Rawiri

Last week I drove up to Auckland to have a coffee with Rawiri Paratene, who will play the lead role of Arthur. Rawiri is one of those rare people in the industry - a respected actor who is universally loved. It says a lot about who he is and how he acts (in life as well as on screen).

The first time I met him (2003) he was in the midst of huge critical acclaim for Whale Rider. He gave me two days of his time. On the first day, he welcomed me into his home and we ate scones and drank tea on the back verandah. I was all set to begin talking script issues, but Ra had different ideas. He took me for a drive out to the beach, and there we spent hours walking around the coast, telling each other our life stories. We talked it all through, until we felt that we knew a little of how each of us had got to be the people we were. At the end of it all, Ra pronounced us ready to begin work.

It was a superb lesson for me in what is really important in life. And I was more convinced than ever that Rawiri was the man to play Arthur.

Last Tuesday we were finally talking about the mechanics of getting the film made - shooting days, locations etc. True to form, he was generous in offering whatever contacts might be helpful for the process. Next month he's off to London where he will be performing at the Globe through to about September, so we needed to get a few things sorted before he goes.

Funnily enough, he now has an office in Ponsonby, where the film will be shot. Call it research...