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Oh, good. You're here. Come on. This is the center of performance. Whenever there's a top performance in New
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Zealand, it all comes from here. That's Lisa Carrington. She's been doing that
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for days. That's the boys who got the hole in one in to Finn. How's the performance going?
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>> Top tier. >> Nice. This is our generate room. In here, you'll find our top performers
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helping Kiwis maximize their Kiwi Saver investments. Get in here, Finn. >> Maximize. Generate. putting performance
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first. >> Tim Morrison, welcome to my podcast. >> Very nice to be here, Don. What's taken
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you so long to get me on your show? >> It's not >> Don't you know me anymore?
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>> Not through lack of trying. I actually You might be able to see this on screen
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if you're watching the podcast. The blue is my messages and the the occasional
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gray ones are Tim's replies. >> Yes. Out of the country. out of the country, bro. Call me when I call you
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when I get back. >> Unbelievable. So, >> out of the country at the moment. Call
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you when I get back. >> December 2023. I'm like, "Hey, >> 2023,
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>> two years ago, come on my podcast. You got" and you replied, "Just got back
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from overseas." And I'm like, "Oh, that's cool." You're like, "Now, no
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good. Maybe next week." >> And then I keep asking and then then you'll reply something like, "Um, uh,
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>> chur sounds good." >> Churbo sounds good. I'm there. I'm
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there. But anyway, it's taken that long. 23, man. >> Perseverance. >> That's what life's about.
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>> You do. >> Perseverance. >> You don't really like um talking about
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yourself, do you? >> No, I don't even watch a movie. I haven't even got a movie that I've been
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in to watch. I haven't even got anything about anything that I've done. >> Oh, what do you mean? You You do the
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work and then you don't watch it back or >> I might go to the premiere and watch it
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then and that's about it. But yeah, I just don't like talking about myself
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even though I'm a Morrison and uh and a tera from not but yeah maybe I'm just
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the exception and um I don't know I just feel vulnerable in these situations. So
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I was dodging you for a little bit. I was dodging you for a little bit but perseverance I must say but you hung in
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there and I'm I I feel good now that I I'm here. >> Have you done any other podcasts? one
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for Winnie the Pooh. His name's Jim Cummings. He's the famous voice of Winnie the Pooh. That's the only other
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one I've done. And I was feeling guilty when I was doing it. I was thinking of
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you. I was thinking, "Dee, I hope Dom doesn't see this. Hope Dom doesn't see
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this cuz he's he's still waiting for me." So, that's the only one I've done.
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And all the other ones that have been asking, I said, "Sorry, I've got to do
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Dom's first. Dom's my man." So, it's there's going to be a big weight of my
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shoulder after this uh this podcast, but congratulations to you for persevering and we go way back to the time of the
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edge of course and you were always respectful and got me in no matter what I was doing. There probably a movie I
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promoting or a TV show I'm promoting. So, yeah, I just did that again this morning. So, was strange not to see you
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in those big buildings over there, you know, where all the radio stations, they're all together now. So, I've been
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going around this morning promoting my new project which is called Earth Oven. >> Should I just interview myself?
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>> This is This is how I got you in here today. Reagan the publicist. I She's
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like, "Would you have Tim on your podcast?" And I was like, "What do I
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have Tim on my podcast? I've sent him like 30 messages in the last 3 years."
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>> Yeah, I knew I knew that. That came up. I said, "Yep, let's do doss. Let's do I
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got to do >> Thank you. Earth." Yeah. It's my new TV show. Uh the idea come about from the
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High Mama Productions. The producers thought, "What a great idea. Let's go
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around the world, see who else see the hi, the earth oven way of cooking." So
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um then they gave the idea to Mike Jonathan who's very good. Uh I've known
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Mike for a long time. He just directed Kafonu, the the film. Um and it received very
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well too by the way. and um he also did my other TV shows and he's he used to do
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all my auditions as well when I was trying to get a job in Hollywood. So I have a wonderful relationship. So he
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approached me and said hey want to be our front guy for um for this earth of an idea and then yeah so we made six
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episodes. Um very good great great job going around the world eating hungi and finding out a
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little bit more. But this one did quite a cultural show too. It's um >> and it's quite different for me too cuz
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I actually had to be myself. Normally I'm in the business and you know there's
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kind of >> u characters for example to you can sort of hide behind and you don't really show
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yourself out there but this one was totally totally me out there trying to be a funny fellow and just working with
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the local people. I went to Mexico Cancun they call it the peeb there the earth oven there went to a place called
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Chiloy. It's an island just of Santiago. went to Australia, did an Aboriginal one
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they call the Bangar. Went to Jordan in the desert, Wadi Ram Deserts. Um, this by Akaba there. They do one in the in
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the sand. Uh, Hawaii, of course, we put a pig in the in the emu. They call it the emu there. So, yes, spectacular. A
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lot of it is um um not so much about the eating but more about the sharing of culture, sharing of
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ideas, seeing some of the similarities and some of the the way they go about things. And but you know, I did learn
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that um no matter where I was, it was family, family, food, you know, >> and the people element, you know, we're
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just all the same people really on this planet. And uh we love being around family. They talk about the food taking
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the time out. So it was a wonderful experience and I would always get kind of emotional
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you know the show we crescendo to the hi coming out you know revealing the food you know but that's only just quite a
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small part of it after the after you know while the fire's burning I go out and sort of do some activities find out
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more about the culture go to some spectacular places have a look around there. So very colorful, uh, quite funny
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at times. Had a great crew to work with. We got some great visuals, especially the one in Jordan just looks spectacular
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cuz, you know, I'm out there in the in the desert with the camels and everything. So great little warm show.
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It's a very warm warm fuzzy feeling you get after watching an episode. Well,
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that's the desire, the hope anyway. But brilliant, >> wonderful experience
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>> and it's on Neon. Um, and the good thing about >> they're all on Neon. Actually, the whole
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six have been downloaded on Neon. So, you can watch all of them or you can go to Sky Open
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>> uh once a week every Wednesday 8:30 on Sky Open. Sky go I think might be the
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other one. >> Well, the good the good thing is about streaming now and also podcast. Someone
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can listen to this anytime maybe a year from now, two years from now and it'll
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still be available to watch on Neon. >> I'm thinking of doing my own podcast
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show. Take a lesson from you Dom. You know this acting I'm getting a bit, you
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know, the memory's fading a little bit. So, I might do a Tim's podcast. You
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should. You should. >> What's it like? All good. >> Yeah, it's I I love it. I love it. I get
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to sit down and have these long form conversations with really really >> They're not like radio interviews, are
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they? Quite in in depth stuff. >> Yeah. There's no there's no hurry.
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There's no rush. >> That's right. Yeah. >> Who has been the best on your podcast?
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Who's the one that's really stood out for you that moved you in a way? >> Oh, that was this woman um Tracy Hickman
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who I had on the podcast last year. not not a famous person, but she had terminal cancer and she um chose to die
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with the youth in Asia that's available in New Zealand now. Um so she was just
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sharing her experience about that like about two weeks before the date where she was going to die and it was just um
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an incredibly powerful episode >> [ __ ] sad >> when they're facing facing you know
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>> like really really in the face. Yeah. Yeah, I had a guy on earlier this year
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too called Tamil Tamil Aduju who's a Muslim man from originally from Turkey,
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now lives in Christ Church and he was shot nine times in the mosque >> on March 15 and lived.
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>> Yeah. So, >> it would be great if we could talk to them on the other side,
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>> huh? You know, >> figure that one out and we'll get the ratings. We'll get the ratings.
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>> I've I've got to This is very exciting. There's There's so much to cover with
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you. >> There's Okay, we better get going then, buddy. You You made some notes. I'm very
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impressed. I have lots of lots of notes. >> Those notes from 2023. Okay. >> The difficult thing with doing even a
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long form podcast with someone like you is deciding what to leave in and what to
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leave out. Yes. >> Um because um it's been such a full life. >> Well, I tried to live life.
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>> That's what key order actually means. Kia order means order is the word we use
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for live life. Living kia order. But the kia makes it to >> live life. I'm saying kod. Hello. Thank
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you kor. But I'm saying live >> the life. You got to live it. You got to
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live it. Okay. I've got a thing here that I'm going to share with you at the
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end. One of my what do you call them like their little mantra or your little uh quotes or little saying. But we'll do
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that one at the end. I make sure I can source it. >> Worth sticking around.
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>> But yes, I've had a full life. Thanks, Dom. And um I think I've just been one
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of those guys too that um I always like to try something you know and by the doing of it you the process by going
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through the doing you find out if you really like it or not. I did radio, >> you know, I didn't know what I was doing
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in first, but you know, I just started to learn about how to work the the the panel and all of that first and then I
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really enjoyed radio. It was instant. And then I even tried reporting and researching and television New Zealand
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back in the days. They had >> Didn't you do a journalism course? >> Yep, I did a journalism course. That's
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what led to um my job at TVNZ as a reporter researcher for programs like Waka Hoya and we had another program
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called Kohaa back in the day. Actually, Koha was the last film I was the last program on television that used film,
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you know, before digital came along. So, I I worked on that program up and with Ernie Leonard and all those people up at
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the Maldi department and TVNZ. Great job, actually. I really enjoyed it. And I loved uh there was another job I had
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for Wakahya researching. So I would get to drive the the car and go around the country and talk to some of the uh the
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wise people >> and um then try and jack them up at time so we can get a crew down to record. At
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that time when we were working in the Maldi department, they wanted to to film as many native speakers of our language
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of Maldi Tel and try and record as much as we could well you know with the ones that were still alive. So I really
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enjoyed that too going around >> sometimes. Um sometimes I had to go ahead of the
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people and um I had this boss called Horna who was a Reverend Reverend Horna. He was my boss. He turned up in Wonganui
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once. He goes, "Tim, who have you got who have you got me to talk to?" Uh
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well, I haven't found anybody. Haven't found anybody. But I found the pub. I
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found the public bar and I found a boil up. We'll start there. He wasn't impressed. He wasn't
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impressed. But at the pub there were all the people you could talk to and they knew everyone to talk to. So it was
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good. Then he got a boil up as well. So I knew to go to the local pub, local public bar, talk to the people in there,
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find out who were the elders in the area. >> Just few shortcuts that I learned. Yeah.
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Very clever clever researcher. I was >> I saw an interview with Russell Crow the
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other day. Do you know Russell Crow at all or very well? >> I spoken to him on the phone.
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>> Right. That's it. briefly >> about a movie, but he never got back to
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me. >> Now you know what it feels like. >> He never got back to me. >> So he he's 61. You're 65. Um
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>> let's not go there. We still want the young roles. >> A quote from Russell Crow. He said, um,
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as you get older, the roles shrink. I'm 61. To be as employable as I am is still
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a big surprise. So what what do you think is the key for longevity >> in our business?
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>> Yeah. Well, you you're you're the same as um Russell Crow in a lot of respects.
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and that you're still highly employable. >> Well, try keeping your faculties
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together. That'll be your number one. And your good looks probably. Uh health.
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I think health and fitness comes into play a lot of it because you know um wear and tear a at our age now. But um
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I think it's timing too. It's just timing. I've been blessed. Um something
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always comes along. just something always comes along right at the right when you just think I got to find a real
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job, the phone will ring again. So, um um >> you did sort of have a career there was
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would it be fair to say there was a career slump? >> Oh, yeah. My my bloody whole career has
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been a big slump sometimes, but rubbish. >> But it picks up again. >> No, there are times where you sort of
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just I remember going talking about my buddy Mike earlier. I'd be going to have
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Bro, I got a job. Got a job. Shoot my video. Shoot my video. And then I'll send it off, you know, really wanting to
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work over there. But um that's those are all um you know, you don't get every audition,
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that's for sure. So um just just persevered. I think I just persevered and then just something would
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come along right at the right time. Um, I think it's just had a, you know, once
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you decide to work out there in the real world with no kind of salary, you kind of choose that lifestyle. So, it's
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always uncertain. But, yeah, just carry on, I think, carried on, I think. >> When I first went to um
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when I first went to Hollywood, it was once we're warriors. It was once we're
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warriors that really helped that journey, you know, that movie. So, so that shook shook it up and then and then
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and then people see that and people in the industry see that. So, you get a bit of um
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>> momentum >> momentum or playback see like Russell, let's go back to Russell, let's say. I
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think he did a movie called Rompa Stomper. >> Yeah, the skin one. >> Yeah, the skinny head one. But then he
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got noticed, right? You look at uh movie like Bended Like Beckham, you know, little lowbudget film about a girls
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playing soccer and then she gets noticed next minute you see her in the film like
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The Full Monty, another movie that was uh small, lowbudget, but then you see them in the Hollywood movies
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>> like Slum Dog Millionaire. Now you see him, he's directing and and acting and
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everything now. So, so that is really important if you want to work in Hollywood having that movie to to open
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the door, you know, and then it and then a kind of you're in flavor for for a
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while for a little bit and then someone else's movie comes out and then it's
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their turn to do the circuit. I had a good one though. I had a very good run. You know, I remember once we were always
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then I did Barbwa with Pamela Anderson and uh it wasn't the like uh my agent in
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LA wasn't very happy about me doing that and my agent in New Zealand I just thought oh I just want to go to
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Hollywood just say I've been to Hollywood you know just do one movie and that's all I was thinking really. So I
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said yes to Barbwire. Apparently Pamela's making a bit of a comeback these days too. They might even do a
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barb wire TV show re soon. But anyway, >> and then uh that's how it started.
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>> Barbwire and then a few other things after that. Things like speed two, six
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days, seven nights had a bit of a roll actually, a roll effect, roll on effect and then it dies down a bit.
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>> Dies down a bit. You really got to be >> doing those performances that shake them
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up a little bit, shake the room up a little bit. So after the movie they kind of and it's hard to find those ones
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though you know those kind of movies you know like Warriors very rarely come around but
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there's um yeah well I mean there was so much in that answer and I'm like that's
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right we got to talk about that we got to talk about there's there's so much to
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unpack when when people come up to you now what do they what do they if there was a Tim Morrison bingo card what is it
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the Guatemala line the eggs line the Jedi line what what do they want you to say on video a few of them.
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>> Um, sometimes they want Boba Fett to say uh answer their telephone, you know, and
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say, "Can you see Boba Fett here? Uh, Lionel's uh engaged at the moment. Call
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him back later or something." And he just want silly things like that. Or cook me some eggs. Yeah, I got that one,
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too. You're not in Guatemala now. It's funny how I ended up with all these
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>> Yeah, you didn't even say that line sayings. No. That line was said to you.
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>> Yeah, I know. Everyone else said I was standing at the lights once in Ponson
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and I remember seeing someone in front of me. They had a t-shirt on and on the back it had uh
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Dr. Oat's surgery Guatemala. I actually wanted the t-shirt. I see that's cool.
