Tem's DIY audition shines a light on skills of Kiwi actress

Kiwi actress Cian Elyse White who is in new TV drama Tatau. Picture / Supplied

Stunning Kiwi actress Cian Elyse White has the DIY directing skills of Temuera Morrison to thank for her being nominated for a prestigious TV award in Australia.

White, from Rotorua, is up for a gong in the Best Actress category at the 2017 Logies for her performance as fearless surfer Hannah in hit New Zealand-Aussie comedy-drama 800 Words.

She landed the part after filming her audition on her cell phone while shooting big-money BBC murder-mystery Tatau in Rarotonga - and she sent the results straight to the producers of 800 Words.

"It was a pretty unusual audition tape," White told the Herald on Sunday. "Tem Morrison, who is also in Tatau, was holding a little mirror to shine some light on my face and giving me some tips while Dutch actor Barry Atsma operated my phone as I did my stuff.

"A month later I got a call to say I'd got the part in 800 Words. I couldn't believe it worked, and that piece of cell phone footage has now led to me being nominated for a Logie."

Kiwi viewers will finally see White in action in Tatau when it premieres on Prime tonight. The show has already been a success in other parts of the world.

Tatau follows a pair of young travellers from London who, after one of them gets a traditional Maori tattoo, become caught up in a murder mystery within a supernatural world of Maori mythology.

There was real-life drama during filming when rising British actor Joe Layton nearly drowned while shooting an underwater scene in New Zealand.

He spent a few days in hospital after developing secondary drowning, a condition in which the lungs fill with body fluids after being irritated.

His co-star White spent two months in the Cook Islands filming Tatau - and she has already received fanmail from around the world for her performance.

"I recently got messages from a guy in Zimbabwe who was raving about the show and I've also had stuff from people in the UK and the United States," she said. "They seem to be intrigued by the Maori culture and people.

"About the only place Tatau has still to be shown is New Zealand, and I can't wait for my family and friends to finally see it."

*Tatau premieres tonight on Prime at 10.30pm.