Exodus of Kiwi actors to Australia

KIMBERLEY ROTHWELL

GOLDEN WINNER: Chelsie Preston Crayford as Tilly Devine in Underbelly: Razor.

In March 1979, a news bite appeared in Australia's TV Times heralding a "Kiwi invasion". "Bill Stalker, one of New Zealand's most versatile stage and TV actors, is coming to Australia for a role in the new Seven Network series Skyways," the piece read.

"The actor had a popular following in New Zealand playing a mechanic in the long-running local soap Close To Home. Fellow Kiwi actor Sam Neill has already had roles in two Australian films, My Brilliant Career and The Journalist, and will be starting work soon on The Sullivans, appearing on screen around mid-year."

If two actors make an invasion, the flow of actors heading to Sydney from this side of the Tasman in recent years must be an onslaught of epic proportions. Today, the cast of Australia's most popular TV show, Packed to the Rafters, a show that depicts a kind of quintessential Aussie family, is packed with Kiwis.

"Yes, there's four of us," says Erik Thomson, who plays patriarch Dave Rafter. His wife is played by New Zealand-born Rebecca Gibney, and Aucklander Hannah Marshall and Bay of Plenty's Zoe Cramond complete the Kiwi lineup.

"It's really cool," says Thomson, "We're sort of going around patting each other on the back, going, 'Yeah, we're showing them'."

Court drama Rake has Danielle Cormack in the core cast, and features Robyn Malcolm, Martin Henderson, Roy Billing and Sam Neill in support and guest roles.

The cast of Underbelly: Razor was not only led by two Kiwi best mates, Cormack and Chelsie Preston Crayford, but starred Craig Hall (Outrageous Fortune) and Lucy Wigmore (Shortland Street) to boot.

On Australian screens, Kiwis have not only invaded, they've made themselves quite at home.

It's been a great career move for Antony Starr and Jay Ryan, who have recently catapulted from Sydney to Los Angeles. Starr (Outrageous Fortune) is slated to take the lead role in the new Alan Ball (True Blood) show, Banshee. He's currently in the Australian show Tricky Business. Go Girls' Jay Ryan nabbed the lead role in Beauty and the Beast after stints on Terra Nova (a US production shot in Australia) and Aussie shows Neighbours and Offspring.

So, why wouldn't you go to Australia, says Robyn Malcolm, when success of this kind is a very real possibility?

Actors' agent Imogen Johnson, of Johnson and Laird, says "actors will go where the work is", and right now, for Kiwi actors, that's Australia.

Katrina Hobbs has made the move twice, purely because there's more work going on. After making a career presenting she's trying to focus on acting, and "this is where it's at".

Roy Billing (Underbelly), who's been in Australia since 1989, says the amount of work available in Australia might be influenced by the lure of LA. "The trend for Australian actors seems to be to get a couple of good things, like a good TV drama or film, and then head off to Los Angeles. It's almost like the Kiwis are coming in to fill up that vacuum."

Thomson agrees: "Casting really good young actors is really difficult right now because they want to go to the US and pursue that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow at the expense of not working in their home country. There's probably a lot of opportunities for New Zealand actors at the moment."

Most Outstanding New Talent at this year's Logie awards, says actors can feel disempowered in New Zealand. "I don't mean to be down on the New Zealand industry, because I would give anything to be able to work at home ... Because [New Zealand is] quite small, it can be quite disempowering for actors,because they often don't have a choice and people know that. People know that it's not likely that an actor can refuse to audition for something because it's the only audition they have for a while.

"There is a massive wealth of talent coming up in New Zealand but a lack of support or opportunities for it to flourish. Flight of the Concords are a good example of this. I am much more excited by the young creatives I know in New Zealand than anywhere else, and the sad reality is they'll have a much harder time getting their stuff off the ground. In other words we need more funding and support for our established and emerging artists."

But can Kiwi actors simply upsticks and find the streets paved with gold over the Tasman?

Certainly not, says Hobbs. When she first moved to Australia as a 21 year old, she found it pretty tough going at first. Her CV, which included lead roles in films and TV since the age of 14, her work on cult TV shows Xena and Hercules, counted for nothing when it came to landing roles. "It was a blessing in disguise, I buckled down and got work."

She's had stints working as a waitress, as has Marshall, who was about to walk away from acting before getting the part of Loretta on Packed to the Rafters.

Wall, who has been on and off in Australia for three years, says he never had a 'day job' in New Zealand, but has always needed one in Australia. "I've done all kinds of jobs; waiter, making chairs, driving a truck. It's harder, it's more expensive, it's more competitive, but the reward is that much higher." His day jobs should be coming to an end now that's he's been cast in a project he can't divulge other than to say it's "a popular Australian drama series". And no, it's not Home & Away.