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Yeah. So, I made the t-shirt. >> So, the earliest years we'll we'll start
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there and we'll build into the story. So, start with them. >> So, you're born uh 1960 in Rooua. Yeah.
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>> Earliest memories. Oh gee, I can't even remember that far. I just had a wonderful upbringing. Uh
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the Morrison family was a big part of the upbringing in Rodua. Um >> your uncle Howard Morrison
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>> Howard and all their kids. Uh and all the my dad's sisters, their kids, the
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Mitchells. And so one of the biggest things we had when we were young was an auntie and uncle called Auntie Dinner
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and Uncle Trevor Maxwell. And they would bring us all together to uh teach us how
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to play guitar, teach us the haka, teach us the girls some po, teach the uh and we ended up with all my cousins, first
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cousins, we had about 17 18 of us I think in the in our group. And so that was the introduction to to
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entertainment. Um, even when our dad used to get back from the hotel, um, those six o'clock closing days,
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we were always woken up to sing him and his mates some songs or tunes, get up in
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the middle of the night, sing them some stuff, go back to bed again. So, it was very a musical upbringing there and
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cultural upbringing. And the family always used to get together, too. Not only for Uncle Howard used to call us in
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for some of his shows. Uh we'd always do some cultural elements in in our uncle's
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show. We then we grew up a little bit and more then we do some hucker. We end up on the road with them a couple of
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times. And then on my mother's side, well they were from a place called Hungatiki and we had a farm there and my
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grandparents lived on the farm. It was 130 acres I think and he milked cows. So I used to love that going back to the
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farm getting out of Rotoda >> going back and our grandfather was good horseman too. So we could ride horses.
00:19:10
Uh we would go down milk the cows 4:30 in the morning. He take his two cream cans out to the road every day. That was
00:19:18
his job. Did that hardly ever left the farm. I remember I took him to Oakuckland once. He wanted to go home
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straight away. But that was a beautiful upbringing there working on the farm with our grandparents going eing at
00:19:29
night. Uh you know using the hoohoo bug. Um hard work though >> pulling ragwood out. So it was a
00:19:38
beautiful kind of uh you know both families big big families a lot of love a lot of um getting
00:19:48
together a lot of singing especially on the Morrison side. So I was blessed you know to get that um on both sides see my
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granddad work so hard and learn how to ride a horse and that kind of stuff. And then on the other the Morrison side that
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was more you know Uncle Howard and growing up with the families there. Yeah. So very blessed. Very blessed.
00:20:10
>> And you were the fifth born. Uh the first son in your family. I've got a
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photo here. That's you in the middle. >> Very good. Very good. Very good photo
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there. That's me in the middle. >> You're in the middle. Yeah. And you
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>> there eight in our family in the end. >> And is it small small house? You you top
00:20:23
and tailed with some of your siblings. >> Yep. Only had two bedrooms in our state
00:20:27
house. So, five of us had to sleep in the same bed. Uh, two down that end, three down the other end. Then my sister
00:20:34
had a tidying. She loved to tidy up. She loved us. She had to get us up in the middle of the night for some reason and
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remake the bed again. So, there we all standing there half asleep. But yeah, and it was two wheat bricks for
00:20:46
breakfast after school, cup of tea, and a runaround. That was about it. >> Um, yeah. Quite humble beginnings
00:20:53
really. >> Not a lot of money, but a lot of love. >> A lot of love. A lot of love. extended
00:20:57
family. We hung out with them a lot too. Big extended family too. That's where
00:21:01
all the love from because Uncle Al used to travel around the world a lot. So my cousins used to live up the road from
00:21:06
me. So I was be always up there >> especially when Uncle Howard came back from overseas from some always have the
00:21:12
some toys for the kids. So I'd get one too every now and then. A lot of love, a
00:21:16
lot of close aunties. >> And again, that's where our culture started when two auntie Den and Uncle
00:21:21
Trip would practice get us practicing and we would have fun too. We used to watch the rugby league as well, you
00:21:27
know, when it was on late at night. Must be all those English games back in the day. We used to love playing slow, we
00:21:33
invented slow motion rugby league, so we could play in the play in the lounge without breaking all the all the
00:21:39
furniture. So we had to play slow motion rugby league and then there was a lot of
00:21:44
culture too. Then that led us also to go out to the to the Marai and do the kapahaka too. You know, we were, you
00:21:52
know, even when I was going through the boarding school, we'd go do the Kapahaka
00:21:55
competition. So, the culture was a big part of my upbringing. The Kapahaka was a big part of it. And that was my
00:22:01
grounding really. Kapaka gives you that confidence. You're breathing, you're singing about
00:22:07
your ancestors. It's like the haka. You're standing there, you're stamping,
00:22:10
you know, trying to find the energy. So, so I I can't say much. You know, a lot of my performance, I'm lucky I was
00:22:19
grounded in my Kapahaka and that that really was my theater training too in a way where we'd practice our 20-minute
00:22:27
bracket and we go compete against all the rest of the groups in New Zealand. Sometimes we'd win, sometimes we come
00:22:33
nowhere and we're on the bus back home again. But, you know, everyone gave up
00:22:35
their time, gave up their weekends to go and compete. So, I really used to love that. That was my buzz. M.
00:22:43
>> And then I thought, well, one day I'll go to Oakland and uh try this acting
00:22:47
thing out. I think >> I think my uncle started a course. That's what happened.
00:22:51
>> He started a course called Spats. >> That's right. This is like the New
00:22:54
Zealand version of the TV show Fame. >> Exactly. That a special performing arts
00:22:59
training scheme, Spats. Uh we had Joanna Joanna Paul teach us and a guy called Robin Luicki and they were our teachers.
00:23:07
So there was about 20 of us, people like Margaret Erlich, people like Kim Willoughby, people like Jane Langaya and
00:23:14
quite a few other Annie Crumma was around us then too. So >> and we were being used, you know, we
00:23:19
were a group so we used to meet we had to be on the dole too. So most of us were on the dole and um we'd get
00:23:26
together, learn music, learn dancing, learn singing. >> Um >> no, I believe you you had a job prior to
00:23:33
that. You work at Moldi Affairs and then you had to quit your job. So you'd be on
00:23:37
the dole so you were eligible for this course. >> Yeah, that's right. That's right. I was
00:23:41
I actually had an office job in Rotura >> in Maldi affairs and I was like placed
00:23:46
around the other government departments too. I even worked in the magistrate's
00:23:49
court filing just filing filing every day. Put that file next to that file. Put that number
00:23:55
next to that number. I said oh my god I'm sure there's better things out there
00:23:58
than filing and seeing all my relations come to court anyway. Yeah, I worked in the probation service for a little bit.
00:24:05
Um, yeah, that's right. Then I had to get on the dole to be eligible to qualify for this performing arts course.
00:24:12
And that was a big that was a big mover for me too, just leaving Rodua. >> Remember coming up to Oakuckland even
00:24:18
looking at the buildings go, wow, wow, wow, look where we are. And I I had a sister stay up here too. So I was able
00:24:23
to stay with her. Then I joined this performing arts course and that was my introduction to things like uh being an
00:24:30
extra >> on there was a police show called Mortimus Patch. I had one line on that
00:24:37
show an extra line. Um there were other kind of shows that but our group was being used all the time as
00:24:44
extras and TV and things like that. Yeah. >> One more question just going back to
00:24:51
your childhood. So your your dad Lori y you lost him at the age of 14 in a car crash.
00:24:56
>> Car accident. Yes. >> Um >> yeah. What what impact? Yeah. What are
00:25:00
your recollections of that? 14's a strange time in life to to lose your dad.
00:25:04
>> It's a horrible time losing your dad as well and then sort of just not knowing
00:25:07
what the hell's going on here and all the It was a big funeral too. I could tell he was very well loved out there.
00:25:14
He was a original member of the Howard Morrison quartet. Great singer too. >> He was called He was like a Dean Martin
00:25:19
of New Zealand. He could sing like Dean Martin now, my dad. So, so a little bit of that rubbed off, I think. And he
00:25:25
always used to say when I'd be in the bath or come back from rugby. Rugby was
00:25:29
another big part, too. The girls played rugby. I mean, the boys played rugby and
00:25:32
the girls played netball. That's how it went. So, I played rugby and rugby league actually growing up.
00:25:39
>> And uh >> and all the girls played net ball >> and um yeah. M
00:25:46
>> and you did when your dad passed um Sir Howard Morrison said something to you
00:25:50
like um your shoulders back, chin up. You're the man of the house now. >> I remember that.
00:25:55
>> Feels like a lot of responsibility. >> Yeah. Yeah. I'll say especially in the
00:25:58
middle of the night. Up to you now, boy. Look after the family. You don't really
00:26:02
know it at the time. Everyone's quite emotional. >> It was very emotional time for
00:26:06
everybody. So, >> what what impact did that have on you losing your dad at that stage of life?
00:26:11
>> Um I think we just had to get on with it. I think mom was still there. So, we
00:26:15
just carried on. >> I think we sort of loosened up a little bit cuz dad was quite strict on us.
00:26:21
>> Um, our mom would have all of us on our hand each and our hair massage so we
00:26:25
could stay up and light a bit later and watch TV, one on each foot massaging each, but just any excuse to
00:26:32
stay up a bit later. Then, as soon as we hear the car drive in the driveway, we all run into bed and pretend we're
00:26:37
asleep. Maybe that was the beginning of my acting. Yeah, you were you you were even though
00:26:45
you had these other jobs that you alluded to before um you were destined to be an actor I believe like as a as a
00:26:50
teenager you were obsessed with Young and the Restless. >> Yes. Yes. I used to go to Wesley College
00:26:56
and many a time we'd been racing we'd be racing out of class to watch the
00:27:00
lunchtime version of uh Young and the Restless and then try and get back to Yeah. try
00:27:06
and get back to school work. >> Yeah. Yeah. No, we used to love Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives
00:27:12
and Yeah. Funny thing at Wesley College. >> Yeah. >> So then um after the SPATs um you
00:27:19
special perform performing arts training scheme um there's a series of jobs gloss
00:27:23
which is um iconic I think >> gloss patch that you talked about before. Um the piano you weren't you you
00:27:29
were involved in the piano but you weren't in the piano. >> No I ended up um working on the piano
00:27:34
but in the crew. Um, I was working on radio at the time and I'd put the call
00:27:39
out, hey, hey, on my radio station, who wants to be in the movies? Meet here, blah, blah, blah. And then I had about a
00:27:45
couple hundred people turn up there, probably all my listeners. So, they all turned up for a part in the movie. And
00:27:50
Jane Campion turned up and she was quite impressed with what I had organized. >> And there was a big moldy element in the
00:27:56
in the film piano. A lot of it got cut out, but >> but that was fantastic. And that's when
00:28:00
I really saw uh acting, serious actors, because we had Harvey Kitel out of out of New York. We had Holly Hunter,
00:28:09
>> Sam Neil, very good friend of mine, >> still very close, and our very own Anna
00:28:15
Pacwin. So, um, >> so was just a wonderful experience to sit with Jane. My job was basically,
00:28:20
boys, boys, uh, carry the piano up that hill there. Try not to speak English. Okay, you
00:28:27
fellas don't know any English yet. Okay, boys. Lunch time. Lunch time. Okay, boys. Yes. Oh, that was my job.
00:28:35
So, it was a great job. And then to watch I'd always watch Harvey. Then I'd
00:28:39
watch Sam and watch Holly because I was right into acting back then. I said, "This is what I'm going to
00:28:45
do. I'm going to do." And then I think it was probably the last few weeks of
00:28:49
the piano. I got to know Sam a bit better then on the piano too. He would always hang out
00:28:54
with the boys and all the extras. Quite funny though, watching some of the moldy boys, the extras pushing uh
00:28:59
pushing Harvey Kitel out of the shot so they could get there. >> Boys, boys, don't don't do that. Don't
00:29:05
do that. That's the lead. That's the main actor. Don't push him out, please.
00:29:08
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. Quite funny. Had some good humor humorous times, too. But um
00:29:13
>> that was a great movie. Yeah. And Penguin won the Oscar for that. >> Yes. Yes. Yes. What a performance to
00:29:20
beautiful >> beautiful young kid at the time. She's just so natural. Remember, kids don't
00:29:24
act. They they just they just be >> I don't know what happens to us adults
00:29:28
but she what a performance. Even Holly was blamed. Remember Holly >> couldn't speak in that movie. So she had
00:29:33
to do everything through looks. E >> and what a performance. Did she win the
00:29:37
Oscar as well? I can't remember. >> I can't remember. Yeah. And a Penguin
00:29:41
did. I'm not sure who else won Oscars from that movie. Was great movie though.
00:29:44
Just such a classic. And then after after that Shortland Street Shortland Street.
00:29:48
>> That's right. I asked Jane after Jane I have to leave a bit early. I've got a
00:29:50
job on the soap. So I'm very excited about too because it's my first real
00:29:54
kind of acting acting acting job to play Dr. Oath. >> Yeah. And in terms of that original 19
00:30:01
1992 1992 I think it was cast of shortness. I've had Michael Galvin on the podcast. Carl Bernett and Martin
00:30:06
Henderson and now and now you um what are your >> good mates of mine we all
00:30:12
>> Carl was the young guy back then. Yeah. I still have >> Nick Harrison.
00:30:16
>> Nick Harrison. Yeah. I used to feel sorry for him all the time but I had to
00:30:19
Dr. But I had to go stay with Nick's home and I got quite close. I don't
00:30:22
know. I couldn't couldn't figure out why I couldn't have my own pad, but I had to
00:30:26
go stay with Nick. >> You're a doctor. >> Yeah. What's wrong with this?
00:30:30
>> Well, what's what's up with my pay? >> Yeah. And Galvin and all them had Flash
00:30:35
houses back to go to, but I had to go board at Jen Jenny's house, wasn't it?
00:30:39
>> I don't know. >> Oh, we had a lot of fun on that short street. Yeah.
00:30:42
>> What What are your um Yeah. What are your recollections of that time? because
00:30:45
um I remember it was panned at the time when it came out. It was brutal. It was savage.
00:30:50
>> They had we had the guy come over from Grundy's to sort of monitor our cuz they
00:30:56
had been doing it for a while, but this was the first time we had done a seven seven day a week soap. So yeah. Yeah. It
00:31:04
was just it was new and yeah, we're breaking we're breaking new ground there. We just uh the guy from Grundy's
00:31:11
just told us to watch out when you could get sent into the uh you could be sent down the road to get the milk or or be
00:31:17
put in the in the you know go get the something out of the locker room and you mightn't come out again. So he so
00:31:26
actually I think it was the ambulance driver that first first got fired. So then we all go, "Oh
00:31:31
my god, we better get our better get our act together otherwise we'll be fired."
