Actor Acushla-Tara Kupe stars in the new Kiwi crime drama The Gone. Photo / Supplied
As told to Bridget Jones, Stuff reporter
When you were raised on Agatha Christie novels, there must be a certain insider’s pleasure that comes from being cast in a TV whodunit.
And indeed Acushla-Tara Kupe (Ngāti Maniapoto) calls her leading role in The Gone, an Aotearoa-set crime drama co-production between TVNZ and Ireland’s RTÉ, “glorious”.
Kupe, 32, started her professional acting journey more than a decade ago, in the cult feature film hit Fresh Meat starring alongside Temuera Morrison, before spending four years with Wellington’s Circa Theatre, and earning roles on BBC drama Creeped Out and an appearance performing kapa haka on Netflix’s The Crown.
More recently, she has worked on the Apple TV+ show Mr Corman alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the Māori-language children’s series Te Pāmu Kūmara. Kupe lives in Auckland with her fiance And The Gone starts on TVNZ 1 tonight.
I WISH, 10 YEARS AGO, I’D KNOWN…
That it all works out in the end. That it will be OK, no matter what life throws at you. And that as hard as it is, it’s going to be equally exciting - then I might have not been as stressed, and been able to enjoy the ride a bit more. And that applies to work and life.
Ten years ago I was very hopeful and optimistic and positive - and I still am to this day - but a little heads up that it’s not always roses, but you’ll come out fine in the end would have been nice.
I filmed Fresh Meat a little more than 10 years ago this year - it was the first time I had a line on screen. I filmed two, but they cut one. That led to my first ever professional theatre show and when you think about what’s happened in the past 10 years, it’s bonkers. There have been a lot of life wins, a lot of professional wins.
I WISH I COULD SWAP LIVES WITH…
A cat. They have it so easy. They come in for the cuddles when they want to, they get the food when they need to, and if they don’t want to hang out, they’re done. They ultimately get to do whatever it is they want to do, they are fiercely independent and they’re not dictated to by anyone or anything.
I WISH, EVERY DAY I COULD EAT…
Three healthy meals. When I’m working on screen, it’s easy - the catering [on set] is always banging. If I’m doing theatre or working at home, I tend to get into the habit of getting so focused and forgetting to eat - and I know that’s a problem! It’s not sustainable or healthy. I have an incredible fiancé who cooks dinner every night so I know I’ve got one good meal a day, but three would be great.
I WISH I COULD LIVE IN…
My own home, wherever that is. Ideally, it would be near a city, because I am a massive theatre consumer, I don’t think I could do rural life. But I wish I could live in my own home, with my love.
THE PERSON I WISH WAS ON A BANKNOTE IS…
More inspiring women. I want to look at a note and go, “yeah!” And there are some great people who have done some inspiring things, but we need more inspiring women.
THE NOISE I WISH I COULD NEVER HEAR AGAIN IS…
The scratches you get in different places. The classic is nails down a blackboard, but sometimes, when your shoes squeak, or your nail runs along some material and it squeaks, or polystyrene squeaks. The squeaks that get into your spine that make you feel automatically uncomfortable.
I WISH I COULD SPEND A SUNDAY WITH…
My grandparents. We used to spend every Sunday dinner with them, since before my sisters and I were born. It was my maternal grandmother and my maternal step-grandfather, but he was always my grandfather.
Every single Sunday we would have dinner with them - it would be a BBQ, Chinese food, or a roast. And when we went to boarding school, we would always be home on a Sunday for that dinner, and then we would go back to school. I’d love to do that again. My grandfather is actually the reason we’re alive.
My two sisters and I are IVF triplets, and he paid for the second round of IVF that created us. We were the first [IVF triplets] in the country. You are never lonely [as a triplet] - it’s not to say we always got on, but you’ve always got someone there.
I WISH NEW ZEALAND WAS MORE…
United. I think America has imported some really interesting and beneficial things culturally to New Zealand, and in the last few years, we’ve seen the opposite of that. We’ve had some imports of ideas and ways of thinking and ways of behaving that go against what it is to live in this country. Yeah, kotahitanga - unity.
QUICK SHOTS
STAY / GO
SALAD / SAUSAGE ROLL
HANDSHAKE / HUG
STREAM IT / AT THE MOVIES
SLEEP IN / EARLY NIGHT
TELL A JOKE / HEAR A JOKE
GLASS HALF FULL / GLASS HALF EMPTY
GROUP / ONE-ON-ONE
CALL/ TEXT - VOICE NOTE