Taranaki actor Fern Sutherland. Photo / Dean Purcell
Taranaki actor Fern Sutherland. Photo / Dean Purcell
She may be one of the most recognisable actors on New Zealand TV, but Fern Sutherland isn’t immune from stage fright.
The tenth season of local detective drama The Brokenwood Mysteries, in which the Taranaki actor stars as the competent and cocksure Detective Kristin Sims, came to a close a week ago.
But while on-screen she oozes self-assurance, Sutherland says in reality, it took her a long time to overcome the pressure that comes with performing.
“I would get the yips. I’d get nervous about something and then I’d make a mistake and then I would make this mistake continually,” she told Newstalk ZB’s Real Life with John Cowan on Sunday night.
“It still happens on set sometimes where if I fluff a line, and then I get in my head about it because I’m like, ‘oh, I’m not getting this word out properly’, and then it becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“I really have to give myself a moment and go ‘just breathe, don’t make it about you, it’s about the work, this is fun, you like this, everything’s fine’. It’s a real ‘talk yourself off the ledge’ moment.”
Sutherland says even though she hates high-pressure situations, she’s drawn to them.
That’s partly why she finds such solace in the martial art Muay Thai, which she spends months training in during regular trips to Thailand. The South-East Asian nation has become something of a second home.
“I find my own feelings deeply uncomfortable,” she told Real Life.
“Fear, loneliness, any uncomfortable feeling, my tendency is to not want to engage with it and numb myself or find crutches to take the edge off and give me a bit of dopamine. Weirdly, I much prefer experiencing physical pain than emotional pain.”
Fern Sutherland has built a loyal following for her depiction of character Kristin Sims. Photo / South Pacific Pictures.
Sutherland has played the role of Detective Sims on The Brokenwood Mysteries since its first episode in 2014. She’s “so very grateful” to have a consistent acting gig, particularly given the challenging environment for the arts and media more generally.
Audiences have taken well to the two-hour murder mystery show, which has scooped numerous awards and now screens in more than 100 countries, for its distinctly lo-fi Kiwi feel, twisty plots and countryside setting.
Sutherland is still “continually surprised and delighted” by the sheer number of people who have fallen in love with the show over the decade it’s been on air.
Despite each episode clocking in at a movie length of about 90 minutes not including ads, filming is achieved within three weeks rather than the months it takes for most features of this length.
“We pump out a lot of content in a short amount of time with not a lot of money, and I’m really proud of what comes out at the end of that – the finished product is something we’re all really proud of,” Sutherland said.
The Brokenwood Mysteries has been praised for its realism around police procedure.
“It’s maybe not as sexy and sophisticated as a lot of those shiny, procedural American shows, where there are lots of labs and forensics and guns, and everyone’s got lots of makeup on,” Sutherland told Cowan.
“[But head writer] Tim [Balme] has someone he draws on when he’s writing the scripts; he sends it off just to make sure that things are mostly accurate. We don’t want to offend any of our boys and girls in blue.”
Though Sutherland admits 48 murders in the space of 10 years in a town with a population of just 5000 people stretches the imagination just a little.
“How are there still people alive in this town at this point?”
Real Life is a weekly interview show where John Cowan speaks with prominent guests about their life, upbringing, and the way they see the world. Tune in Sundays from 7:30pm on Newstalk ZB or listen to the latest full interview here.
