for The Color Purple, while McKinnon presented an award alongside Barbie co-star America Ferrera. Afterwards, Brookes, McKinnon and Coolidge were all at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, as were our own Melanie Lynskey and Thomasin McKenzie.
As an aside, our own Sam Neill posed up with his former Peaky Blinders’ co-star and this year’s best actor winner, Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy. “OSCAR! Here’s me pal #CillianMurphy the next day with the Gold Fella, and me. I could not be more thrilled, as you see. So well deserved. We had a great catch up. And a Bloody Mary. Or Two. What an actor, what a performance and what a movie,” Neill wrote on Instagram.
Perhaps Queenstown-based Neill was giving Murphy advice on his home turf. Murphy’s son, Aran, has been reported to be starring in Taika Waititi’s new movie, Klara and the Sun, which is said to soon be filming in Queenstown and Auckland.