00:31:35
I actually thought I was going to be fired one day and um I got called to the producers's office.
00:31:42
Katarina Dave was her name and um she sat me down said, "Tim, you're the thinking woman's bit of
00:31:51
fluff." Which I still don't know what that means. Keep smoldering was my instructions.
00:31:59
You're the thinking woman's bit of fluff. Keep smoldering. So that's when I
00:32:03
came up with the smoldering look cuz if you're the actor on the last shot of
00:32:09
the last episode, well, you got to hold that look cuz then the credits roll up, you know, just to hold that suspense. So
00:32:16
I had to come up with the smoke coming out of my ears. Look, is that like your version of Blue Steel?
00:32:25
>> And what it is, Dom, is an acting trick here, which I'll share with all the
00:32:30
other actors. You just pretend smoke is coming out your right ear or both ears and maybe pelt the lips a little bit
00:32:43
and then you hold it so they can get the credits flowing. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I used to love those end of
00:32:49
episode shots closeup. I used to call that that's the closeup there. And down
00:32:56
here is the MCU. The Maldi closeup I used to call it. It's the mid closeup, but I used to call it the mai closeup.
00:33:04
>> See, you were like a sex symbol at the time. Is it was this was this when you
00:33:07
were >> I wouldn't say that. >> But you >> I was hunky sometimes. I was in the
00:33:10
magazine. Hunky. What does that word mean? Hunky. >> A hunk. That means Yeah, I'd say that
00:33:16
would that would make you a sex symbol at the time. >> Yes. >> And you were was this about the time
00:33:22
>> that's when I had hair. >> You had hair everywhere. You did a a
00:33:27
centerfold for Cleo magazine. >> No, let's not talk about that. Yeah. That was the stupidest idea of my life.
00:33:32
And what happened there was Wendle, that lady Wendell who ran all the magazines,
00:33:36
>> Wendle Niss, >> that's her name, she took my agent, Robert the Bruce, for lunch, dinner, and
00:33:42
another lunch, I heard, and managed to persuade him to who persuaded me to go out there in
00:33:51
Bethl's Beach and hide my little peewee behind a leaf. And someone stuck it on the bloom and
00:33:59
weather report too. I think somebody was doing the weather and then instead of putting the map of New Zealand, they
00:34:03
stuck me up there. Oh my god. It was the clear that that magazine didn't last
00:34:08
very long. Have you got a copy of it? Anyway, I I I Googled it. I couldn't find it online.
00:34:13
>> Thank Christ for that. >> Well, do do you think back on that now?
00:34:19
Um like it may have been embarrassing at the time, but um you know, you look back
00:34:22
now as a 65 year old man. Yeah. No regrets about doing that surely. Well, I just it happened so I can't do much
00:34:28
about it. >> But at that time I was um I was on a bit of a run bit of a roll too I think to
00:34:35
you know I did two three years Shortland Street then once we're warriors came out
00:34:40
uh they were looking for that for Jake and I was still doing um Shortland Street and my boss um Paul Gittens who
00:34:50
played Dr. >> McKenna >> him and I used to room together out there in Shortland Street. So, so,
00:34:58
so when Warriors came around the audition process, I I used to because Paul was very good actor, very
00:35:05
very good actor, very um well theater trained as well. So, I'd always use him
00:35:12
to uh discuss my acting roles and things like that. He helped me out a lot too with Jake for that part of Jake because
00:35:18
we're all nervous. >> I was actually originally going to play Uncle Bully, I think, and then Cliff got
00:35:23
that then they called me into Read for Jake. Read for Jake. So, um, yeah, it's just funny how it worked out.
00:35:31
>> I got a I got a quote from you. Um, a lot of people thought I didn't have what
00:35:36
it took to play Jake the M. I was one of those people. >> Yep. Yep. Very much so. Even Paul had
00:35:42
his wife. >> Why would you Don Sin, my casting agent, there was a lot of them. Well, it was
00:35:47
mainly because I was um >> I didn't know what I was doing really. And Jake was just, you know, I read the
00:35:54
book and I just loved the character, too, but uh he he was a long way from me really.
00:35:59
>> He he is you're one of the you like you're you're I'd say you're a charmer
00:36:03
or even even a people pleaser to a degree like uh you I've been with you in social settings and you can you don't
00:36:09
need to be the center of attention. You can quite happily just sort of sit there
00:36:12
and, >> you know, melt into the crowd. Um but if you are holding court, you're definitely
00:36:16
holding court and I can't imagine you even losing your temper. >> Yeah. Yeah. Now, there was one thing I
00:36:22
really had to work on. There was the anger side of things, too. >> I'd be driving out to Shortland Street
00:36:27
and someone would overtake me and I was getting ready. That was a hard part because I was still working on Shortland
00:36:32
Street. So, I couldn't really have the time and clarity just to stop. I actually worked on Shortland Street
00:36:39
right up to the Friday night. And I actually broke the record that week because I had to double up on all my
00:36:44
scenes. I did something like 54 scenes in one week, which was a lot. And then I literally had Saturday had a haircut
00:36:52
Saturday, Sunday some rehearsals with the Rena and Monday we started rolling. So I really only had that weekend, you
00:37:00
know, just to clear my mind of Dr. Roata >> and then start on Warriors on the
00:37:04
Monday. But I was getting ready while I was Dr. Oata >> and the wardrobe ladies kept saying,
00:37:09
"Oh, you're starting to fill out your doctor's coat, Tim." I was going down
00:37:12
the gym in Browns Bay just trying to put on weight. >> You put on like 9 kilos or something?
00:37:17
Yeah, a little bit. Mainly upper body. Just had to pump out. Lucky I had Robert.
00:37:21
>> We all used to train at Clive Greens early in the morning and then go to
00:37:24
Shortland Street after that. >> Um, Robert was in charge of that, too, because I think he made a deal with Lee
00:37:30
Tomahori, uh, the wonderful director. Hey, get this guy ready. So, he'd ring
00:37:36
if I wasn't in the gym, too. He'd be ringing me. Where are you? Where are
00:37:38
you, bro? Get your ass down here. So, yeah, it's one wonderful mornings at Clive Greens putting on the weight. I
00:37:45
also worked with a guy called Lance Revel. He was a good boxer, >> Lance Revel. So, I based a lot of Jake
00:37:51
fighting style on Lance because we'd sort of punched the bag a little bit. >> Then they put me in a boxing ring. I
00:37:58
made a complete fool of myself. But anyway, that was I think they wanted to recast. They invited the director and
00:38:04
the producer along and then I ended up getting Jakey ended up getting a big hiding.
00:38:10
the the movie um yeah by all accounts the the the movie everyone thought it was going to be a flop like um you had
00:38:16
Lee Tamahori who was from an advertising background hadn't done a movie before
00:38:20
>> movie >> New Zealand Film Commission they they they didn't think anyone was going to be
00:38:24
interested or watch a movie about domestic violence uh you you didn't think you were right for Jake the Mass
00:38:29
and no one else thought you could play Jake the M why did it all come together it's one of
00:38:34
the most successful >> mainly Tommo the director just was just knew knew his stuff all those hundred
00:38:40
commercials he made were little 30-cond dramas. >> So, he was looking for an urban story to
00:38:45
tell. Uh, it kind of worked out that there was a company called Communicado at the time, Neil Robertson, Gary Gary
00:38:53
and Robin Schulz. And I think they just had a meeting one day and they said, "Look, we need to branch out. We need to
00:38:58
diversify." Robin start making movies. It was like that. Then someone had read
00:39:02
the book and they said, "Well, later on, Robin, if you're going to make a movie,
00:39:06
read this book. Make this one." Then that's how it happened. And I think she
00:39:10
went to look for Lee and Lee was looking to do a urban kind of story and the book
00:39:14
was out and um yeah the rest is history I guess. >> Did you though to put that together just
00:39:20
his craft just the shots I don't and uh if you look at a movie called Street Car
00:39:27
Named Desire old black and white film Marlon Brondo >> that was our model movie. So, um, Street
00:39:35
Car Named Desire, there's a guy called Stanley Kowalsski, played by Brando, who
00:39:39
I got to meet many, many years later. >> Um, that was the movie that we modeled
00:39:45
once we're warriors on. You know, they do different things like, uh, bring the
00:39:50
roof down a little bit so I look taller, you know, shoot me up this way. They always had the camera down low on me,
00:39:56
looking up at me the whole time. And all my shots were looking down at everybody.
00:40:01
So they made me a lot bigger. I wore big boots too. I used to walk around Devonport with these Demort with these
00:40:08
big boots on walking up and down the road swearing my head off. People thought I was crazy.
00:40:13
>> Yeah, because I mean you played the character so well. You know, whenever
00:40:16
anyone hears Jake the Master, they immediately picture you, I think, especially in New Zealand. But in the
00:40:21
book, Jake's 6 foot something. He's got giant fists like mix his hands. >> That's right. In the book. Yeah.
00:40:27
>> There was one thing I was looking at, too. I was looking at my hands every
00:40:29
day. I used to look at these, you know, like a >> your hands almost more petite than mine.
00:40:35
>> Petite, very small hands. And they used to annoy me and I used to try and trying
00:40:39
to stretch them out bigger. But yeah, just the description of Jake. He was a big man. That's what I meant. I was
00:40:45
really too it was the the emotional depth of Rena Owen that really got us everybody hyped up to.
00:40:53
We really had to match her her inner inner energy, her mana, her those inner things that she could bring
00:41:02
to the table. >> She'd be crying, all the tears be over this table now. Even in the read
00:41:07
through, I'm sort of, oh my god. So really, and she was born to play that role for
00:41:13
some reason. There was no other to play that. So, >> Mhm. >> So, we really had to work out just to
00:41:19
match her energy, just to match her her mana, her ferocity as well. She'd soon
00:41:25
let you know too if you if you were there or not. >> I I I watched some of the scenes um
00:41:30
again on YouTube yesterday. Um did did you ever accidentally hit her? How do you how do you do those those scenes
00:41:36
without without actually hitting your coaster >> timing? Sometimes you hit them for real
00:41:40
if you're not getting the right. She wanted to hit me a couple of times because she wasn't getting the enough
00:41:45
reaction. So, so uh No, no, but Robert did all our stunts. Robert Bruce um did most of that stuff and uh
00:41:56
No, everyone think Yeah, I think we're pretty good. She She's pretty physical
00:41:59
anyway, Rena. She's pretty physical anyway. I might have slipped up a couple
00:42:02
of times, but >> I always when it comes to this the fighting stuff, I always just got to be
00:42:07
extra careful. That's all. It's all those angles. So, yeah. >> And it was just that
00:42:11
>> the ferocity of the character and the way he sort of >> um that's what I was trying to work on,
00:42:17
you know, when the guy walks in the room, >> you know, he's I wanted everyone just to
00:42:21
go, >> you know, gez ge, we don't know what he's going to do. Is he going to slap her again? Is he going
00:42:28
to have a beer? Is he just going to walk out? Is he going to tell a joke? So, I just wanted to keep that kind of thing
00:42:33
there. And then um one day I was on an airplane and the woman's refuge lady saying you know your movie it inspired a
00:42:41
lot of women to ring us and was at that time too. I was saying well gee that's a
00:42:44
good thing then if they could say hey my life's like that >> like that lady in the movie I want to do
00:42:50
something about it. So some positivity come about it in that it opened everybody up to
00:42:56
>> the discussion >> to the discussion and all these things that are
00:43:01
>> people sort of hide under the carpet and surprising how many carpets there how
00:43:05
many houses that we're putting up with a lot of that >> and you're not you're not a method actor
00:43:10
like a Daniel D Lewis or something like you just do the do the scene and when the director says cut you stop. Um how
00:43:16
do you how do you do that with a character like Jake? Like how do you how do you
00:43:18
>> Jake was a bit different. And I sort of hung in there for most of the time. Kept
00:43:21
my I know Daniel Day and them uh Lewis and them just a phenomenal actor. >> But they're in there the whole total
00:43:28
total day in day out day in day out. I kind of get wears off after a little bit. But for that one there, Jacob or
00:43:34
less did the method for that guy. I hung in there. Just went to work. Went home again. Just went to work. I got my mom
00:43:42
up to cook for me so I could put on some weight and eat a lot. And uh but just up
00:43:47
here I had to keep keep him in there. I wouldn't um I wouldn't stay late after
00:43:52
work. I just go straight home until probably the last week I started to relax a little bit. But it was a quite a
00:43:58
quick turnaround. It's only a fiveweek shoot that movie. Just very quick turn
00:44:01
around. >> Did Did it [ __ ] you up psychologically at all? >> Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. Always go
00:44:05
through that because you want to be a good actor. You want to make everyone believe that's what you want to do.
00:44:09
That's what we're there for. We got to make everyone believe that this is
00:44:12
happening. >> It was tough on me cuz I had to rough up the young girl at the time too, Anita.
00:44:18
at all who played Grace. >> Yeah, there was a lot of me in there literally yelling and screaming and
00:44:24
shaking her up physically. Lee would get me to shake her up before and then we'd
00:44:29
roll the camera, roll the camera and I'll just abuse her physically, slap her
00:44:33
around physically, hit her for real, shake her up and then throw her in front of the camera. Camera's rolling, go.
00:44:39
And then I remember about a couple of weeks into it, I'm sort of yelling and
00:44:42
screaming and I could just tell the look on her face it wasn't I think she had worn off all my abuse
00:44:48
that kind of she kind of got used to it and I could tell by the look on her eyes
00:44:52
she go and I said this is not working anymore. Hey darling. No. Okay. Well, go over there and do some acting now.
00:45:00
But yeah, that's what the director was getting us. Even with Lee's direct, all
00:45:05
I just hear WAS THIS VICIOUS VICIOUS VICIOUS VICIOUS ACTION. They'd be yelling at me off off camera there.
00:45:13
>> Just just getting everyone just riled up. Riley up. There's a big scene in the
00:45:17
pub when you know when I'm reading when I'm reading the find out that it's Uncle
00:45:22
Bully, you know, before I beat before I beat up Uncle Bully in the pub. That was
00:45:26
a big night. Rena was on. Everybody was on too. The the set was on fire. All the extras were emotionally involved
00:45:35
and and then it come to my closeup. Sorry, run out of time. I have to come back in the morning.
00:45:43
Uh man, it was just hard to go back there 7:00 in the morning, 6:30 in the morning and try and pick it up. What we
00:45:50
had the night before was just buzzing. >> But that's when you got to act a bit.
00:45:54
You got to go back in there and everyone else has done their closeup except you.
