Elena Stejko is a Ukrainian-born New Zealand actress and theatre director. [1]
Stejko was born and raised in Kyiv when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. In the 1990s she moved to Brazil, where she spent four years, then migrated again to New Zealand, settling in Auckland. [1]
Stejko worked to establish herself as an actor, beginning with small roles, such as television advertisements and in the television drama Mercy Peak. In 2010 she starred in Russian Snark , a film written and directed by Stephen Sinclair. For this role, she was nominated for a Qantas Film and Television Award for best actress. [1] In 2014 she appeared in Taika Waititi's film What We Do in the Shadows . [2]
Stejko has also acted in and directed stage productions in Auckland [3] [4] and established an acting school, Actors Studio. [5]
New Zealand cinema can refer to films made by New Zealand-based production companies in New Zealand. However, it may also refer to films made about New Zealand by filmmakers from other countries. Due to the comparatively small size of its film industry, New Zealand produces many films that are co-financed by overseas companies.
Rena Owen is a New Zealand actress in theatre, television and film. Owen is best known for her leading role as Beth Heke in Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors and as Taun We in George Lucas's Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.
Nicola Kāwana is a New Zealand actor, best known for playing Huia Samuels on the longest running New Zealand television series Shortland Street. Other roles include Mercy Peak, Jackson's Wharf and Lollie in The Man Who Lost His Head.
Olivia Tennet is a New Zealand actress and dancer best known in her home country for her role as Tuesday Warner on the nightly medical drama Shortland Street, along with several roles in television and theatre. Outside of New Zealand, she is best known for her roles in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Power Rangers RPM (2009), and the independent film Blood Punch (2013).
Jennifer Cecily Ward-Lealand is a New Zealand theatre and film actor /director, teacher and intimacy coordinator. She has worked for 40 years, appearing in over 120 theatre performances: Greek, Shakespeare, drama, comedy, devised, and musical theatre. Her screen credits include the 1993 movie Desperate Remedies as well as appearances in The Footstep Man, the soap Shortland Street and Australian comedy series Full Frontal.
Cameron Rhodes is a film and theatrical actor and director.
Nancy Brunning was a New Zealand actress, director, and writer who won awards in film and television and made a major contribution to the growth of Māori in the arts. Brunning was of Māori descent from the tribes of Ngati Raukawa and Ngai Tuhoe. She won the best actress award at the New Zealand Film Awards for her lead role in the film What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999), the sequel to cult classic Once Were Warriors. In 2000, she won the Best Actress in Drama award at the New Zealand Television Awards for her lead role in the television series Nga Tohu. She was the acting coach for the Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night directed by Taika Waititi. According to friend and frequent collaborator Temuera Morrison, she "paved the way" for Māori actors in New Zealand.
Russian Snark is a 2010 New Zealand film directed and written by Stephen Sinclair and produced by Liz DiFiore. The film features Stephen Papps, Elena Stejko, Stephanie Tauevihi and Te Waimarie Kessell. It is the story of Misha, a Russian filmmaker, and his struggles to make a movie in Godzone. It is the directorial debut of New Zealand writer Stephen Sinclair.
Katie Wolfe is a New Zealand actress and director.
Miranda Catherine Millais Harcourt is a New Zealand actress and acting coach.
Rachel Jessica Te Ao Maarama House is a New Zealand actress, acting coach, and director.
What We Do in the Shadows is a 2014 New Zealand mockumentary horror comedy film written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi and the first installment in the What We Do in the Shadows franchise. The film also stars Clement and Waititi, along with Jonathan Brugh, Ben Fransham, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, and Jackie van Beek. The film's plot concerns several vampires who live together in a flat in Wellington.
Morgana O'Reilly is a New Zealand film, television and theatre actress. She has appeared in several theatre productions and created the one-woman play The Height of the Eiffel Tower, which she performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014. O'Reilly played Lynn Matthews in the biographical television film Billy and starred as Kylie Bucknell in the horror-comedy Housebound. She has made appearances in Nothing Trivial, Sunny Skies, This is Littleton. O'Reilly played Naomi Canning in Neighbours from 2013 until 2015. She made a guest appearance in 2020. She stars in sitcom Mean Mums and joined the cast of Wentworth as Narelle Stang in 2019.
Anapela Polataivao is a New Zealand actor, writer, and director of stage and screen.
Goretti Chadwick is a Samoan-New Zealand stage and television actress, writer, director and tutor.
Heather Rima Te Wiata is a British-born New Zealand singer, comedian and stage, film and television actress. She is of the Ngāti Raukawa tribe.
Jackie van Beek is a New Zealand film and television director, writer and actress.
Elisabeth Easther is a New Zealand actor, broadcaster, journalist and playwright. She played Carla Crozier on New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street from May 1995 to July 1996, and has since had a varied career in television, radio, journalism and playwriting. Her play Seed (2014) won the Adam NZ Play Award for Best Play in 2014.
Geraldine Brophy is a New Zealand television, film and stage actress, theatre director and playwright.
Miriama McDowell is a New Zealand actor, director and playwright of Māori descent. She is a graduate of Toi Whakaari.