Bill English, Nadia Lim and Jenny-May Clarkson are some of the more famous faces who have been interviewed this year.
Bill English, Nadia Lim and Jenny-May Clarkson are some of the more famous faces who have been interviewed this year.
Every Tuesday, we hear from politicians, sportspeople and TV stars. Jennifer Dann picks her top 12 Questions answers for the year.
Nadia Lim. Photo / Doug Sherring
Nadia Lim - cookbook author
What did your dad think of your husband when you brought him home for the first time?
Surprisingly, Carlos was the only boyfriend that's ever passed the test. We'd been together about six months when he came up to Auckland to meet my parents. I was horrified to discover I'd mucked up the dates and it was Chinese New Year. Dad's quite traditional and we have quite a few rituals. I was like: "This is so embarrassing. He's going to think our family is so strange." But Carlos was so respectful and really got into it, which impressed Dad. Then we went out for yum cha. I'd told Carlos that in Chinese culture it's rude to refuse food. Dad never orders chicken feet but he did that time, I think as a test, and Carlos ate the chicken feet! That pretty much sealed the deal for Dad.
What was your weirdest storyline as Shortland Street ambulance driver Rangi Heremaia?
When Donna Heka and I had sex in the ambulance and then found out we were brother and sister. It doesn't get any better than that. It's such an icky, taboo topic and we went there. That's my legacy. There were some far-fetched storylines. I slept with quite a few girls - not as many as Chris Warner. Probably the most awkward was Robyn Malcolm. I was pretty nervous about that because she was a mentor to us newcomers but it was fun. The weird thing about shooting sex scenes with random partners was they'd often get those scenes out of the way first. So you'd introduce yourselves, there would be an uncomfortable pause and then you'd get straight into it.
The hardest part is the deaths; saying to a parent, "I'm going to take care of your baby" knowing I'm going to put it on a cold slab for a post mortem. Seeing the pain on parents' faces when you tell them their 16-year-old is not coming home tonight. The first death I attended was a boy who had a head-on travelling home from his course. He was breathing when we arrived but he died upside down in the car. Every time I go past that spot my memory goes back.
Have you encountered racism growing up in Auckland?
All the time. I get stopped by security just because I'm brown. I remember going to buy a ball dress with my mum and the shop lady said, "That's not in your price range." She hadn't even asked what our price range was. We'd saved up for it. We just walked out, it wasn't worth arguing. It sucks that someone with that mindset exists and is probably teaching it to their children.
Earlier this year you tweeted; "Just had a massive cry on the phone with the NZ Music Foundation's Wellbeing Service. Thank you so much for very real help!" What was going on for you at that time?
I had a lot on my plate in the lead up to releasing my new album and was feeling overwhelmed. I knew I wasn't coping but the thing with anxiety and depression is you lose perspective on how unwell you are. I went to the Music Foundation website and found that I ticked all the boxes so I realised I must be quite bad. I sent an email and a counsellor called me back the next day. It was so helpful to have someone who understands the specific pressures of the music industry. She said, "I'm familiar with your work and you're doing a great job." That meant so much. We talked for 40 minutes and she said I qualified for more help if I wanted but one call was enough. Just knowing it's there really helps.
I cried at Pike River. After the final explosion they held a meeting with the families while we waited outside. You could hear the howls of grief - it was really visceral, absolutely hideous. There were very few journalists without tears in their eyes. When they came out there were people being held up. I remember the media being really respectful but the families probably felt like they had to run the gauntlet.
Your first medical clinic in Otara soon stood out as different. Why was that?
Doing things differently has been our greatest strength. Right from the start, my husband Kanti decided to work around our patients' needs first and worry about money later. We charged adults $10 and children were free. Many of our patients couldn't get to the clinic during normal working hours so we opened from 8am to 6pm. We introduced walk-ins which was unheard of and really upsetting for the local European doctors. They started complaining that we were too busy, so the Health Department put restrictions on the number of patients we could see. Kanti said, "That's fine. You may only pay me for a set number of patients but I'm not turning anyone away."
How did you become president of the Wellington branch of Maori activist group Nga Tamatoa?
I founded the branch in 1972. There were four of us at our first hui in my Tasman St flat. At the next meeting there were eight so I sent out a press release saying our membership had doubled. We decided to have a Maori Language Day. Together with the Maori students group we managed to have it held all over the country on 14 September 1972. We were all young kids but we convinced the TV news and weather presenters to say some words in te reo, just things like kia ora which the viewing public found really offensive. The highlight was presenting the Maori Language Petition to Parliament with 30,000 signatures calling for te reo to be offered in schools.
Your wife Mary's father is Samoan and her mother is Italian. What have you learnt from them?
They're a remarkable example of the promise of coming to New Zealand being realised. They raised 13 children on one income and own their own home. They had a very strong focus on their kids getting educated and maintaining their health which is a challenge in a large family on a low income. I have enormous respect for their effort and I'm so pleased I've had exposure to different cultures which I wouldn't have had as a Pakeha farmer from Southland.
You recently helped teen offenders at the Korowai Manaaki youth justice residence stage a Shakespeare play. What did they learn?
There's a scene where Romeo and Juliet's eyes meet across the room and they fall in love at first sight. These kids wanted to know if that was possible so we spent ages trying to work out how you know when you're in love. Some had already fathered children. They decided that Juliet's dad, despite being so mean, must have loved her when she was first born so they decided to recreate that moment in dance. At the end of the play they lifted Juliet up into the air and then did this amazing haka. It was powerful theatre. You can teach work skills in prisons but the arts help us make sense of the big questions in life.
You've become a bit of a 'gore guy' lately doing the make-up effects for What We Do in the Shadows, the Evil Dead remake and Ash vs Evil Dead. Is that something you've always loved?
I'd never been a big gore fan boy but grew to really love it because it's a lot of fun. We've done a lot of gore now and it can get repetitive. It's usually someone getting their throat slashed or their head cut off. It's great to be making monsters again for The Shannara Chronicles. Fantasy's always been my favourite genre since playing Dungeons and Dragons as a kid.
When I was 15, a large corporate client asked me to supply them with $10,000 worth of i-Phones. When the order landed we discovered they were network-locked and useless in New Zealand. We had to take the hit which was massive at that stage. I knew I would make a mistake but mistakes don't mean you're bad, just that you're learning. We finally got rid of that stock last year ... Now I'm much more detail orientated and I manage risk better. I still take big risks but never ones that would break the company or me.