00:45:58
So, and everyone's half asleep by the time you wasn't the same vibe. That's
00:46:02
when you got to that's when your work's cut out a little bit more. >> Do do you do you know you're on to
00:46:07
something at the time when you're when you're shooting it or >> No. When do you realize you're on to
00:46:12
onto an absolute winner? >> Podcast and crew screening when we all went back to the SBQR which
00:46:17
our DOP used at the time Stuart Dberg. >> And we all went back there and no one
00:46:22
was talking. It was dead quiet. That's when I saw Look around talking to someone. Look
00:46:32
around. No one's talking. We're all just quiet and we're the ones that made it.
00:46:36
And so it affected us. It affected us in a way. >> How did you How did you find your old
00:46:42
self again after that? Did you need any counseling or any therapy or anything? >> I went straight back to Shortland Street
00:46:47
and started swearing at everybody. literally on the Monday I went back wrapped on Friday had the weekend off. I
00:46:57
had the hair coat the SK like it was a demon was like crazy and Paul kittens all the other actors that
00:47:09
look we don't know where I think he's still in Mexico or Guatemala these m
00:47:14
Jake's making his way back from Mexico it was hilarious I just keep swearing
00:47:21
and then give people this took me about probably a month to just calm down a little bit. Oh, that's
00:47:30
right. Back to the soap bar. That's right. That's right. Yeah. No, no fighting here. No fight. Just hands in
00:47:34
pocket acting stethoscope. Okay. Come come back to Dr. Lord. But >> cuz I I suppose you unlock something.
00:47:40
>> Yeah. >> You unlock unlock this character and your brain doesn't know what's real and
00:47:44
what's acting. >> Yeah, that's right. That's right. It was just a weird time. It's a weird time.
00:47:48
>> And the phrase the phrase life-changing gets uh thrown around quite a bit. But
00:47:53
yeah, would it be fair to say that role was life-changing? >> Yep. Definitely.
00:47:57
>> Yeah, definitely. >> How so? In real terms. >> Well, it's it's always there now. You
00:48:00
You create something, >> you just create, you know, work with. It's just Well, the movie was
00:48:07
life-changing really. And the whole experience life changing. I ran into Anita recently
00:48:12
on my Earth Up show. She was in uh I invited She lives in Ken's funnily enough. So, it was nice to catch up with
00:48:18
my uh Grace, who the woman woman who played Grace. She got kids over there now. So, it was nice to have a final
00:48:24
catch up with her, talk about those days again. >> Did you apologize for your technique of
00:48:31
>> Sorry about all those times I had to shake up. Sorry about that. She was
00:48:35
beautiful, too. What a performance. She actually came in with her friend and she
00:48:38
was playing table tennis and Don someone seen her playing table tennis waiting for her friend who was auditioning. So,
00:48:44
he called her in the next day to have a go. That's how she got the part two. M
00:48:48
you you mentioned at the very start of this podcast that you you do the work then you maybe go to the premier
00:48:53
screening and then that's it. Have you you never seen Once Warriors like in the
00:48:56
last >> 30 years? >> I see it on somewhere and I quickly change the channel so I don't have to
00:49:01
watch it. >> Really? Why? >> I don't know. I don't want to watch it.
00:49:04
>> Yeah. Do when you're watching it, does it feel like it does it do you It's you
00:49:08
obviously, but does it feel like you're watching? >> It just feels weird. Yeah. I don't know
00:49:11
why. >> I just rather not watch it. >> Yeah. What's Jeez, it's never It's not
00:49:18
an easy movie to watch at the best of times. Eh, >> and that opened doors. Um,
00:49:22
>> that's the one that's the one that opened the doors. >> Not that I knew it at the time. The
00:49:27
thing was at that time Warriors came out and then um I I was trying to find an agent in um in Hollywood at the time and
00:49:37
then I think I did the some festival circuits. It got shown at the Sundance Film Festival. Actually, I was there.
00:49:44
That's where that's how I got an agent too because sort of come about and then
00:49:48
he heard of the movie and then it was going to be at the Sundance kind of everything was just happening.
00:49:54
Everything was just kind of happening. It's a funny story but also at the same
00:49:57
time I think I got an audition for a voiceover. Robert's calling me Robert Bro, they want you to audition
00:50:04
for this voice over and I kind of oh my god what the hell do I have to audition for? See, that's ego
00:50:11
coming in too, thinking, "Oh, they see me on Shortland Street or whatever, or I
00:50:15
don't know, bro, but they just wanted to come in." And funny enough, I just read
00:50:18
a a book, you know, positive attitude kind of book, and I was being negative. I could tell. And then I suddenly
00:50:25
stopped because I thought of this book. I uh I wasn't even going to go in for the
00:50:30
audition. I said, "Ah, bugger." And then I realized what I was doing. I was
00:50:34
identifying my ego was in the way there. Wasn't listening to my agent probably.
00:50:39
So, I called him back and I said, "Very sorry about that bad attitude. Uh, uh,
00:50:43
Robert, when's this audition? Uh, where is it? I'll I'll go there immediately."
00:50:48
So, I went up there and what I had to say was um, they showed me the commercial and it was a air New Zealand
00:50:55
commercial with all these birds, the Southern Alps, and Kiri Tako was singing po
00:51:01
went for two minutes. Then right at the end I had to say Air New Zealand the airline of the world's
00:51:09
greatest travelers. I went, "Oh, this is good. This is good." So I blah blah play the music
00:51:15
again. Have the headphones on. And I started bringing out my voice, my uh voice over voice. Air New Zealand, the
00:51:23
airline of the world's greatest travelers. Okay, let me do it again. Let me do it
00:51:28
again. Air New Zealand, the airline of the world's greatest tra Let me do it
00:51:34
again. I must have killed I'm killing everybody now cuz now I'm doing take 20
00:51:37
now. Hang on. Let me do it again. >> Too much positivity. >> Yeah, I know. I'm going for it. I'm
00:51:42
going for it. I'm going for it. I finally got one where I just had a Let me add a little bit of smile in there
00:51:47
and a little bit more gravel. Air New Zealand, the airline of the world's greatest travel. It wasn't quite
00:51:54
like that, but anyway. And then I get the call back. I ring Robert. Did they like my voice?
00:52:02
Did they like my audition? Oh yes, bro. They love it. Well, when do I go in and do uh the real thing? Oh, no, no,
00:52:08
they're quite happy. You've done it all. I said, um, okay. And a voiceover back
00:52:14
then probably got couple hundred bucks for for your half a day session. This was only like, you know, 10 minutes at
00:52:22
the most. So, I went back to Robert. I said, "Charge them $10,000." And he go,
00:52:29
"There's there's silence at the other end of the phone." Are you there?
00:52:34
or pro bro pro they'll never pay that oh they'll never pay that are you working
00:52:39
for them or for me charge them $10,000 see what they say then we make go oh bro they're going to pay it
00:52:49
they're going to pay it I just knew I had this special quality in that in that
00:52:53
one little line to go with it cuz the kit I think palak it just sounded nice and so I kind of knew I just had one
00:53:00
special thing it would there was no other voice like it >> that's $1,000 per did.
00:53:05
>> Yep. And he got both going to pay it. And I said, "Okay, I don't want the money. I don't want the
00:53:13
money, but what I'll have is a $10,000 contra contra deal." So that's how I got
00:53:20
to Hollywood. I would go and ring the lady up and use uh I think it was about $1,500 to get to Los Angeles economy. So
00:53:28
I take my 1500 out of that get my economy seat there about there and back is actually return ticket too. So that's
00:53:35
how I got to Hollywood through that commercial. Now if I evaluate that one my ego was in the way. Two I went and
00:53:43
attended to the work itself. Got rid of the ego and just dealt with the job. Tried to do the best voiceover
00:53:51
I could possibly do. That landed me a job with Air New Zealand. That got me to Hollywood. I think I went about five or
00:53:58
six times using that Contra deal where I got an agent and I was using it to go and do some auditions and I got a couple
00:54:07
of auditions, very good auditions, too. But then I had to leave Shortland Street
00:54:11
to actually finally get the job because they wouldn't release me. A couple of
00:54:14
jobs I got, >> but I got one job and I I forgot what it was. I think it was um um Renee Harland
00:54:21
movie, like a pirate movie. and uh they gave me the part. Then I couldn't get
00:54:27
off Shortland Street. So I had to leave. I said, "Well, if I can get one job, I'm
00:54:30
sure I can get another one." So I decided to leave Shortland Street, which was a big big call for me because, you
00:54:36
know, we were making, >> you know, very good money at the time. And it was a great job. It was secure
00:54:40
job >> and um I decided to go back to the insecure job again and have a crack at
00:54:46
Hollywood. >> But that's how it all happened. And at that time it was just a timing thing
00:54:50
too. Everything was kind of going on. Warriors had just come out and things like that. So, um, sometimes you just
00:54:56
got to make that decision to go for that, >> you know, to go for that other kind of
00:55:01
thing that you might have. >> Yeah, that's some great advice there. >> Um, just thought I'd throw that in
00:55:06
there, too. Yeah. >> And the, um, you you've worked with some amazing people, and we'll run through
00:55:10
some names in a second, but I just want to know one of your first movies. Um, yeah, you mentioned this before, your
00:55:14
agent, Joe, who I've met. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Good man. Um, >> he passed away.
00:55:19
>> Yeah, he passed away. Yeah. >> Oh, I didn't know that. I'm sorry. She
00:55:24
said, "You've lost Robert and Joe." >> Yeah. >> It gets us all in the end, doesn't it?
00:55:29
>> Yeah. Robert passed away, too. That was very sad. >> So Joe um didn't want you to do He's
00:55:34
your agent. He didn't want you to do barb wire. You Why did Why did you want
00:55:39
to do it? You're just like, "Ah, it's Pam Hollywood. I want to go to
00:55:42
Hollywood." Pam Anderson was hot from Baywatch at the time. Baywatch was big
00:55:47
big television show. And uh >> yeah, I didn't worry about any of that.
00:55:50
He just was based on a comic. Um, yeah, we're having big arguments about that,
00:55:56
but I decided to do it anyway and made made my way to Hollywood and filmed that in Los Angeles. So, it was it was a
00:56:02
buzz. Robert come to visit. >> When you when you're doing a movie like
00:56:06
that, do like c can you tell if it's going to be a good movie or a bad movie?
00:56:09
>> Not really. It was a lot of action. >> I believe there's a funny story about
00:56:14
that. It was your first time using a gun. >> Yep. >> True story. >> True story. True story. I'll tell
00:56:20
everyone the story. I get this m the the armor they call they come over and said,
00:56:24
"Oh, Jim, which gun would you like? The AK >> 47 >> 47 or the Uzi." And I just Uzi sounded
00:56:33
cuz I've seen all those Commando Commando comic books growing up. You remember the old Commando? And they all
00:56:39
had Uzi's in there. I need the Uzi. I need the Uzi. So he's teaching me how to
00:56:43
work it. >> And he said it moves. I try and keep it steady. Load it up. I said, "Load, put
00:56:47
them in." And I'm hiding behind this vehicle. Then I'm supposed to come
00:56:50
around and shoot all the baddies. So I'm going like that. Action. Come around
00:56:59
and do all the firing. Then I hear this. Cut. Cut. Uh Tim, come to the monitor, please. So I
00:57:07
run over to the monitor. Have a look. Rewind this. Rewind. Rewind this. Uh you're doing something silly with your
00:57:12
mouth or your lips or something. Rewind it. Show Tim. So he's rewinding it. And
00:57:16
then I have a look. And there I am. I'm going like this. D. You're dead.
00:57:25
Then I told the director, I see what I'm doing with my lips. I'm making the sound
00:57:29
effects. Sorry about that. He goes, look, let's do it again. You don't have
00:57:33
to do the sound effects. We'll put them in later. Okay. Okay. So, next take I'm
00:57:37
going like this. Making sure my lips aren't going. Yeah, but there was a kid and he just pops out
00:57:45
every now and then. Oh yeah, >> I still got work after that movie. So that was good. I went from Pamela
00:57:51
Anderson and I ended up working with Brando. >> Mhm. >> On the island of Dr. Marome.
00:57:56
>> I don't know if that was after. Well, no, it was well after actually.
00:57:59
>> He didn't he take a real shine to you? >> He liked you. >> Yes. Yes. Uh he's watched Warriors.
00:58:07
>> He watched Warriors. He sat down with his PA and um the PA got to work the
00:58:12
next day and he she came up to me. Mind you, we're all dressed as dog and half
00:58:16
dog, half human. So, Malon couldn't really take any of us seriously because he just looked at us and started
00:58:22
laughing go, "Oh my god." And um so as you could see all the actors trying to
00:58:27
say something u you know with Maron trying to make conversation like uh who was the goatman? He was in the Biky
00:58:34
movie. Ron Ron Pearlman. Ron Pearman famous for >> Venick. Yeah. Yeah. Well, he's dressed
00:58:40
up like a goat. He's got a goat head on his and he's trying to talk to Maron
00:58:43
about something, but yeah, no one could uh Maron couldn't take us all seriously.
00:58:47
But yeah, he had seen Warriors and um he said, "Oh, I thought I was watching a
00:58:54
documentary." Very good work. Good work. Good work. And then I had to say, "Oh, I
00:58:58
actually watched Street Car Named Desire couple hundred times." uh so that was
00:59:04
the connection I and then funnily enough I saw in Chicago Times I think when Warriors come out they compared me to
00:59:11
Stanley Kowolski in this write up I said oh this guy got it this guy got the he got what we were doing here so yeah that
00:59:18
was about and even for Maron to sit down and watch the film and just say uh very
00:59:23
good work very good work he thought he was watching a documentary at times that's what he said
00:59:28
>> unreal >> do do you when when you were having a conversation with someone like Um, are
00:59:32
you picking his brain for acting tips or is it just conversations? >> Well, I was doing it more on the day.
00:59:38
Doing one on the day. I'd actually be I' decided to be uh cuz I was half dog,
00:59:42
half human, I decided to be Maron's right-hand dog. So, no matter where he went, I was just going to go with him. I
00:59:48
telling the director, I'm with Maron. Wherever he goes, I'm his dog. I'm his
00:59:51
right-hand dog. So, I'd go in there and watch him rehearse. Then I give him a
00:59:56
little bit of a water. I was trying to just gauge his energy. And he loved playing with his hands too.
01:00:02
He'd be doing a lot of hands. He'd love playing with props. And then some I bit nervous because he'd
01:00:09
just look at me and I start to jump in. I would jump in. Then he'd say, "Never
01:00:13
anticipate my boy. Never anticipate, you know, which is a good acting lesson to you. Don't jump ahead of yourself. Makes
01:00:21
you but because he just everyone was just on on their best behavior around Brando." So So that's where he took a
01:00:28
liking to me. probably one of the only actors that got invited back to his bus, have a few peanuts with him. And he
01:00:35
started talking a little bit of Tahesian Mai, which he knew cuz he spent all that
01:00:39
time in Tahiti, of course, cuz it was raining outside. And Mar goes, "Oh, hey."
