James Rolleston: "I have to accept that it's me and sometimes it's very hard"
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GARRY MADDOX
Last Updated: 14:48, 28 July 2018
Te Kaea
James Rolleston is very successful in 2018 with The Breaker Upperers and now a role on Shortland Street.
Talking about the horrific car accident that seriously injured him is still difficult for James Rolleston, the young charismatic Maori actor who played in the New Zealand film Boy in 2010.
Two years ago this week, the car he was driving sank in a bridge near Opotiki, his hometown on the North Island. "Half of the bridge" ended up in the car, said a volunteer firefighter at the time, describing the crash site as a "total mess".
Caught in the hospital in critical condition, Rolleston, then aged 19, was in a coma For four weeks he was suffering from a leg fracture and a brain injury so serious that he had to relearn how to walk and talk and struggled with basic skills such as brushing teeth, cutting food, and dressing
James Rolleston: " I'm lucky to be alive. "
When he woke up at the hospital, Rolleston was stunned to realize that he had almost killed one of his closest friends, rugby player Kaleb Maxwell.
READ MORE:
* Shortland St: James Rolleston will debut next month
* The Breaker Upperers: Falling in love again
* Boy actor James Rolleston pleads guilty to a charge of dangerous driving
* The actor James Rolleston appears in court
* James Rolleston speaks of life after a car accident
"I was shocked when I got heard that my friend was involved, "he says. While Rolleston is back to play now – playing a young rugby star with a big heart in comedy The Upperers Breaker and shooting a guest stay on the long-running soapie of the # 39; Shortland Street – It was an emotionally and physically difficult time for an actor who once thought he was heading to Hollywood and thought he was "on track to be the kid who made it big.
Rolleston was sentenced to 200 hours of community service
David White / FAIRFAX NZ
] Rolleston leaves the Auckland District Court after pleading guilty to charges related to charges related to his conduct.
He told Anika Moa, host of talk shows, that he was "depressed". 021] One News that "I do not think I would be here today" if his friend had not survived.
"It's been a long journey," Rolleston said slowly on the phone since ] Shortland Street together. "I do not remember anything in the night of the car accident, I do not even remember a few weeks before the car accident, it affected my cognitive abilities."
The new role in Shortland Street is apt: he plays a young barista who resumes his life after a car that changed his life
In his first feature film, James Rolleston, as Boy, awaits his father.
The life of Rolleston changed for the first time when the director Taika Waititi, known for Hunt For The Wilderpeople and Thor: Ragnarok cast in Boy at the age of 10 years.
He played a devoted fan of Michael Jackson whose ex-father (played by Waititi) came home to find a buried money bag. It became the most profitable domestic film in New Zealand until it was topped by Hunt For The Wilderpeople two years ago.
"I'm a kid from the little town," says Rolleston. "Life was pretty cruel, slow enough, then I had the role of Boy … it took me a little while to adapt to the big changes – to be recognized in the street and not to be able to go
Rolleston in Shortland Street
But the film made him want to be an actor when he left the school "I thought it was an awesome industry," he says
Over the past four years, Rolleston has made a series of solid performances, playing a troubled teenager who takes chess Competitive in The Dark Horse (2014), a young Soul Māori warrior captured in a tribal war in The Dead Lands (2014), an aspiring actor who exploits a girl for a project Theater school in Repetition (2016) and a car thief on the run in Pork Pie (2017). He also shone in a series of television commercials on Vodafone
"There are roles that I will play because I am who I am, but there are other roles that I play without being Maori", said Rolleston. 19659033] James Rolleston as Hongi in the Dead Lands "title =" "src =" https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/e/z/x/v/l/image. related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620×349.1r0bdh.png / 1532746094896.jpg "class =" photoborder "/>
Matt Klitscher provided
James Rolleston as Hongi in the Dead Lands.
