Temuera Morrison and Robyn Malcolm on the set of Far North. Photo / Supplied
Temuera Morrison and Robyn Malcolm on the set of Far North. Photo / Supplied
The subject matter of their new show might be serious, but the cast of Three’s Far North has found some time to fool around.
Actor Maaka Pohatu, of Wellington Paranormal fame, was filmed tricking an assistant director via a walkie-talkie into thinking he was Temuera Morrison with a flawless impersonation of the superstar.
He asks, “How are the boys doing?” and has a conversation with the man before ending the talk and cracking up laughing.
The six-part dark comedy series, which premieres tomorrow night on Three, is mostly based on a true story and tells how an everyday couple from Ahipara foil an international drug cartel’s largest-ever drug deal in the Pacific.
Morrison plays pesky diesel mechanic Ed and Robyn Malcolm plays his aqua-aerobics instructor wife Heather, who intercept the 500kg meth operation.
Pohatu plays Stevie, one of a group of men set to receive the shipment.
Albert Mateni as Gravel, JP Foliaki as Mack, Maaka Pohatu as Stevie and Villa Junior Lemanu as Louie. Photo / Supplied
The story might be led by Morrison and Malcolm but supporting them are actors who loved their time up north and appreciated the way director and writer David White tells the story from everyone’s perspective.
“All the boys – everybody – they’re all so good in this show. I don’t know where they’re getting their acting skills from,” Morrison tells Spy.
He is pleased with the new generation of acting talent from New Zealand and says he’s keen to see the talent pool beefed up so we can tell New Zealand stories back to our own people.
Also in the gang with Pohatu is Panthers’ star Demetrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Tall Guy, John-Paul Foliaki as Maka, Albert Mateni as Gravel, Villa Junior-Lemanu as Louie and Mose Alipate Latailakepa as Thugga.
The group is led by the formidable Blaze, played by up-and-coming actress Fay Tofilau, who rules the boys with an iron fist, except when circumstances spiral out of control and she freaks out.
Schuster-Koloamatangi and award-winning playwright Mateni are first cousins, who finally got to live and work together in Ahipara, which they tell Spy was awesome for them both.
“Living and working in the Far North for this show was a unique experience for me, it’s a really calming and beautiful place to be,” says Schuster-Koloamatangi. “We were filming over Matariki as well and we were able to do a karakia right on midnight, which was very grounding. It was a good buzz with all the cast and crew and I feel like everyone’s chemistry and love for each other will show on screen.”
Foliaki trained as a lawyer and was an accountant before he made a u-turn into the arts as a musician, actor, and spoken word artist. He says the best thing for him about the production was serving his community through telling this story from another perspective.
Temuera Morrison and Robyn Malcolm on the set of Far North. Photo / Supplied
“Of course, it was the bomb being on set with people like Tem and Robyn. The cast is amazing, all the boys - and the whole cast - are tight.”
Lemanu agrees and says the most enjoyable thing on set was just the people.
“It’s always a fun job when the people are cool so it’s cool especially spending off days with the boys and yeah just delving into our characters a bit more and getting to know them as people, says Lemanu. Meeting the locals is fun too, for me the people are everything.”
