I am a classically trained actor, earning my diploma at Unitec Performing Arts School after an, at times grueling 2-year course, graduating in 1997. Raised in impoverished South Auckland, I was then a disillusioned glam rock guitarist with a shattered heart and a worsening alcohol problem. It was this bleak juncture that led me to the thespian path. By day, I tore tickets at the now-defunct St James Theatre; by night, I devoured three or four VHS tapes, mesmerized by the intense performances of Gary Oldman, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Robert De Niro. I dreamed of transforming myself in the way these actors could, arriving on set with the same shocking dedication De Niro showed in “Raging Bull.” Alas, today I have a paunch, but no cameras seem interested.