As Boy, the Dead Lands had a special cultural significance. "I had to understand something of the ancestors' ways and their understanding of spiritual life and the beliefs they had."
In The Breaker Upperers – his first "direct comedy film" – Rolleston plays Jordan, an upbeat but not too bright young footballer who tried unsuccessfully to break up with his girlfriend (Ana Scotney) by emoji.
He uses a duo specialized in busting up couples (performed by screenwriters and directors Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek) but things get complicated when he falls in love with one of them
Delivered
Cliff Curtis, left, and James Rolleston as Genesis and Mana in the very impressive The Dark Horse.
"Jordan is one – what is the word – naive, funny, cheeky young man who has found himself in a situation where he is caught between his ex-girlfriend and his new girlfriend," R olleston says .
"I've always loved comedy movies and I'm trying to be a happy chappy – a happy man – myself." I tend to be a bit of a jokester so The Breaker Upperers was a great movie to be in. And Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek are very funny women and very creative minds. "
These very funny ladies have always wanted Rolleston for their first film as a co-writer-directors.
Madman Films
The spirits behind the Kiwi comedy The Upperers Breaker urged Celine Dion to come watch the movie while she is in Australia.
"We actually wrote the role with James in the lead, hoping that he would be available and eager to have recovered enough from his accident to be able to accept," van Beek says.
"He's done more drama, but I'm saying that comedy, but James is so charismatic and a naturally funny person, so he's never been talking about" Can he do comedy? " he did a fantastic comic improvisation on the set, he and Ana Scotney. "
Adds Sami:" Basically, there are probably only two films coming out of New Zealand every year and it's in Before the shooting The Breaker Upperers the producer Ainsley Gardiner, who also worked on Boy consulted Rolleston and his medical team about the challenges they would face. Accident;
Piki Films
The Upperers Breaker has already made around $ 1.7 million at the New Zealand box office, making it one of the 20 biggest Kiwi hits of all time.
"The energy levels were the main ones," says van Beek. "He was in speech therapy at that time, so we knew we needed some [re-recording] in post-production, but Ainsley and [fellow producer] Georgina Conder were just trying to work the program around him." [19659006] Sami interjects: "It was a big challenge for him, his character really motivates a lot of the scenes in which he finds himself.It is a very enthusiastic character who often launches into huge monologues. about God knows what, he was talking about … So, they were really mean to him, giving him that character …
"We tried to set up an environment on the set where, he felt tired, someone would be there to make a coffee for him or he had to do a little more rehearsals, we would do a little more rehearsals.
![Writer / director / actors Jackie van Beek, left, and Madeleine Sami with James Rolleston in The Breaker Upperers. ] SUPPLIED </span>
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Writer / Director / Actors Jackie van Beek, left, and Madeleine Sami with James Rolleston in The Breaker Uppere rs.
"We took our time so that we could get the best performance without tiring or collapsing or anything, but for someone who had just gone through such a trauma and so recently, his recovery was miraculous to get to the point where he was able to do what he did in our movie. "
Rolleston is stunned to hear that it was called" I do not know not what to say about it ", he says," Sorry "
After completing community service, Rolleston worked in a clothing store in Auckland between roles.
"It's something different." I never thought I would be in the retail business. to be a very inconsistent job, the film industry. You can work a minute and then have a lot of free time. I thought it would definitely be a good idea to find a job. "
During the 30 minutes on the phone – his lunch break on the set – Rolleston had a hard time talking about leaving the accident, stopping and apologizing
But after the interview, he sends an email to say that it was difficult for him, but also for his extended family and friends, and that he is grateful for all the support of the professionals of the health and the many people who have "I know that healing takes time," he writes. "I am tired but I am totally supported by my classmates, directors and producers and I will always be grateful to them for being loyal and understanding."
"My challenge is to accept that this happens and that it is part of who I am now, no need to live with regrets, even though I am very sorry and will always be for those who have been hurt. that it's me and sometimes it's very hard. "