01:00:45
Oh, did he just say, "Hey, raining." Oh, see. So, it was just a nice moment.
01:00:52
So, I didn't ask. Actually, it was one of those moments where I didn't know
01:00:55
what to ask him, but but he was all one he's right into the indigenous movement,
01:01:00
too. Remember? Remember, he sent the Indian up to get this Oscar. >> Yeah, that's right.
01:01:05
>> Yeah, remember. So, he's been right around the indigenous rights for a long,
01:01:08
long time, that man. But yeah, wonderful man. Wonderful. I used to just watch him
01:01:13
just be in awe, watch him work. He I even overheard him tell the director who was John Frankenheimr at
01:01:21
the time. He's telling him to cut Val Kilmer out of the movie. He's Maron's
01:01:25
going you don't need put this guy. He's pointing at me. Put this guy in the
01:01:28
movie more. Put this guy >> He's trying to cut Val out of the movie and put me in more. So it was kind of
01:01:34
funny. >> Oh, come that's what Iceman from Top Gun. How was that? >> Yeah, he was cool. He was very I don't
01:01:41
know. He's just I don't know what's some of the fellas didn't like. I like Val.
01:01:45
He was very good actor. I remember Jimmy remember the Jimmy Morrison role he'd
01:01:49
played >> in the Doors movie. >> Yeah, the Doors movie. Beautiful work in
01:01:52
that. No, him and me and Val got on well. I respected Val. I respected his work.
01:01:57
>> He just had a I don't I think he rubbed the crew up a couple of times the wrong
01:02:01
way, but I don't know what it is. You know, sometimes it gets a bit like that.
01:02:04
You know, they don't have to do much before some crew member might say, "He's
01:02:08
a diva. >> And we're pretty lowkey. You know the crews here in Australia and New Zealand
01:02:17
pretty down to earth kind of people too. >> Over there is they have big you know in
01:02:22
America they have big union you know the crew are told not to talk to us really just talk to your boss and don't talk to
01:02:27
the actors >> cuz they they know sometimes actors in America don't like
01:02:33
the crew talking to them because they're in another zone so they're told not to.
01:02:37
Wow. >> Last thing they might be having an emotional scene, so they don't really
01:02:41
want to know about the driver's dinner last night or whatever they're going
01:02:44
through or their problems. They they're not interested. They just want to do
01:02:47
their do their acting as best they can. So sometimes they don't like anyone talking to them.
01:02:52
>> I feel like I I could be completely wrong, but I feel like you're the sort
01:02:54
of guy when the the driver comes to pick you up from the hotel, you probably jump
01:02:58
in the passenger seat, have a yarn. >> Yeah. >> Depends what sort of mood you're in. I
01:03:01
have a few drivers kill me and get lost on the way to set and and start talking their stuff and I go,
01:03:12
"Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah, >> you know." Yeah. >> What about Harrison Ford? You've worked
01:03:16
with him, right? >> Yes, I worked with him 67. Nice. Nice man, Harrison. >> Nice man.
01:03:20
>> Mhm. >> He he taught me a couple of lessons because I think Air Force One had just
01:03:26
come out and I was interested in Gary Man playing the bad guy. So I was asking Harrison about Gary Man. I was saying
01:03:34
Harrison does that guy Omen does he kind of you know how does he work himself up
01:03:38
because he's very intense actor this guy you seal some of his early work >> and he goes yeah Harrison goes yeah he's
01:03:45
a bit of a rant that one yeah he's saying something like he goes on about that guy say I don't see you running
01:03:52
around the place working yourself up Harrison and I put it all there and you watch Harrison's acting he's got
01:04:01
a lot of energy and he forces it right up to the forehead breathing wise and everything. He puts
01:04:06
it right there. Then the other thing he does too is a number of versions versions.
01:04:13
And he'll just go down and he'll come up and give a look. Then he'll go disappear
01:04:17
again. He'll come up and just give a slightly different version. So yeah, I learned that one off Harrison versions.
01:04:23
So the editor doesn't have the same thing. There's a bit of a variety going
01:04:27
on. So they can choose in the cut, you know, >> sort of like what you did with the New
01:04:31
Zealand voiceover. Yes, very much so. Very much until I got the right tone, the right smile, just that right
01:04:36
version. And Harrison would do a number of versions and then just leave it up to
01:04:40
the >> to the director or the editor later on when they see the best one. So that was
01:04:45
another good Six Days, Seven Nights. That was with Anne Hesh, too. Anne Hesh passed away, too.
01:04:49
>> Oh, >> and Harrison. Wonderful filming in Hawaii, too. >> Kawaii, I think it was.
01:04:58
>> Oh. Um, speaking of people you've met that have passed away, Michael Jackson,
01:05:02
>> I did meet him briefly. >> Yeah, >> Michael, >> how did how did this happen? This wasn't
01:05:07
>> I went to see my friend who was doing a makeup the Dr. Maro makeup artist
01:05:12
actually Bruce Fuller was his name and he was doing the black and white some work on the black and white music
01:05:19
video, Michael's. So, I went in to see my makeup artist and then I decided to
01:05:24
go for a walk, have a look around the set and then I'm in this uh thing and I
01:05:28
must have been in Michael Jackson's personal tent with all this oxygen was getting blown and I was having a look.
01:05:34
Then I was just about to walk out and in he walked with his security and the security guy said, "Hey, aren't you the
01:05:40
guy from Monster Warrior?" So, Michael was listening to the security guy. Oh,
01:05:44
must have thought I was somebody famous then. So, I shook his hand. That was nice. But I I was just like an
01:05:52
idiot. I was staring at him like this, looking at his nose, looking at his pale white skin. And I sort of just I freaked
01:05:59
him out a bit. So he kind of left. He sort of made him feel a bit uncomfortable cuz I was just staring
01:06:03
like an idiot. But I did say, uh, look, when on your world tour, Michael, make sure you visit
01:06:09
New Zealand, not just Australia, like a lot of them do. Funnily enough, I see him come to New Zealand, which wasn't on
01:06:16
the original tour. And guess who met him at the airport? Uncle Howard. >> Unbelievable. Yeah. Wow.
01:06:22
>> That's funny. >> Yeah, that was a brief moment, but oh, I remember going into watching him work
01:06:26
and that sound was just reverberating. These walls were just shaking and then man, he was just doing like nothing but
01:06:33
it was something. You know what I mean? Just minimal just feeling it. He was just feeling and it was just another
01:06:39
moment. I was wow, >> wow, it's Michael Jackson. Look at that. Yeah, I was buzzing up then back to my
01:06:47
buddy the makeup. Oh, I see Michael. That's me. I'm out of here. >> So, she was doing the makeup on this
01:06:53
video shoot for Black or White. She hadn't even got to meet him. >> No.
01:06:56
>> And she warned you that you probably wouldn't get to meet him. >> Yeah.
01:06:59
>> Yeah. >> Classic Tim. That's funny. Um, what about Jason Mamoa? Um, it's it's like a
01:07:05
it's it's a very special relationship you two have. Hey. >> Yeah. He loved Warriors. Warriors
01:07:09
affected him. I heard him I only know this because I heard him talking to his kids. It's the reason why he got into
01:07:14
acting. Warriors. Once were warriors. And um well, you know, he was growing up um I think he moved I think his parents
01:07:25
separated too. So he moved to Iowa for a bit with his mom. And then when he was going back to Hawaii to find out more
01:07:34
about his his dad's side, well, he started getting work on those you as a model and as on that early Baywatch
01:07:41
stuff, too. So I think Yeah. So, he'd been watching New Zealand for quite some
01:07:45
time and I'd heard about Jason through my agent to Joe actually had run into
01:07:50
him a couple of times and Joe was telling me, "Oh, that guy just loves you. He just loves once we're warriors
01:07:54
and things like that." So, um so yeah, we've become very good friends now. So,
01:07:59
>> because I think I think the last time you and I met in real life in person, I
01:08:02
mean, was um probably at the Roosevelt Hotel in LA. I was I just happened to be over there with my partner at the time
01:08:08
and it was the same night as the um uh premiere for the original Aquaman. And you were like, "Oh, Dom, Dom, give me a
01:08:14
call tonight. There's a party by the pool. You can come. I'll introduce you
01:08:17
to Nicole Kidman and Jason Mamoa." And then I tried to call you later that night. You didn't pick up. But it was a
01:08:22
lovely sentiment. And we had we had brunch the next day with Jason Mamoa. >> Did you?
01:08:26
>> Yeah. >> Oh, that's good. At least I did something. >> Yeah. No, but he's um Yeah, he he's been
01:08:32
called really supportive of you, eh? >> Very very took me like uh put me in I
01:08:36
think he was a big mover and groover for me being Aqua Dad as well. So uh he wanted me to be his father. So I think u
01:08:43
they had to listen to him. I think even though I met the casting agent, I went through the right
01:08:48
>> um way of going about it. So I met the casting agent people as well. Actually
01:08:52
at the time my agent Joe we we because he'd been down in New Zealand a number
01:08:56
of times. So I taught him how to do the barbecue, the big feed, put the barbie on. So when we when he got back to
01:09:01
America, he was putting on the big feeds like we do back here. So, and he'd invite the uh the casting agents to his
01:09:09
house for a barbecue. That saves us waiting to meet the casting agent, you see. So, it was a
01:09:14
good little method to encourage the casting agents to come over, >> have a barbecue, and then meet me at the
01:09:20
same time or some of his other clients as well. So, it was really good way of working.
01:09:24
>> And then uh the Aqua, I've forgotten her name now actually, the Aqua Aquaman
01:09:29
casting turned up at one of the barbecues. Actually, she was late. She came a bit later. Then I was doing
01:09:34
everything I could to impress her. Pulled the guitar out. I sang sang my sang every song I could think of. I
01:09:41
think I killed her. But anyway, not long after that I got the part, but I think basically it was due to Jason. He also
01:09:46
put me in a thing like Frontier. Took me to England with him. Wanted me to do some stuff in Frontier. That was way
01:09:51
cool. We filmed up in England and another place called New Foundland just Canada there. New Finland. New Finland
01:09:57
somewhere there. And then of course um more recently this Chief of War has been >> Yeah. on Apple spectacular. Been quite a
01:10:07
spectacular show. >> Um yeah, he was actually ringing me and I was trying to put him on to Cliff.
01:10:16
Need you, bro. I need you, bro. I ring Cliff. Ring Cliff Curtis. He's your man.
01:10:20
Oh, I already got a Cliff. I already got a Cliff. I need you, too. All right. All right.
01:10:27
What? Yeah. You you've done this quite a bit over the years. E like um when there's an overflow of work or a job you
01:10:31
don't want, you pass it on to Cliff G. Why? Why? So, >> I just wanted to He doesn't need your
01:10:35
help, does he? No, I was just like I think he wanted to be the bad guy and I was trying to tell him that Cliff's Oh,
01:10:40
Cliff's an excellent bad guy. >> Yeah. But then he said, "No, I've
01:10:44
already got Cliff." >> That was for this chief of all thing been quite spectacular actually. I'm
01:10:48
glad I didn't I'm glad I had said yes at the end of the day because it was
01:10:52
>> very rarely get this opportunity to um do something quite cultural, something
01:10:57
Hawaiian. >> Had to learn the language, >> a lot of it based on their history too.
01:11:02
So um and everyone sort of took took the responsibility on to do the best we could, you know, for our Hawaiian
01:11:09
brothers and sisters, you know, it was and it was Jason's turn for for him to
01:11:13
make his story about his ancestors. So very very very rewarding um job that was. Besides my feet, my feet were too
01:11:24
soft. Dom walking on that Hawaiian coral rock. The feet were I'm supposed to be
01:11:31
the big chief walking like this. But yeah, my feet were way too soft. But yeah, it was a fab fabulous experience.
01:11:40
Uh we really worked closely with the dialogue people to get the Hawaiian sounding as authentic as we could make
01:11:45
it. So made some great friends. Had one uh who did my hi >> in Hawaii. He plays Kamehaha. So he's
01:11:53
really a great friend now that I've and he also hosted us for my Earth Oven show. So yeah, so we got a lot out of
01:11:59
it, you know, and we even had, you know, a lot of cultural things happening, you
01:12:03
know, with the Waka, you know, the the renaissance we're having with our with
01:12:07
our Walker sailing all around the world now, proving uh we could shoot all the way to North America. Bam. We could
01:12:14
shoot all the way to La Panui. Bam. Just like that. So carving wise, we had people from Rotoa doing a lot of the
01:12:20
carvings in Chief of War teaching teaching the Hawaiian carvers how to, you know, so a lot of shared cultural
01:12:27
stuff was going on too. Just amazing experience. >> Oh, speaking of cultural Hawaiian roles,
01:12:32
I guess, um you're also a chief in Moana. >> Yep. >> Um a a job like a voice job like that or
01:12:40
um say like doing a voiceover for a Star Wars game or whatever it happens to That's been beautiful for me cuz uh at
01:12:46
least you know it's one of those nice soft things for the kids. Oh, they come
01:12:50
to my Star Wars table, they see Boba Fett, Boba Fett, Jango Fett, Commander Cody, blah blah blah. Oh, oh, he's Chief
01:12:57
Dwey as well. I always have a photo of that. >> You've got a you've got a young
01:13:00
daughter. Is she a Moana fan? >> Yep. Oh, she loves him. She loves Moana. She sings the songs and everything.
01:13:05
>> And she's she's six, so she sort of makes the connection that dad is
01:13:10
>> Yeah. Yeah. Well, she's she's with me a lot sometimes on set now, so she comes
01:13:14
for for a look and a watch. >> My papa does the action. My papa does the action. She's not quite sure what
01:13:21
the action is, but she hears some some yelling out action. >> That's so cute.
01:13:26
>> M has been great for the kids, too. It's quite funny, though. The parents come up
01:13:30
and the kids looking at me and the parents are going, "Look, look, look, son. Look, look, the daughter, whatever
01:13:36
the name is. Look, it's Chief Dwey from Moana." And they're looking at me going,
01:13:42
>> "You don't look like Chief Dwey. That's just my voice. It's just my voice
01:13:47
on the Chief D." >> But do you do you do those voiceover jobs like in a in a studio near your
01:13:52
home in Rooua or do you get flowing somewhere? >> No, right down here in Oakuckland.
01:13:56
>> Right. >> Yeah. >> Amazing. >> I got a couple of studios here I use
01:14:00
>> um just in the city here. Envy and there's a few around the city because
01:14:04
they got to have these proper connections. >> Yeah. >> Sometimes you can do it on your phone.
01:14:08
Sometimes I've done a few things in the one and I've just done it on the phone.
01:14:10
Just one line or two that I've missed. >> Put it on the phone as best I can.
01:14:14
>> But audition for Chief Tui though again they wanted to see me in person.