Simon Ward may have been tarred with Brian's brush. Playing the hen-pecked husband in a series of insurance ads, he chose to leave New Zealand because "going somewhere fresh was preferable to going though the same hoops and trying to defy everyone's preconceptions of what I bring to the table. A lot of the auditions I knew I was being submitted for by my agent, I wasn't getting. So if I'm not even getting in the room, I'm not going to get the part. There's only so much waiting around you can do."

In Australia for nearly six months, he has yet to get an agent, but has had a smattering of work and is doing an acting class. He admits it's a struggle.

"Ideally you want to have something in your back pocket when you go, even if you have somethign like Shortland Street, if it's not a lead or significant role in a feature film, it's hard to get anyone to look at you. You want to leave New Zealand with a showcase of your work and if that doesn't happen you're starting from scratch, which is kind of where I'm at."

He has a day job working at a furniture store, "labouring, essentially". But he's upbeat, "All you want to do is work and opportunities are few and far between so you go where the opportunities are and just trust that at some point, the pieces will fall into place."

Sam Neill says his move to Australia was entirely accidental. "I was sent there to promote Sleeping Dogs, and found myself in Melbourne in 1978, my first time in Australia. I had some friends in Sydney and I decided to take the train to visit them. I woke up on the sleeper somewhere near the NSW border and looked out at how flat out beautiful it was. And so was Sydney. While I was in Sydney someone suggested I go on an audition for a new film."

The new film was My Brilliant Career, an apt title considering he got the lead male role and was shooting within weeks. "I was thrilled, and the chance to work in Australia was too good to pass up. It was in the middle of a renaissance in cinema; Mad Max, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith  these were the sort of things coming out right then. A phenomenally exciting time. I went back to Wellington, resigned my job, sold my house, and I was off."

In those days, there were few Kiwi actors around, he says, a handful, including John Clarke, Bruce Spence and Roger Oakley. "I think they all had a feeling of liberation as I did. In New Zealand at the time it was impossible to get steady work as an actor, most of us had a 'day job' to stay alive.

There was certainly no community of New Zealand actors in Australia then, and anyway we are pretty much interchangale, Aussies and Kiwis." He says he never saw Australia as a stepping stone, and still works there often. "I've always been grateful to the industry in Australia and feel I'm still part of it. That means a lot to me."

In the past year, as well as shooting US film The Vow and TV show Alcatraz, he filmed Australian production The Hunter and a US/New Zealand co-production Ice. He keeps a base in Australia, but resides in central Otago near Alexandra, where he owns a vineyard. At the time of writing, he was shooting a film, Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box, in the UK.

"I always recommend to young New Zealand actors that they should spend some time [in Australia], and give it a go. Where else, seriously, can you go with no work permit, and work as of right, where there is so much quality work to be had? Where the people are so damn nice? I think both Australia and New Zealand benefit from this in the long run."

Chelsie Preston Crayford made sure that when Home By Christmas, in which she played the female lead, toured festivals around the world, she went with it. "I set up meetings with as many agents as I could and exploited all the help that had been genuinely offered to me by many people."

Having snared an Australian agent, she came back to New Zealand and was able to send audition tapes for roles back across the Tasman and to the US, finally landing the plum role of Tilly Devine in Underbelly: Razor after six months at home.

She says there are pros and cons to staying in New Zealand while audtioning for Australian jobs. On the one hand, you can control the audition process better. She auditioned with "the best people" Danielle Cormack and Craig Hall who both landed parts in the same production. But you're not on the ground getting your face in front of casting directors. She's since done Dripping in Chocolate with David Wenham, and is filming a telemovie in Melbourne called The Mystery of the Hansom Cab.

But that doesn't mean Preston Crayford's put down roots in Australia. For the Underbelly shoot, she stayed with her aunt in Sydney, and says she's been living out of a suitcase for months. It's a risk for her to take on a lease, just in case the work runs out. She would like to work in New Zealand but "unfortunately I haven't had to take [my suitcase] back to New Zealand for any work, which is no choice of mine. I haven't had any New Zealand jobs to consider."

When Outrageous Fortune wrapped in 2010, Robyn Malcolm said she would had to go to "actor prison" and wouldn't get any work for a while. "I was aware I was so closely associated with Cheryl West, and still am, but I still had to pay the mortgage." So Australia called. "It was a very practical decision. I've always been hugely committed to the industry here, but I thought, nah, I'm going to have a make a bit of an effort here."

