Martin Clunes interview
Published: Thursday, 26 July 2007, 3:44PM
The drama was shot entirely in New Zealand - did you enjoy filming on the other side of the world?
I fell in love with New Zealand. It is a lovely country. It is a great place to work, as well as to vis as a tourist. The people are genuinely friendly. I had a bit of a holiday with my wife and daughter before I started filming, but not much time for exploring. As we were filming in the North Island, near Auckland, we took a trip to the South Island, to all the places which look quite Cornish. So it was a bit like being in Doc Martin, but with more reggae.”
Tell us about your character, museum curator Ian Bennet
He is an honest, decent man. His life experience is limited, although he is very knowledgeable because he studied ancient Egypt and the civilisations. It is not until Ian meets Lollie, a Maori woman in New Zealand, that his passions are awakened. It is not until he is shown the great wide world that he realises there is more to life than he has settled for. I was attracted to the idea of my character being a fish out of water and I could relate to his ignorance of the Maori culture.
Your character faces a steep learning curve about Maori culture after being sent on a repatriation mission – did you fall foul of any Maori traditions yourself?
Before I came to New Zealand I was ignorant of all things Maori. I learnt a bit about the culture while I was there. For instance you don’t wear your shoes when you are in a Maori marae, you can’t eat, and you can’t sit on a table. I made the mistake of chewing gum and got hit on the nose by a carved head. We were filming a scene where a carved head is being thrown around the marae (meeting place). I had been using a rubber head for rehearsals. I didn’t take in the fact that the rubber head was switched for a wooden one and took it on the conk. It was actually quite painful; you could hear the crack when the carving hit my nose. It cut my nose and made it bleed. But it didn’t stop the filming. The make up designer managed to disguise the injury. Some people said it was punishment for chewing gum in the marae.
What surprised you about the Maori way of life?
The hakas, the greetings, are all quite in your face, and people stick their tongues out at you. Then you press noses with people so you breathe the same air. The idea is that it puts you on a level playing field with people. Poor old Ian Bennet doesn’t know any of that, and neither did I. Sometimes you’ll kiss a woman, and not press noses. He ends up kissing Lollie on the nose because he doesn’t know whether to press noses or kiss. He is learning on the hoof and so was I. Here is this lone, straight-laced fella, and events really accelerate around him, and he just gets wooed by the whole thing.
Your character has to ride a horse bareback – we hear you had a bit of a bumpy ride?
Shadow, the horse we used, is a film horse, which has appeared in Xena Warrior Princess, and Hercules. He picked up on the language on set, and when ‘action’ was shouted he got excited and ready to go. I had no saddle or stirrup and the horse just bucked. I flipped off and found myself standing next to him. Luckily the wrangler had been holding on to him. He’s a lovely horse and we actually got on well together because I had been for an incredible two hour ride on him with my family. I can ride to a certain degree, nothing special. We have horses at home, but I don’t have my own. But I will be getting one now.
Did you get recognised as a TV face over there?
The week we went out to film in New Zealand they showed eight hours of Doc Martin in a row. William and Mary had also been shown there. It was quite strange being known in somebody else’s country, but very nice. What I hadn’t realised is that the cast on The Man Who Lost His Head are the A list of New Zealand actors. They are all big movie stars in their own right. Nicola is a national treasure following her role in Shortland Street. Nobody warned me, and I asked them to make me tea.