01:14:19
Um I actually almost lost the job too cuz I wasn't when I first went to thing I
01:14:26
wasn't happy with the way Ma Maui looked. So I kind of let out a few things and I
01:14:33
kind of saw them all go a bit red. So I thought, well gee, I better stop that otherwise I'll be fired soon. So I just
01:14:38
sort of towed the line. >> Why weren't you happy with how Maui looked?
01:14:42
>> Oh, well I don't know. I just I had another vision. I had another vision. I
01:14:46
had another vision like a birdlike thin thin looking warrior. I don't know. I
01:14:52
don't know. But hey, the movie's done well. Beautiful. Beautiful. I'm in Moana
01:14:56
too as well. So there was a little I actually got a little bit annoyed because they didn't I sang the song in
01:15:02
the first Moana but they didn't use my voice. I think it was a bit too high for me to be quite
01:15:08
honest. It was a little bit high but it wasn't until I watched the movie that I
01:15:12
realized they cut my voice out. So I'm looking at my agent Joe again. That's not my voice. What happened? You
01:15:20
know, they at least they could have said, "Oh, sorry, but we didn't use your voice. It
01:15:25
didn't you were flat or something. That might have been nice." >> It was a little high for me, but
01:15:31
>> anyway, I got to sing in the second one. So, that was made up for it. >> Fantastic. What was that song?
01:15:37
>> I can't remember. Village song. Village. The village song. >> Yeah. How How are you? You um Yeah. So,
01:15:45
you've got a six-y old daughter. You've got you've got a um adult kids as well,
01:15:48
right? >> Yeah. James, you know James. >> Yeah. The model. >> He's um he's 34 now.
01:15:54
>> How Yeah. How how >> I think you came to his 21st, didn't you?
01:15:57
>> What's that? >> I think you came to James' 21st. >> Yeah. Yeah, I did.
01:16:00
>> In sitting here. >> Yeah. >> How How is it different? What What are
01:16:04
your observations from being like a dad in your 30s versus being a dad in your late 50s, early 60s?
01:16:09
>> Yeah. It's better being in your 30s, but Yeah. >> I got a I got a 20-year-old, too.
01:16:16
>> 20-y old girl. Yes. So, I've got James, 34, 20-year-old Aayorangi, and a six-year-old, W
01:16:23
Punaangi. Yeah. Just the energy level. So, it's a bit hard when you come home at night and
01:16:29
the sixyear-old wants wants to play shoulder rides at 11:00 at night. Why are you still up?
01:16:39
Then they want to jump all over you. You go, but it's nice those kids just jumping
01:16:45
all over you. There's nothing like that feeling really where they're just
01:16:48
hugging you and they're just jumping on you even though you're tired. >> Don't feel like playing robot at the
01:16:53
moment. >> I've I've seen you with your with your kids at various stages of their lives
01:16:57
and you're a very you're a very present dad. You've got a lot of love for your
01:17:00
kids. Eh, >> well try to Yes. Yes. Yes. Big loves to the kids. Big loves. >> Yeah.
01:17:10
>> That's why I got to work in the next lifetime as well. So the six-year-olds.
01:17:20
I have to go work in the next lifetime, too. Dom, do they do podcasts in the next life? Do you think?
01:17:25
>> Maybe. I don't know. I don't know. We'll find out. >> Um, should we move on to some Star Wars
01:17:30
stuff? >> Not really. I don't like Star Wars. >> You You What are you looking at?
01:17:35
>> My Star Wars things here. >> Oh, yeah. >> This t-shirt. I just saw it in the shop.
01:17:39
>> Were you a fan of Star Wars before or not? >> No, not really. 77 that first one come
01:17:45
out. So I wasn't really a big Star Wars fan, >> but um I met the casting agent
01:17:53
and funnily enough I was in LA. I was actually in the Balash Hotel staying on the ninth floor and I had to meet the
01:17:58
casting agent who was staying in the same hotel on the 10th floor. So I couldn't believe that.
01:18:03
>> Wow. >> And I just went up. We had a little uh chat. That's all it was. Just a talk,
01:18:08
talked about anything and everything for about an hour I think and that was it. And then uh about a month or so later,
01:18:15
she called, "We'd love you to play Jango Fat." So that was funny. And then I get over
01:18:21
there and there's Jay Lana, my old radio mate. And I'm looking at Jay cuz we both
01:18:27
did the radio together out south Oakland. He's looking at me. I What are you doing here? I said, I'm Jango Fat.
01:18:35
What are you doing here? I'm Captain Tyo. Oh, come on. I see. So, and then Rena Owen was there playing Toni.
01:18:43
And uh yeah, do do you ever have a moment where where where you guys are looking at each each other and maybe
01:18:49
it's just like a a look and you know you're feeling the same thing without
01:18:52
even saying it but we're like how the [ __ ] did this happen? >> Yeah. Funny too cuz they had a cardboard
01:18:56
cut out of her of her head on stuck on a hat. Rena wore a hat like a building hat
01:19:02
you know with a cardboard cutout. So she looked quite ridiculous of how high her
01:19:07
head was going to be. They just had a little cardboard cutout of some eyes. So yeah, she looked ridiculous looking
01:19:13
walking around with his hat on, but at least we knew how tall she was going to be.
01:19:18
>> But I remember my first scene too was George was there directing all the
01:19:21
casting agent was there and it was in Sydney at the Fox studio there. I had a big scene with you and McGregor and I
01:19:28
was nervous. Gee, I was just I was just wasn't quite ready, you know. I wasn't
01:19:34
>> I don't But I just wasn't going to. I was rushed actually cuz I was doing
01:19:37
something else and I had to shoot over there and do the scene and then go back and finish this other job I was doing.
01:19:41
Then I could go back and do the rest of it. So I was rushed in between and I was
01:19:46
going from one set to another. I was finishing off this TV show called E-hucka. I think it was a TV cop show uh
01:19:53
with Rebecca Gibney, I think it was. And then I was rushed over to Star Wars and
01:19:57
did the scene with Euan and he'd been doing it for a while. So he was pretty comfortable in his Jedi
01:20:05
outfit and his Jedi pretty minimal actor too. He was pretty good. So and I was still finding my way but uh
01:20:14
I was just trying to relax relax. And he was so cool too. He was just doing very
01:20:21
very minimal kind of acting. Just eyebrow stuff. I'm going do you like your army? And I
01:20:28
was thinking, well, I'm just going to copy this guy and just use my eyebrows
01:20:31
back. So, I was and he was so subtle. I was trying to be more subtle than he was, you know. It was like a game of
01:20:38
poker, you know. You know, I've got some jacks. I got a pair of jacks up, but I'm
01:20:42
sure you got a pair of aces. So, it was like that. I was playing it like that. But anyway, I got through the day and
01:20:47
got survived. So, it was just huge though. You don't realize cuz the sets at the time were just
01:20:56
massive and all the blue and green screen. Now it's even changed again. But yeah. Oh, there's a buzzer George there.
01:21:05
>> Yeah. What What's your first meeting with George Lucas like? Are you Are you
01:21:09
super intimidated or >> No, he's just very nice. He just likes you. Relax. Yeah. Just very cordial.
01:21:16
>> Blue jeans, the checkered shirt, you know, the mullet hairstyle. Yeah. Just
01:21:20
very cool. I like George. Very cool director. So, I had a great time with him. >> Does he
01:21:26
>> And he made me feel comfortable, too. He's very hands-on, though. Very
01:21:29
directing. Very >> He was just trying to relax me, too, cuz I think he could see I was a bit
01:21:34
nervous, you know. Just another day at the office, he was saying. >> When you're when you're doing that or
01:21:40
when you find out you're going to be in Star Wars, um are are you aware that
01:21:44
it's like a life-changing role in terms of >> No, not not at the time. I didn't
01:21:48
realize it. It's only now that I'm doing the conventions and all of that. That's
01:21:51
all come from that. >> And >> you do heaps of them, mate. When you when I listen to you to come on the
01:21:56
podcast and you're like, "Sorry, bro. I'm going >> overseas." Conventions now. Yeah. That's
01:22:00
the big spin-off. >> Yeah. I love the conventions. Just get there. It's nice nice people. They look
01:22:06
after you book and just got to sit at your desk for next to all the other guys. And
01:22:13
sometimes you get a bit upset because there's more in his line than in your line. Hey.
01:22:18
Oh, so you Oh, so it's not like a not like a a table talk thing. It's like
01:22:23
lines for autographs. And what do people want? They just want you to sign like a
01:22:27
pop doll or they want you >> photograph generally or the pop-ups now. Huge. The pop-ups are just huge. They're
01:22:33
just a box with a doll of Boba Fett in there or Jango Fett or Clone Trooper. >> And they never take them out of the box.
01:22:41
>> No. No. You say Yeah. So then they want a quote quote from my show or something
01:22:46
like a banana >> for the phone. Oh, just a quote from what I've said in one of the movies.
01:22:52
>> No hard feelings. It's just business. I said that in one of my Boba Fett shows.
01:22:57
So, they want to quote >> they I they also the famous quote is I'm just a simple man making my way in the
01:23:05
universe which after doing that all bloody day long stuff gets a bit boring. Making my way in the universe like my
01:23:11
father before me and all that. So, but it's nice. You know what I figured though? They just they just want that
01:23:16
little moment, you know, tell you tell you something uh about them about how something affected affected them. You
01:23:24
know, they're very um very honest, but it's just that little moment, you know,
01:23:29
they they're getting the photograph and the autograph is just really an excuse
01:23:33
just so they can be close to you, have that little moment. And they always they're very honest with you. They say,
01:23:38
"Man, I was just going through a bad time." You know, one time I'll tell you,
01:23:42
this is a true story. I'm uh where was I? I was down down um down staying in this hotel down by
01:23:50
Shutters down by Malibu there. Nice hotel. And I was living next door to the hotel from Shutters. And um I was kind
01:23:59
of I was staying in this hotel. It was very nice. And I thought, "Oh, I'm going
01:24:02
to go over to that restaurant for change. See what their breakfast is like." It was actually the shutters
01:24:08
hotel. I went to go had my breakfast. Went to go pay. The guy said, "It's
01:24:13
okay, man. It's all me." And he was one of the assistant managers there. I said,
01:24:17
"Gee, that's very nice of you, man. It's all good. It's cool. You got come." And
01:24:21
he showed me a photo. He said, "Look." And I had taken a photo with his sons,
01:24:27
like couple of two, three years beforehand. He said, "I was on the bones of my ass. I've gone through a divorce.
01:24:34
I was unemployed. We hardly had any money. I took my sons and we were standing. They were standing and they of
01:24:40
course they had no money to get an autograph. They just stood there and looked at me for a while and I could see
01:24:44
them looking at me. So I said, "Oh." So I actually got up at my table and went
01:24:48
over to say hello to them. Oh. Been here standing there to say hello to the boys
01:24:52
and I said hello to them. And they were just about to go to university I think. And uh they made it a bit of a pack and
01:25:01
then I took them back to my table gave them an autograph. Yeah. From Jang. All the best with your studies boys. And
01:25:07
then he showed me a photo again and they both had their gowns on. Wow. They had graduated.
01:25:19
And he said, "We've always the boys always when they got went through a hard
01:25:23
time or stuck uh an emotional time or a very hard time, they would always just remember the photos from Django Fett and
01:25:31
things like that." He made me cry. I'm almost crying again just thinking about
01:25:35
it. But he actually made me cry at the time. So I gave him another hug. Yeah. So that was a buzz. That was a buzz for
01:25:40
me. I said, "Geez, I'm glad I was just every now and then you got to be nice."
01:25:44
And that's what I did. I was just nice. I had a little moment. Went over there,
01:25:47
say hello, gave those boys a couple of photos. Then they ended up using this Django Fett experience to to keep their
01:25:53
positivity up. So it was great to see that they had graduated. And plus, I got a free breakfast.
01:26:00
>> The return on investment was good. took a while to get the payoff, but >> and I got a free breakfast from the
01:26:05
Flash Hotel. But that was just a lesson for me sometimes, you know, cuz sometimes I get home after a convention
01:26:11
>> and you know, been flying and you just get to the airport and someone goes,
01:26:15
"Oh, can I have a photo with you?" And I have a photo with you and it's just that
01:26:18
one you sort of go, "Ah." So I've done that a couple of times because I've just
01:26:22
been so tired, but now I don't do that. I just always go out of my way now because it might be
01:26:27
>> they might be going through something. >> So I always just take that time. Yeah.
01:26:30
Yeah. Come on. Come on. Oh god. All good, mate. >> Jeez. Oh, you're you're a good man, eh?
01:26:35
I mean, everyone has a like a a a social battery, right? And I'm sure those things are incredibly draining, but I'm
01:26:40
sure you're you're better at them than most. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Like you're really respectful of
01:26:45
everybody. >> I've been I've been to a few conventions and there's there sometimes there's one
01:26:50
guy next and then they come to my table after they've been to the other guy and
01:26:53
they go that this he's so grumpy. I was just getting complaints about the other guy. Yeah. So, I made I made it my
01:27:02
point just to be extra nice to everybody cuz he was so grumpy. >> I I was out with um yeah, Kesha Castle
01:27:09
Hughes once and we were in like a a countdown or it's whatever and the the checkout lady was like, "Oh my god, Kha,
01:27:14
your favor. Can I have a photo?" And Kesha spent like a minute explaining like, "Look,
01:27:18
>> oh, do you want to get that?" >> Um Kesha spent like a minute, two
01:27:22
minutes explaining, "Look, I you know, >> you know, you're at work. I you know,
01:27:26
I'm on holiday." And and at the end I was like, "Geez, Case, you could have
01:27:30
just had the photo and it would have been way quicker." >> Yeah. >> But yeah. Do Do you ever turn anyone
01:27:34
down or not anymore? >> I think I have in the past cuz I was tired and just not in the mood. But now
01:27:39
I don't. I just I just uh greet a stranger now. Greet a stranger. >> Give him some Yeah. No problem. No
01:27:49
problem. Give him some positivity. Be nice. Be nice. try to >> that's only just happening though. So
01:27:58
got a lot lot to make up for. >> But yeah. Yeah. If if you're ever rude
01:28:03
to someone, does it does it like play on your mind? You feel bad about the times
01:28:06
you're rude or the times that you let people down. Those are the things that
01:28:11
play on your mind really. >> Not all the good stuff. Not all the stuff that you've done and been happy
01:28:16
about and done good stuff. You don't think about that because that's all done
01:28:19
and you've done it the right way. It's those little bit of moments where you've
01:28:24
disappointed people. Those are the ones that come back to haunt you. So, uh, so I've learned that.
01:28:29
>> Yes. >> What's that scar from? Did you get a scar there? Bang in the head. No.
01:28:32
>> Me? That thing there? Yeah, >> mate. That's just from frowning.