Through her agent, Imogen Johnson, she was introduced to agents in Australia and signed with Sue Barnett. The two agents keep track of Malcolm's schedule and submit her for auditions. Even with her spectacular career in New Zealand, Malcolm spent a year just meeting people and doing auditions.

"Even with Outrageous Fortune, the rest of the world doesn't really give a toss . .. the Australian industry is that much bigger."

The past 18 months, though, have seen Malcolm working regularly, and she's currently shooting Rake in five and six-day stints, flying home to Auckland in between. She is to shoot a drama in New Zealand in the next few months, and then it's off to Melbourne for more work.

"I find it a glorious place to work, I love the size of it, I love the fact that they're maybe a bit further on than we are in terms of the age of the industry. I love the newness of it - everyone gets tired of their own environment, but it's like I'm in a new lolly shop. I honestly don't find any difficulties bar the fact that I have a three hour travel and I don't see my kids everyday."

EX-SHORTLAND Streeter Benedict Wall makes the point that Australian TV shows are more likely to be noticed by US agents. "There are stories of agents sitting around watching Home and Away. Every one of those kids gets picked up and gets a manager. Once you've been on that thing you're gold. It's a huge stepping stone in this country."

He also thinks the political environment for actors in New Zealand has seen more Kiwis look for greener grass. He points to a law change enabling foreign actors to work in New Zealand under certain conditions that was made in response to threats to production of The Hobbit films. He says the law has made New Zealand actors feel undervalued.

"I don't think it makes much difference to many people's careers, but on a symbolic level it's a bit of a slap in the face. You've got a group that's quite small, very specialist, and people don't make much money and work really hard, and they have to have other jobs and do other stuff [to make a living] and to take away such a small protection seems quite unfeeling, perhaps."

Preston Crayford is being hailed as a rising star in Australia since her turn as Tilly Devine in Underbelly: Razor, the role for which she won Most Outstanding New Talent at this year's Logie awards. She says actors can feel disempowered in New Zealand.

"I don't mean to be down on the New Zealand industry, because I would give anything to be able to work at home ... Because [New Zealand is] quite small, it can be quite disempowering for actors, because they often don't have a choice and people know that. People know that it's not likely that an actor can refuse to audition for something, because it's the only audition they have for a while.

"There is a massive wealth of talent coming up in New Zealand but a lack of support or opportunities for it to flourish. Flight of the Conchords are a good example of this. I am much more excited by the young creatives I know in New Zealand than anywhere else, and the sad reality is they'll have a much harder time getting their stuff off the ground."

But can Kiwi actors simply up sticks and find the streets paved with gold across the Tasman?

Certainly not, says Hobbs. When she first moved to Australia as a 21-year-old, she found it pretty tough going at first. Her CV - which included lead roles in films and TV since the age of 14, and her work on cult TV shows Xena and Hercules - counted for nothing when it came to landing roles. "It was a blessing in disguise, I buckled down and got work."

She's had stints working as a waitress, as has Marshall, who was about to walk away from acting before getting the part of Loretta on Packed to the Rafters.

Wall, who has been on and off in Australia for three years, says he never had a "day job" in New Zealand, but has always needed one in Australia. "I've done all kinds of jobs: waiter, making chairs, driving a truck. It's harder, it's more expensive, it's more competitive, but the reward is that much higher." His day jobs should be coming to an end now that's he's been cast in a project he can't divulge other than to say it's "a popular Australian drama series". And no, it's not Home and Away.

Each actor's experience has of course been quite different. They all enter the Australian market with different roles on their showreels and different skills and talents. For some, Australia was always the next step from their work in New Zealand. For others it was entirely accidental or even a necessity.

Simon Ward may have been tarred with Brian's brush. Playing the hen-pecked husband in a series of insurance ads, he chose to leave New Zealand because "going somewhere fresh was preferable to going through the same hoops and trying to defy everyone's preconceptions of what I bring to the table. A lot of the auditions I knew I was being submitted for by my agent I wasn't getting. So if I'm not even getting in the room, I'm not going to get the part. There's only so much waiting around you can do."

In Australia for nearly six months, he has yet to get an agent but has had a smattering of work and is doing an acting class. He admits it's a struggle. "Ideally you want to have something in your back pocket when you go, even if you have something like Shortland Street. If it's not a lead or significant role in a feature film, it's hard to get anyone to look at you. You want to leave New Zealand with a showcase of your work and if that doesn't happen you're starting from scratch, which is kind of where I'm at."

Ward has a day job working at a furniture store, "labouring, essentially". But he's upbeat: "All you want to do is work, and opportunities are few and far between so you go where the opportunities are and just trust that, at some point, the pieces will fall into place."

