The Lord of the Rings, as a phenomenon, began several decades ago. While it was published in 1954, it still resonates with many of us. It has been a part of our childhoods and, for some, our parents’ childhoods as well. As a series it is still going strong with no plans to stop, especially in the midst of the whole world experiencing The Hobbit as a cinematic trilogy.

Peter Jackson, who before The Hobbit also directed The Lord of the Rings over ten years ago (beginning with The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001) is a New Zealander and, as such, many of the roles in his movies were filled by them. Known colloquially as ‘Kiwis’ throughout the world (the bird, though; not the fruit), they have a reputation for kindness, humbleness, and general sensibility.

"We’re really the Canadians of the South Pacific," joked Craig Parker. He, along with fellow actors Dean O’Gorman and father-son team Jed and Sadwyn Brophy, were just a handful of the talent involved with the LOTR franchise that invaded Calgary for the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this past April.

New Zealand is a small country, but the filming industry there is quite prevalent (there is a running joke that the country’s main exports are sheep and actors). However, being an actor in New Zealand is far different than being one in Canada, America or England, as evidenced by the answer to one of our first questions: How do you pick your projects?

"It’s a very, very hard process," O’Gorman answered, straight-faced. "What happens is someone gives us a job, and we say yes, please!"

"Pretty much, if you’re an actor in New Zealand, people go, ah, sorry. What else do you do?" Jed Brophy added, with a laugh.

O’Gorman, who plays Fili in The Hobbit, wears good looks under his movie prosthetics. He can be seen as the somewhat scandalous Anders in the television show The Almighty Johnsons, which is about a collection of reincarnated Norse Gods who are less godly and more maudlin. Craig Parker, who plays the heroic Haldir in LOTR, had a long stint on Legend of the Seeker and HBO’s Spartacus. Jed Brophy apparently played half the characters in LOTR though, at the moment, his performance as Nori in The Hobbit is the most lauded. His son, Sadwyn, played Arwen’s son in her vision of the future in Return of the King.

There is a lot of overlap in New Zealand when it comes to film. Many actors who have been on Xena: Warrior Princess (often in more than one role!) also come across each other in other projects, like the infamous Shortland Street – a not-quite soap opera that follows the trials and tribulations of a hospital and its staff. It has been going on for 25 years.

When we asked the Kiwis about this, they shared a lot of laughs. Who hasn’t been on Shortland Street?

"Me! Thank God!" Sadwyn exclaimed.

"It’s not like a soap opera; it’s not like Days of our Lives," Craig Parker explained.

Is it like Grey’s Anatomy?

"Yeah, except none of the surgeons actually do any surgery," Jed said.

O’Gorman wore an innocent look. "They don’t do it on Grey’s Anatomy either, Jed. It’s just make believe on both shows? Yeah."

"Ahhh."

Beyond having a full on chat, we were also able to interview O’Gorman and Parker, one on one. We accumulated a dearth of information that weekend, and were given the rare opportunity to glimpse into what it is like being a part of pop culture – not only through the LOTR movies, but through other prevalent projects as well. We hope it will help you through all the cold, empty months before The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies finally comes to theatres.

This man is a charmer. The quirky New Zealand accent, the stubbled face, the easygoing smile – alone they are powerful enough but, when combined, they’re dangerous. So it’s a good thing that along with being charming he is also an incredibly nice guy. Unafraid to poke fun at himself and those around him, he was nonetheless happy to talk seriously about his projects, the people he works with, and his experiences in the industry thus far.

GC: In The Hobbit, you came in as a replacement for the first actor [for Fili]. Was that kind of like a whirlwind?

DO: I had auditioned for the job a long time ago, maybe almost a year, for Bilbo. And I was like, I’m not gonna get Bilbo. So I did the audition and didn’t really think about it. Then one day I got a call, on a Saturday, and it was my agent, and I was like Why are you calling me on a Saturday? What’s going on? And she was like Look, they’re interested in you for a role in The Hobbit and I was like, what? And then two days later I flew down to Wellington and I did the audition with Aidan... and then two days later I was in Wellington for three years. Over the period of a week, everything changed.