01:28:34
>> That's frowning. >> It's smoldering. >> Smoldering.
01:28:37
>> Smoldering in my 20s and 30s. >> Must be. Yeah. Okay. >> It's a lot of smoldering.
01:28:41
>> Okay. That's cool. >> I got one of those there, too. Look. >> Yeah.
01:28:44
>> Wasn't from smoldering. >> Um, that that story that you told before
01:28:48
where you were getting emotional. Um the the fact that you're getting emotional
01:28:51
about it, I think it's speaks volumes about you as a person and the type of character you are.
01:28:55
>> Yeah. Know cuz he was he was he was actually going to tears when he was
01:28:59
telling me and I didn't realize our connection. But >> it was wonderful to see his sons had
01:29:03
graduated too and it was wonderful that you know just in that moment of time now
01:29:08
he's a you know he's come out of that he's a manager of a hotel now. So
01:29:12
>> so it was good really good. >> When you meet someone you never know you
01:29:16
never know what their journey is e or what they're going through. That's
01:29:18
right. No idea. >> That's right. And I get a lot of that. The fans, they go, even a lot of the
01:29:22
kids, well, they're all in their 30s, late 30s now. All these kids that played
01:29:26
my game, a lot of them are voiceovers, too. I did the early voiceovers for the Star Wars games. So, a lot of them
01:29:32
played spent far too long playing video games. And yeah, so um that's where I
01:29:38
make my numbers up at these conventions. I'm not only Django Fett, I'm Boba Fett,
01:29:42
I'm the voiceover guy for all the games. Moana, Chief Tui. And so there's a
01:29:48
variety of things. >> And every time I get something now, I think I just voiced something recently,
01:29:55
something for a Lego. And that's the first thing I thought of. Oh, another signature. Another autograph.
01:30:02
Oh, another autograph. Someone will buy the Lego game and want my autograph on it. That's how I think, oh, Yep. I'll do
01:30:09
it. I'll do it. >> Another autograph. Well, um, Shana, who you met just before we came in the
01:30:14
studio, uh, who works here at the Pod Lab Studios, she's got like a a Star Wars mouse pad, and she showed you, and
01:30:21
you you offered to sign it. She didn't even have to ask. >> Yeah. Yeah. I thought I better sign it.
01:30:25
>> I I noticed that. I acknowledge that cuz a lot of people in your position just
01:30:28
just wouldn't they wouldn't think to be proactive, but you do. >> Yeah. I'm a pro I'm a pro I'm a pro
01:30:34
signature signer. Signature sign. And the other thing I do is give them every letter. It's not just a scribble. I give
01:30:41
them the t e m u e r a m o r i s o n b o b a f e t. >> Yes. So I give them the thing. Whereas
01:30:52
Mark Hamill is just a M AND A SCRIBBLE >> and KL sometimes I'm signing with KL
01:30:57
Urban. You know Carl that sign autograph and I'm wondering why he's beating me
01:31:02
because we have quite even lines too. His line was about the same as mine. But he's just going then I went over to have
01:31:07
a look and he just scribbles >> just one big scribble. That's what I was
01:31:12
wondering. But I give them every letter. >> Every give them their money's worth.
01:31:17
>> You're so good. >> Yes. >> Yeah. What? Why? Jeez. They do they pay
01:31:22
really well those things? >> Uh it's depending on what deal you do. You
01:31:27
can either go there and they'll some of the companies will just pay you an an
01:31:31
appearance fee and you set an amount and you either take it or you can just take
01:31:37
uh the gamble and just see how it goes. But if you sometimes I set a reserve so even if I don't make the reserve, I'm
01:31:45
still going to get some money. >> Yeah. Good. >> I I as it's in your best interest to to
01:31:49
go the extra mile and and be really good and give everyone their moment because uh it means you'll be invited to more of
01:31:54
these things >> and they all come back again. Mhm. >> They will come back again. They'll go
01:31:57
and buy something and come back to have another 5 minutes of your time with you.
01:32:02
They'll go buy something and they come back and sometimes they'll come back.
01:32:05
I've had sometime people turn up with a lot of so because they're all the real
01:32:09
Star Wars fans have not one autograph. They've got all the stuff ready to sign
01:32:13
posters. Some of them had 10 12 items popups from the Sometimes other family members can't come so they bring all
01:32:20
their stuff. >> Helmets. A lot of helmets now. Boba Fett helmets. >> Wow. Yeah.
01:32:25
>> Do do you have any mer Do you have Do you have like a a like a shrine at home
01:32:28
or >> nothing? No memorabilia? >> I got nothing. >> Not even a movie.
01:32:34
>> Not even a DVD. >> So if someone walked into your house, they wouldn't necessarily know it's Tim
01:32:38
Morrison's house. >> They wouldn't. >> Why? Why not? You just
01:32:42
>> I don't care. Don't want to worry about it. I might have a couple of lightsabers
01:32:46
that I keep and I give them to the kids every time I see a niece or a nephew or something. Here, take this.
01:32:53
I love that too. But yeah, now I don't keep that stuff. I don't know why.
01:32:57
>> Not a sentimental person. >> I think I don't think I can take it up
01:32:59
to wherever we're going. We're going to another place. I don't think I don't
01:33:03
think I can take the U-Haul truck there with all my stuff in it. So So yeah, I just I don't know.
01:33:10
>> Have you been to Skywalker Ranch? >> Yes. >> Have you? >> Yes.
01:33:14
>> What's that like? >> Amazing. Amazing. Stayed in the Ingred Bergman suite.
01:33:21
>> Yeah. Very nice. Very nice. Very nice. Like the king country, >> like you swear you're in like a like a
01:33:28
Cambridge with the undulating green elves, but then you're up in this, you know, then you go to all these different
01:33:34
buildings. You can go up to the main house like a big Georgian kind of massive house up there and then you can
01:33:41
drive down the road and there's this the sound studio which they still work and all that. So very impressive. Very
01:33:51
impressive. Wow. And are you Oh, so you're there to work or you there as >> When I went to the ranch, I wasn't
01:33:57
working, right? I was actually just doing something. I can't remember what I
01:33:59
was doing, but I wasn't working at time, >> but I got invited to stay and
01:34:03
everything. So, they looked after me. Very nice. >> Unbelievable. God, these are great
01:34:07
stories. >> What a life. What an experience. >> Yes. Yes. That's what's life's about,
01:34:12
experiences. >> And it's still going on. I'm The phone's just ringing again. Something next year.
01:34:21
Um, which is kind of cool. The producers on the on the letter I had that I read,
01:34:27
the producers Kevin Costner and Leonardo DiCaprio. I said, "Oh, gee, those are
01:34:32
big names." >> Oh, that's nice. You know, they're ex they're down as executive producers.
01:34:38
>> So, does that mean they'll be there or are they >> not necessarily?
01:34:40
>> No. >> But it's nice to see their name on the paper. Um they just what happens is the agents
01:34:48
sort of send you an email say these people are checking on your availability. That's what normally happens.
01:34:56
>> I just say tell them I'm available even if I'm not. I just say that straight
01:35:00
off. Tell them I'm available >> and then figure it out. >> They'll figure it out later.
01:35:06
>> Do you you just like saying yes more than no? >> I just say yes to anything and
01:35:09
everything. >> Just not my podcast. >> Yeah. But eventually. But perseverance.
01:35:15
Perseverance. That's what it's all about. >> That's the lesson here about
01:35:20
>> this podcast going on so long. No wonder I didn't say yes to it. It's still
01:35:23
going. Look at this. >> Okay. Well, it's only an hour 34. >> What's that?
01:35:27
>> It's been an hour and a half. >> Oh, that's pretty good. I'm quite
01:35:30
enjoying myself for an hour and a half. >> Yeah. Do you Yeah. You said before we
01:35:34
came in that you're um Yeah. You just don't like like talking about yourself.
01:35:38
And just a moment ago when we talked about you not having any sort of memorabilia or anything that sort of
01:35:43
>> it sort of describes the sort of person you are. But >> I used to give it all to Joe my agent.
01:35:47
He'd always if I had something cool I'd give it to him and he'd put it in his
01:35:50
office or somewhere. >> Yeah. And you bought me a couple of things today like a Star Wars shirt and
01:35:54
a Star Wars watch. >> Yeah. I thought Yeah. You need that stuff. >> Yeah.
01:35:57
>> That's why I was just I always used to give you a watch. I was looking around
01:36:00
for a watch and there was CPO's watch. CPO. Do you It's It's funny because I I
01:36:07
remember that because you know Yeah. You've given me a couple of watches like
01:36:10
we've when we've seen you go you don't have a watch here have this. It's a
01:36:14
watch. >> Some brand called Red Monkey goes Yeah. George Clooney, Brad Pit, all those guys
01:36:18
are wearing them. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I just made that up. But >> I've still got I've got them in a box
01:36:24
somewhere at home because they they mean they mean a lot to me. >> Japanese guy who used to run the
01:36:27
Japanese one of the Japanese conventions. He used to sell those Red Monkey watches. So he'd always give me a
01:36:31
couple. So I give you one. >> Yeah. Who else? kind of cool cuz they had the leather the leather.
01:36:36
>> Yeah, the watch worked all right, too. >> Yeah, but but it was literally the watch
01:36:40
that was on your wrist at the time. Like, how many people are you giving You've given me three watches now.
01:36:45
>> Yeah, I got no watch. >> Who else are you giving watches to, though?
01:36:48
>> Am I Am I special? >> Just you, mate. Just you. You're the only one I've given watches to.
01:36:52
Actually, no one else. I think I made Graeme got jealous even. Yeah. >> Yeah. That's how we know each other. A
01:36:58
mutual friend. Graeme Cesia. Wonderful man. >> Good friend of both of ours. Um, just
01:37:03
got a few conclusion questions here. >> Oh, very good. Very good. >> Um, what's been your hardest personal
01:37:07
battles and how did you get through them? >> Um, >> I I I bring this up because I in
01:37:13
researching for this I watched some of the um the Tim Morrison show >> that was that was made and that sort of
01:37:19
painted a picture of a guy that was like down on his luck. >> Yeah. Yeah. I didn't
01:37:24
I've never felt like It was supposed to it wasn't supposed to be like that. But
01:37:27
uh the moment I decided to do that show, nothing started happening. You know, we
01:37:31
really wanted all the auditions to come in and take everyone through this positive thing, but it just ended up
01:37:36
being a nightmare. In fact, yeah, everything was going was just in a bad space. >> Um
01:37:42
just wasn't getting ahead, wasn't paying the bill. So, it ended up being a bit of
01:37:46
a bit of a depressing show instead of an uplifting show in a way. But still again
01:37:53
I was quite fascinated with the reality TV kind of things at the time. The Kardashians were just coming out at that
01:37:59
time and >> I thought it might be the new thing. I always try a new something new something
01:38:05
>> um >> and you you've always been self-deprecating like you don't mind
01:38:09
taking the piss out of yourself. >> Yeah. Like an album. I brought out an album a singing album. I thought I got a
01:38:14
phone call one day by Sony. Hey, would you like to sing a song? I thought yeah why not? Gee, my uncle Howard was a
01:38:20
pretty good singer. Maybe there's something in there. It was one of those things. You can sing the first line
01:38:25
pretty quick, but then there's then there's a whole verse that you got to
01:38:28
get through and the chorus. But >> yeah, but that was even something else again. I just tried to do it. See how I
01:38:34
like it >> and then you know then you know. But um yeah, that show you're talking about
01:38:40
there was some good parts and some not so good parts. But >> yeah. So you what would have been your
01:38:45
hardest personal battle? Is there anything that stands to mind? >> Yeah. I'm trying to think.
01:38:50
Well, in our, you know, in our business, sometimes it's just hard sort of, uh,
01:38:54
there's a lot of periods of time where you're unemployed. So, you know, sometimes you have to think about, geez,
01:39:00
I better find a real job sometimes. But, you know, it's the guess and then something else will come along. You're
01:39:07
just in the nick of time. So, >> what about mental health? Has your mental health been good through the
01:39:13
years? >> Yeah, I'm okay at the moment. >> Yeah, >> at the moment.
01:39:17
>> At the moment. Well, sometimes it's hard to be positive. You know, you read all
01:39:21
these books and then you kind of get inspired while you're reading them for a
01:39:25
little. Oh, gee, that's a good little, you know, uh thing. Um what was I reading? The little little book um
01:39:35
the hell was it called? >> Don't sweat. Don't sweat the small stuff.
01:39:40
>> I just read that again, you know, and it was good just to uplift again. Don't
01:39:43
sweat the small stuff again. I kind of uplifting, but then it goes away again. I really find that you really have to
01:39:48
work at being positive, >> you know, you really have to work at that attitude kind of thing and um
01:39:57
cuz sometimes just you know things are just getting in a bit of a rut I guess >> you still read those sort of books now.
01:40:02
You you said before you fly a lot best thing to read on a plane quick reads. Yeah.
01:40:08
>> But then most of it you've seen it before you know the monk who sold his
01:40:12
Ferrari and things like that. The satellite of not giving a [ __ ] >> Robin Sharma got sick of things. I love
01:40:19
the Polo Coelloo book though. The Alchemist. >> Oh yeah. >> I love the Alchemist. Yeah. When I was
01:40:25
on Earth, I got to a place called Jordan and a place called Wadi Ram. Um and it reminded me of being in, you
01:40:34
know, on a, you know, on a caravan with all the camel riders and all of that. reminded me of scenes from that book,
01:40:40
>> The Alchemist, where this young boy >> is, you know, just goes gets out there,
01:40:45
gets on his camel and joins the caravan and gets out there in the world. >> Yeah. What was your question again? I'm
01:40:52
trying to figure a better answer. >> Yeah. Just your your hardest personal
01:40:55
battle. >> Hardest personal battle. >> No, I think I'm all good. I'm all good.
01:41:00
Yeah. >> Yeah. The Alchemist. I've never read The Alchemist, but I believe I believe Jeff
01:41:03
Jeff Bezos from Amazon. I believe he reads that every single year. >> Does he? Yeah. Oh, he's he's done well
01:41:08
from the alchemist. It's sort of my my favorite book actually probably >> like in those terms of just being some
01:41:15
>> a lot of life's lessons in there, too. >> You you still read those books now. You
01:41:20
still like working on self-improvement and being a bit Yeah. Interesting. >> Got a big pile of them. Like I still got
01:41:25
to get through. >> Are are there still roles you'd like to play or, you know, professional boxes
01:41:31
you want to tick >> or you just see what comes along? >> Just see what comes along.
01:41:36
It's a strange industry. Like you can't you can't plan too much, can you?
01:41:39
>> You can't plan too much. It's uh fickle as well. It's got tough now. Real tough.