Sam Neill says his move to Australia was entirely accidental. "I was sent there to promote Sleeping Dogs, and found myself in Melbourne in 1978, my first time in Australia. I had some friends in Sydney and I decided to take the train to visit them. I woke up on the sleeper somewhere near the New South Wales border and looked out at how flat-out beautiful it was. And so was Sydney. While I was in Sydney, someone suggested I go audition for a new film."

That film was My Brilliant Career, an apt title considering he got the lead male role and was shooting within weeks. "I was thrilled, and the chance to work in Australia was too good to pass up. It was in the middle of a renaissance in cinema; Mad Max, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, these were the sort of things coming out then. A phenomenally exciting time. I went back to Wellington, resigned my job, sold my house, and I was off."

In those days, there were few Kiwi actors around, he says, a handful, including John Clarke, Bruce Spence and Roger Oakley. "I think they all had a feeling of liberation as I did. In New Zealand at the time it was impossible to get steady work as an actor, most of us had a day job to stay alive. There was certainly no community of New Zealand actors in Australia then."

He says he never saw Australia as a stepping stone, and still works there often. "I've always been grateful to the industry in Australia and feel I'm still part of it. That means a lot to me."

In the past year, as well as shooting US film The Vow and TV show Alcatraz, he filmed Australian production The Hunter and a US/New Zealand co-production Ice. He keeps a base in Australia, but resides in central Otago near Alexandra, where he owns a vineyard. At the time of writing, he was shooting a film, Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box, in Britain. "I always recommend to young New Zealand actors that they should spend some time [in Australia], and give it a go. Where else, seriously, can you go with no work permit, and work as of right, where there is so much quality work to be had? Where the people are so damn nice? I think both Australia and New Zealand benefit from this in the long run."

Chelsie Preston Crayford made sure that when Home By Christmas, in which she played the female lead, toured festivals around the world, she went with it. "I set up meetings with as many agents as I could and exploited all the help that had been genuinely offered to me by many people."

Having snared an Australian agent, she came back to New Zealand and was able to send audition tapes for roles back across the Tasman and to the US, finally landing the role of Tilly Devine in Underbelly: Razor after six months at home.

She says there are pros and cons to staying in New Zealand while auctioning for Australian jobs. On the one hand, you can control the audition process better. She auditioned with "the best people", Danielle Cormack and Craig Hall, who both landed parts in the same show. But you're not getting your face in front of casting directors.

She's since done Dripping in Chocolate with David Wenham, and is filming a telemovie in Melbourne called The Mystery of the Hansom Cab.

But that doesn't mean Preston Crayford has put down roots in Australia. For the Underbelly shoot, she stayed with her aunt in Sydney, and has been living out of a suitcase for months. It's a risk for her to take on a lease, just in case the work runs out.

She would like to work in New Zealand but "unfortunately I haven't had to take [my suitcase] back to New Zealand for any work, which is no choice of mine. I haven't had any New Zealand jobs to consider."

When Outrageous Fortune wrapped in 2010, Robyn Malcolm says she knew she wouldn't get any work for a while. "I was aware I was so closely associated with Cheryl West, and still am, but I still had to pay the mortgage."

So Australia called. "It was a very practical decision. I've always been hugely committed to the industry here, but I thought, 'Nah, I'm going to have to make a bit of an effort here'."

She adds that after her involvement in actors' union Equity's campaign for standard contracts on The Hobbit movies, which threatened to move production to Eastern Europe, she was called "damaged goods, and I didn't take that seriously, but it did make me nervous".

Through her agent, Imogen Johnson, she was introduced to agents in Australia and signed with Sue Barnett. The two agents keep track of Malcolm's schedule and submit her for auditions. Even with her stellar career in New Zealand, Malcolm spent a year just meeting people and doing auditions before any of her work started to bear fruit. "Even with Outrageous Fortune, the rest of the world doesn't really give a toss ... the Australian industry is that much bigger."

The past 18 months, though, have seen Malcolm working regularly, and she's currently shooting Rake in five and six-day stints, flying home to Auckland in between. She is to shoot a drama in New Zealand in the next few months, and then it's off to Melbourne for more work.

"I find it a glorious place to work. I love the size of it, I love the fact that they're maybe a bit further on than we are in terms of the age of the industry. I love the newness of it - everyone gets tired of their own environment, but it's like I'm in a new lolly shop."

But it's not like you get on a plane to Sydney and success meets you at the airport, say actors and their agents. Agent Imogen Johnson says getting a career off the ground in Australia can be like starting from scratch, but if you are good, stick to your guns, and have a good showreel, you'll make it.

- © Fairfax NZ News