Miriama McDowell of Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, who won the 2020 New Zealand television award for best actress in a New Zealand TV drama, is about to be seen starring in a feature film as well as two New Zealand dramas in one week.
Coming home in the dark, a feature film that arrives in cinemas this Thursday, Head High, a New Zealand TV drama that begins tonight on ThreeNow, and Ahikāroa, a Māori TV drama, where she made her debut last week, are all part of the job for this actress and māmā.
McDowell is enthusiastic about telling Māori stories and believes this is what sets New Zealand drama apart from all others.
“Finding stories that express who we are as a people that is unique in the entire world but also runs along with all indigenous cultures is what I really love in these moments and in Head High is where I really think they really nailed that,” she says.
On top of parenting her children, McDowell says that being a freelance actor is a tough and hard life.
“I've got two kids at home so figuring out how to manage that is different every day. I use my creative actor bones to figure out how to parent my kids as well.”
Coming home in the dark
McDowell says in her thriller feature film, she plays a mother with her family on a road trip.
“As the story unfolds, I discover things about my husband's past.”
McDowell attended Toi Whakaari drama school with James Ashcroft, the film's Māori director, and Matthias Luafutu, another actor on the film, and being reunited with both of them after 20 years to witness how they have progressed in their respective crafts was "really cool."
Because the film is a thriller, McDowell says that a lot of people have told her that they aren't going to see it but she enjoyed the experience anyway.
“I have this thing about how actors are the only animals that move into pain. We are attracted to pain. And I really felt that during that experience, it's like the deeper you go into that, as in ‘What does it feel like? How would I react? How would I respond in that situation?’ It's a great challenge,” she says.
Head High
McDowell says all of the characters are met in the first season of Head High, then the writers let the audience see more of the supporting characters in season two.
“Also these kids ... they’re such incredible actors so I feel like we go into the school life a bit more.”
“I have a few fun things happen, like pashing a beautiful young man. It's always fun.”
McDowell says transitioning from acting as a "young hot girlfriend" to now acting as a "cool staunch mother" was difficult in terms of securing acting parts and staying in the field but she drew on her experience as a mother to help her.
“There was a time when I wasn't being cast in things, so I had to really dig deep to stay in the industry.”
“It was a bit of a blow to the ego, and then I started to read the scripts and went ‘yeah there’s meaty stuff here’ because being a mother is meaty.”