Actor Jayden Daniels is about to hit TV screens hosting Treasure Island — and on movie screens as a horror star.
The new Treasure Island Fans v Faves co-host also stars in Evil Dead Rise premiering in Austin Texas at the South by Southwest film festival in March.
Daniels couldn’t reveal if he was attending the premiere in the US but is excited for fans of the franchise to see it when it hits theatres in April.
“There’s not much I can say but it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted. From what I have seen it looks epic and I can’t wait to watch it,” Daniels tells Spy.
“I am definitely proud to be a part of it,” he says.
Rise is the fifth movie in The Evil Dead franchise, started in the 1980s by Lucy Lawless’ husband, Robert Tapert, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell.
The latest instalment was filmed in and around Auckland and promises lots of blood and gore as flesh-consuming demons take over a mother’s apartment building before she and her children hit the road to escape.
Jayden Daniels in Treasure Island Fans v Faves. Photo / Supplied
The former Shortland Street star was much more forthcoming about his new gig on Treasure Island working with co-host Bree Tomasel and taking the leap into hosting TV.
“Hosting with Bree was awesome. Hosting is not really comparable to acting but I had a lot of fun. At the end of the day acting was my first passion and is what I will always do — but as a fan of the show I’m stoked I got the opportunity to be a part of it,” he says.
The 29-year-old says he was excited to see how it all worked behind the scenes — and to watch the game unfold in real life.
He loves the dynamic that the new Fans v Faves format provides and says there is a lot going on with many different strategies, with pretty much all the contestants playing hard as soon as they hit the competition in Fiji.
“Filming in Fiji was great. I’d never been to that side of Fiji before and it was beautiful. It was my first time shooting something outside New Zealand,” he says.
His favourite Fave was Dame Susan Devoy whom Daniels says he has a soft spot for.
On Thursday this week Daniels and Tomasel, along with most of the cast will host an exclusive outdoor sneak peek screening of the show at Ōrākei Bay. The show premieres next Monday night on TVNZ 2.
