While acting in movies may seem as a career that’s full of glitz and glamour, Samoa’s Robbie Magasiva will readily tell you that it’s not.
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It takes passion. A passion that will accept all the no’s to one’s auditions, yet keep going.
Mr. Magasiva is in the country with his partner, Natalie Medlock, as part of the 60th anniversary of the movie, Return to Paradise, that was shot in Lefaga.
It was his first time to watch the Return to Paradise movie on Friday night at the resort of the same name. In New Zealand, Mr. Magasiva took part in a play called My Name is Gary Cooper, which was centred around the film, Return To Paradise.
The late Mr. Cooper was the main actor in the movie.
When he did the play, Mr. Magasiva said there was a lot of reference to Lefaga and to Roberta Haynes.
Last Wednesday, Mr. Magasiva had lunch with Ms. Haynes. There he gained insight on her history, the film and being part of it.
Mr. Magasiva is no stranger when it comes to acting. For three years, he played Dr. Maxwell Avia on the soap, Shortland Street.
He was also one of the main actors in Sione’s Wedding and played stripper on a TV series called The Strip.
He was a co-presenter on Tagata Pasifika with famous athlete, Beatrice Faumuina.
Mr. Magasiva also played Mauhur on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: The Twin Towers.
In July, the shooting of the series Wentworth starts till the end of the year. Mr Magasiva plays the role of a prison officer, Will Jackson.
But in the 1990’s, when Mr Magasiva started in the industry, there were hardly any Samoans or brown faces on New Zealand TV.
“I was fortunate I came in at the right time.”
Today there are a lot more Polynesians who are coming out of school, but whether they want to take their acting skills to another level, is for them to decide.
“Its’ whether they want to do it, whether they are passionate about going up because its’ going to be hard.
Its’ up to the individual!”
“For me this was my passion and there was nothing else that I could do. I enjoy my passion and my drive is just to go as far as I can. For anyone who wants to be an actor, it is going to be a hard slot and there’s going to be more doors closed in your face and more no’s than a yes.”
Mr Magasiva said that one Hollywood actor had auditioned about 600 times before he actually got his first job.
“You’ve just got to be really, really passionate about it otherwise you’ll never survive.”
But at the end of the day, for Mr Magasiva, it’s a job with which he can put bread and butter on the table and pay his children’s school fees.
“The important thing for me is to just put food on the table for my kids, like anyone else.
For me acting is a passion and it’s my job. “
And there is also another motivation factor. His parents are still alive and he wants to look after them.
“I dream... to be able to look after them before they go, because they’re getting on a bit. That’s my motivation at the moment is to make sure my parents have a good life because they gave me the life that I have now and I want to pay them back.”
His father works here now and his mother plans to return to settle. It’s Mr Magasiva’s first trip back to Samoa, since his brother’s wedding at the hotel now known as Sheraton Aggie Grey’s Hotel. That was about four years ago.
Till he starts back with Wentworth, he’s enjoying playing Dad to his children, Austin, age 18 and Sophie, age 15.
Asked if he wanted to comment on anything else, “go Manu Samoa when the All Blacks are here!”
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