01:41:44
They're not making that much stuff anymore. I have noticed that Amazon out there a lot. Apple names you'd never
01:41:50
sort of see and you got a Fox or Studio kind of backing, you know, Universal Fox. But yeah, Apple and Amazon are
01:41:59
quite prominent now with content. >> Um we'll see what comes along. M >> um I love working at home. We had a
01:42:06
great time. While I was doing Chief of War, actually doing the Hawaiian one, I actually had to take
01:42:12
I don't know if you saw it online, there was this big hucker being performed at
01:42:15
the Chief of War and the All Blacks were there. >> Yeah. >> Uh the ex All Blacks were there. I mean,
01:42:20
Troy Flavl and Eric Rush and all of them. And it was just a beautiful day. We had a big day filming a big scene out
01:42:27
in the village kind of thing. And we're all being Hawaiian, of course, but for
01:42:31
this but uh for this little moment, we all switched back into into Maldi mode. And um and I actually started that thing
01:42:40
because the ad I needed 10 days off from this chief of war so I could go back to
01:42:44
Lotua and film my mates movie. So I organized this big uh Megan M and I got Eric and them to do their presentation
01:42:52
first. Then I wanted to thank the AD because he basically found 10 days where I could go back to Rodu and work on my
01:42:58
buddy's film. So, so I gave him the big hucker because he was going home actually to look after his mom. So I got
01:43:04
everyone together and they put on this mean hucker. The whole blacks were there. All the had about a couple
01:43:08
hundred extras. So everyone got into it. And it was just like one of those moments where we all sort of broke from
01:43:14
being Hawaiian and went over to the Maldi side and all did the hucker together and that kind of uh made our
01:43:21
you know that was the end of our day and we said thank you to the guy who gave me
01:43:25
10 days but no one knew that. No one knew that. That was the reason I started. I said I got to thank this guy.
01:43:30
So I was able to go home and work on fighting then then that's a bus too finally going home and working in our
01:43:36
own language now >> um you know all the way through even through the filming don't hear action I
01:43:42
hear and I s too much right you know then then my the lunch would turn up my cousins on catering what's for lunch
01:43:53
today cuz got the boil up you know things you wouldn't normally see a boil up on on a Hollywood movie Yeah. But
01:44:01
yeah, just things like that. It was just really quite um Oh, just way cool, you know, and Don Sen was a big part of that
01:44:09
movement too where we're making things in our own language and making it in a
01:44:13
moldy way, you know, with all the instructions and the corridors too. So, we had a wonderful experience. Actually,
01:44:18
I'm up for best supporting actor >> in a couple of weeks for the Kafonu.
01:44:25
>> Oh, amazing. And I also appeared on a TV show called End of the Valley and I'm up for best supporting actor for
01:44:33
that as well. And also best actor in the Red Indian um awards, Kafon is doing very well in America and has a lot of
01:44:43
screenings in some of these indigenous areas. So that's been very good. So, >> and Chief of Wars, hopefully we're going
01:44:49
to they're going to start putting that up for some some um notability acknowledgement or something like that,
01:44:58
too. So, >> I'm sure you like to win awards because you're only human, but do you do you
01:45:02
care about awards? Do you do you have any at home? >> No, nothing. They're all in a box in the
01:45:06
garage. >> Yeah, >> you're a cracker. >> All my awards that I won, best actor way
01:45:11
back there, they're all in a box actually somewhere. Actually, don't even
01:45:13
know where the box is. I might pull them out one day, see what I won. see what I won.
01:45:18
>> When you when you look back over your life, what are you most proud of professionally and personally?
01:45:30
I don't know. You know, when you work, you I'm just always grateful for the work really. you
01:45:42
know, the director's gone out of his way, looked at everybody and chose me to
01:45:46
work on his film. So, I always humbled by that. >> I think that's the lesson. I think I
01:45:52
just tried to be a little bit more humble now. Not that we're well known for us fellows
01:45:59
on Roto. We're the Towa tribe. the they have a saying down there which means uh literally
01:46:14
the big mouth blow hard or something could mean that but um >> were you ever a blowhard?
01:46:22
>> No, but we like to say it's more uh ti more kind of great oratorus. We kind of
01:46:31
interpret it that way that they make great oratorus or there's another flash
01:46:35
word something like loquaciousness or something like that considered loquacious but then it goes on the saying goes on
01:46:44
I think it came from these two chiefs having a little bit of a debate and one called outu
01:46:52
you're boastful or something then he replied of one mind and unmovable so yeah that was his reply Yes.
01:47:03
You have one mind and unmovable. >> Okay. The phone's really >> Are you Do you want to get that?
01:47:08
>> No. No. It's all good. >> Is that Is that your partner? >> Yeah, it's all good. Yeah.
01:47:12
>> Do you've been together a while? Have you ever been married? >> No, I haven't been married.
01:47:15
>> Do Do you want to get married one day or >> too young? One of the last chapters in your book. I
01:47:20
was reading that yesterday. It's um there's a chapter. >> I miss out that chapter. Yes. Yes. Uh it
01:47:25
starts with um I've let down too many women in my life for the simple reason
01:47:28
that they are my weakness. Um >> yeah there's a thing in Maui called mate
01:47:33
wah mate wah mate means death wah woman mate wah or sickness could also mean sickness.
01:47:47
Yeah, but you've been to say about I've met your party. You've been with her for
01:47:50
a while, >> eh? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> She's she's not applying the pressure to
01:47:55
get married. >> Um, no, I don't think so. >> Yeah. >> How How do you personally define success
01:48:01
these days? >> Um, that's my daughter now. Success. >> Do you want you want to get it? Get it
01:48:06
on speaker if you want. No, no, it's all good. Okay. Um, I think I think it's to do with um, you know,
01:48:20
where you're at really. I think success is um is very good but I think it's more about
01:48:29
uh you know when you do I think I like to inspire people in a way you know because
01:48:41
>> because you know I'm one of the ones that got out there really sort of left
01:48:45
the village and sort of went out there in the world so so I think that's been
01:48:50
quite successful for me that I've, you know, actually left home >> and I got out in the world and gave
01:48:58
everything a good shakeup. >> So, I'm kind of proud of that that I did
01:49:03
that and uh and then you can come home again. We always end up coming home, don't we?
01:49:08
>> But then when we do come home, I think we can look at it a new light, too. We
01:49:12
can discover your own home >> more so because you've traveled a lot, I
01:49:16
think, if you know what I mean. You know, after traveling a lot, you learn to appreciate what we have here. Even in
01:49:23
this Earth Oven show that I've been doing, too. You know, I get emotional at
01:49:27
the end of the show because it reminded me of being with my family. You know, way back when we were all growing up.
01:49:31
You know, the Donim dynamics have changed a little bit now. The family's all growing up and we've all gone our
01:49:37
different ways now. But, you know, back when you're growing up, we're all just
01:49:40
young and and just everything's open and free and we're alive and everything's
01:49:46
exciting and and um I don't know what I'm talking about now. This maybe I'm talking too
01:49:53
much. >> No, never too much. But then, you know, it's just um I think that's what I'm
01:49:59
proud of that I've sort of >> got up and given it a go and then and now I come back home and sort of
01:50:06
just appreciate, you know, even when I go back to the farm now, you know, it's
01:50:09
all a bit different. You know, not many of us get back because we're all sort of
01:50:13
living busy lifestyles now. M >> sometimes you want to go back to that childhood kind of innocence where
01:50:20
everyone got together and there was but we all grow up and two adults and have dynamics
01:50:26
some good some bad. >> So yeah >> you yeah you you lost your dad at 14 so
01:50:31
he never got to see any of this. Um yeah what what would he make of the man sitting in front of me now? Yeah, I
01:50:37
think he would be quite proud actually because he always used to say when I we when we did see him, he was out quite a
01:50:42
lot. Our father, he always used to say, "Be somebody, boy. Be somebody. >> Be somebody." So, I guess I did become
01:50:51
somebody jango fat, you know, character. >> Do you think um Do you think he'd be
01:50:56
more proud of um these roles or the fact that you go to these comic cons and you
01:51:00
sit there and you give everyone five minutes of your time? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So,
01:51:04
>> but you're the I suppose what I'm saying is that the fact that you you're just a
01:51:07
good man with a good heart. >> Yeah. You know, I go to these cons and I see the other stars like Hayden
01:51:13
Christensen. He was in the Attack of the Clones with me and his lines are incredible cuz he plays Darth Vader and
01:51:19
like he has a little private little tent going on in the whole room and he his lines go out the building.
01:51:27
Unbelievable lines. Double line and and sometimes he has to stay late just to get all this just to get every They're
01:51:33
all pre-sold, too. A lot of them are pre-sold. >> So, just to get everything done, he's
01:51:36
still in the he's the last one in in the building with the security. >> And then one hour later, I'll see him in
01:51:42
the airport with me and I see, oh, there's hated. And there's no line. >> He's just another
01:51:49
>> just a man, >> just another making his way through the galaxy. There's no one chasing him around the
01:51:55
airport. And I'm so so we go I don't know what I'm saying with that, but we
01:51:59
go from this convention hall surrounded by people, everyone wanting a little bit
01:52:05
of you or an autograph to the airport and no one knows who you are. >> And I just find that strange sometimes.
01:52:14
Okay. See the next and he just walk around by himself. >> Yeah, it's a strange ju position. Just
01:52:20
just just humans trying to catch a flight. Yeah, there are times when I arrive at the airport and there's Boba
01:52:26
Fett fans waiting outside the where you exit the plane and they're following me
01:52:30
all the way to the luggage and I'm signing stuff. These are the these are the ones that are there on selling
01:52:37
stuff. They've got stuff for you to sign, but you know they're going to make
01:52:40
some money off you. So, they just hang around. So, I'm hoping like, oh, my luggage is coming out quickly, otherwise
01:52:45
I'm stuck with these clowns or blah blah. >> Does that bother you? I know some
01:52:49
celebrities get really wound up about that. >> Yes. Yeah. Sometimes it does because
01:52:53
you're just tired, you just fly, you just want to get back to the hotel. But
01:52:57
>> do you think about legacy at all? Is that >> No, don't care. >> No.
01:53:03
>> Um, regrets? Any regrets? >> No. No regrets? >> No. >> Are you you like yourself? Are you
01:53:11
someone that you'd want to have a beer with? You like who you are? >> Yep. I think so. Yeah.
01:53:16
>> I can have a beer with myself. Even by myself, >> I'm quite happy. Yep. I'm quite happy by
01:53:21
myself. You you like you like >> I could chat to myself too because I'll talk to myself
01:53:27
>> but you like you like who you see when you when you look in the mirror when
01:53:29
you're having a [ __ ] but rough in the morning these days. Bit rough bit but
01:53:32
rough bit rough in the mornings and spluts but you know everything's working okay at the moment.
01:53:38
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Are you proud of yourself? >> Yeah. Yeah, I think so.
01:53:43
>> Just quietly. >> Yeah. >> We don't like to say it too loud though,
01:53:47
but just quietly. >> Yeah. Well, your phone's been pinging off. Uh, >> yeah. I don't know what they don't know
01:53:52
what's going on. >> You wanted to leave by reading out um >> Yeah, I got something on my phone. Just
01:53:57
something that really really stood out for me. >> Yeah. What's the significance of this?
01:54:02
>> Well, it's just something that really I don't know. It's the man in the arena.
01:54:07
It appears every now and then, even in the 911, I think one of the guys who tried to
01:54:14
stop the planeful thing had this on his desk. Theodore Roosevelt wrote it. Shall
01:54:19
I read it out? You've heard seen it before. >> Go ahead. >> But it's about it's not the critic, the
01:54:24
man in the arena. It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the
01:54:32
duo of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena whose face
01:54:41
is marred by dust and sweat and blood. Who strives valiantly. Who comes short again and again because
01:54:51
there is no effort without error and shortcoming. But who does actually strive to do the deeds? Who knows great
01:54:59
enthusiasm, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of
01:55:09
high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring
01:55:15
greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
01:55:25
So I guess for me it's about sometimes that's me. I'm the guy who actually got
01:55:30
in the arena. >> I'm the guy who gets in there who sweats, who cries, might be blood, but that's what that's
01:55:38
about. It's about trying. It's about taking that step forward. It's about getting off your chair,
01:55:46
about getting off your chair, making that one step forward towards your goal or towards whatever you want to achieve.
01:55:54
And then even if you don't make it, even if you don't make that goal, the
01:55:58
distance you've traveled is still better than the guy who's sitting there
01:56:04
criticizing you, >> criticizing, oh blood. >> And we get a bit of that in life, you
01:56:11
know, who the hell does, you know, that tall top, who the hell does he think he is, you
01:56:15
know, things like that. But, you know, those are the ones, those are the critics. So, you got to get off your
01:56:20
seat, Daniel. You got to go for it. You got to go for it. Don't worry about the
01:56:23
critic who's just sitting there because they never know anyway. >> It's Yeah, it's it's a it's a really old
01:56:28
quote that one, but it's never been more important because the weak and timid
01:56:32
that you're talking about now are actually the people that are writing comments online
01:56:37
not doing anything. >> They just want to criticize. They just want to criticize. And also, it's about
01:56:41
the arena. So, it's kind of kind of got that gladiator thing about it, which is
01:56:45
the other one I loved in uh in the movie, the gladiator. I think Russell Cro says it right at the beginning when
01:56:51
he's riing, you know, revving his troops up. They've sent the messenger out, but
01:56:56
the messenger comes back with no head and he has to make that speech about it's what you do in this life
01:57:04
>> that will echo into eternity. M >> and I love that one too because that
01:57:08
reminds me of a marai situation where you go to a tangi a funeral on the marai and our old people stand up with their
01:57:16
talking sticks their toko and they recite the genealogy they tell people of the deeds that this person has done you
01:57:24
know while they're lying there it's on the marai so really it's what you do in
01:57:29
this life that will be echoed on the mai on your courtyard you know and so that's
01:57:34
why I try and tell some of the young people, you know, do something. I think my father instilled that in me a little
01:57:40
bit, just to do something and and get out there and give it a go and then and then that's what I said earlier and I
01:57:47
always tried something in a way then you know or don't know. >> So inspiring.
01:57:53
Timmy Morrison, how's this podcast experience been for you? >> It's been wonderful, Dom, and I must
01:58:00
apologize that I didn't get here in 2023, but it's better. It's better. I'm ready.
01:58:06
I'm ready for it now. It's a lot better. Dom, >> it's worth the wait, mate. Thank you for
01:58:10
being so so generous with your time and your experiences. I know there's a million places you'd rather be right
01:58:15
right here and now than here talking about yourself. Um, but I I genuinely appreciate you doing it and it's been
01:58:20
well worth the wait. >> Thank you, Dom. Thank you very much. My pleasure, brother.
01:58:24
>> C, my friend. C, brother.