GC: What’s it like working with Aidan?

DO: I love Aidan. He’s just like a brother to me. Part of the reason I got cast is that they needed to make sure we had a good relationship with each other straight off the bat, and we did. Because most of our scenes were together, we spent most of our time together, and we just bonded, we just get along really well. He’s just a really great guy.

GC: The Almighty Johnsons is so original and so wild. How did you enjoy being on the set?

DO: The original idea was James Griffin’s, who is the writer and creator of it. And he came up with this idea, and me and a couple of other people workshopped the idea of being Norse gods – but not very good Norse gods. So, it was about a year before we actually finally ended up doing the TV show and then it just sort of all – it was a really fun job because everyone just sort of fell into their roles. Like Ben Barrington, who plays the uncle, Olaf. Olaf’s awesome, but Ben is like that too; really cruisey and laid back. Tim is the eldest of us, so he was kind of like Mike on the show. And Emmet plays Axl – he’s like a puppy. He’s this guy who has got big limbs and he doesn’t know how to control them. He’s really enthusiastic, and he is actually the youngest of four brothers himself. So we all just sort of fitted into our dynamic really well. I was shooting that during The Hobbit, so I was back and forth, so it was quite tiring – but it was really fun.

Craig Parker

This writer admits to having had a horrendous crush on Craig Parker through most of high school. But honestly, who wouldn’t? And how serendipitous it is that during his stint on Spartacus he does indeed – what’s the colloquial phrase? - take most of his kit off. Yes, you’re all going to go re-watch the show now that we have reminded you.

Despite gladiatorial looks, Craig is easygoing, pleasant, and polite, taking work wherever he finds it. Freshly moved to Los Angeles, we can only hope there’s much more of him to hit the big and small screens.

GC: Craig, you live in L.A. How is it settling into the film industry there?

CP: I spent most of my growing up time in New Zealand, and it’s very much home. But L.A. is the centre of the entertainment world. It’s a big change, and I’ve been there maybe a year. I’m sort of getting used to the city, but I absolutely love it.

GC: So you have done voiceover work, theatre – you have done LOTR, Spartacus... you have your fingers in a lot of different pies. What interests you about doing so many things?

CP: I get bored very easily. I love to work. I’d rather be doing something than sitting around waiting. I have never been particularly... ‘This is my career’ structured. It’s just like Oh, this sounds like an interesting job. I think that the reason most of us get into it is that we are fascinated by understanding the process of being an actor. Everything you do feeds into that. It keeps you off the street, pays the bills, and it’s fun.

GC: How do you like being in Calgary?

CP: People are so nice. The cliché of Canadians being genuinely polite is actually true. Mark Ferguson and I came last year and we both walked away going We don’t feel exhausted after this con! Because every single person who came up was genuinely lovely and polite, and it was a pleasure to meet them.

GC: So, Spartacus. You appear naked on screen. You don’t see that very often, so why?

CP: Spartacus was a show where everyone got naked, at some stage. And often in the naked scenes you have got bits stuck on, supposedly for modesty. But by the end of the show everyone was just going these are really annoying, what are we even worrying about? So you don’t really care; you sort of forget that other people are going to watch it. Lucy Lawless, right in the first episode, she basically got her full kit off. And it was this great moment where you go Right, if Lucy’s going to do it, then we are not going to complain about it.

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Contributor Jason Clevett | Mars Tonic |

Locale Calgary |

Person Craig Parker | Dean O’Gorman |

Topic Calgary Expo | Celebrity Interview | Celebrity Video Interview | Comic Expo | The Lord of the Rings | Most Read Articles in 2015 | Spartacus | The Almighty Johnsons | The Hobbit |

Photo Gallery Craig Parker |Dean O’Gorman |