Life on Shorty St
12 Questions with Blair Strang
1 You appear in a documentary about Shortland Street’s 25th anniversary this Thursday. Has it been a blast from the past or is it something that never leaves you?
Shortland Street never leaves you. I was on from 1995 to 2001. Back then everyone watched prime time TV. It was either Holmes or Shortland Street. So you were in people’s living rooms every night and they felt like they knew you. I’ve been a lawyer for 10 years and people still call me Rangi in court sometimes. It does make my head turn because that was a long time ago but I can understand it.
2 What was your weirdest storyline as ambulance driver Rangi Heremaia?
When Donna Heka and I had sex in the ambulance and then found out we were brother and sister. It doesn’t get any better than that. It’s such an icky, taboo topic and we went there. That’s my legacy. There were some farfetched storylines. I slept with quite a few girls — not as many as Chris Warner. Probably the most awkward was Robyn Malcolm. I was pretty nervous about that because she was a mentor to us newcomers but it was fun. The weird thing about shooting sex scenes with random partners was they’d often get those scenes out of the way first. So you’d introduce yourselves, there would be an uncomfortable pause and then you’d get straight into it.
3 What was your toughest storyline?
When Rangi had a motorbike accident and was paraplegic for about six months. Rachel McKenna didn’t want to sleep with him anymore because he had a colostomy bag and there was the issue of whether things were still working down there. That was quite a difficult topic. It was an interesting feeling being in a wheelchair all the time on set. I felt like my status had been diminished in some respects, just being physically at a lower level.
4 How alike are you and Rangi?
Because you’re churning this show out every day, you’ve almost got to make the character a quasi-- version of yourself. I like to think I’m like the good parts of Rangi. He had a good conscience but he was naughty too. He’s a passionate guy, I’m passionate too. Maybe I was him! I enjoyed being Rangi probably a bit too much sometimes, to my detriment. You’re a young man on a top-rating show getting a lot of attention and a big paycheque. The ego was huge.
5 Why did you quit Shortland Street in 2001 — was it because your wife Katrina Devine was dumped along with a host of core cast members?
Seeing my colleagues laid off was very stressful. I wasn’t happy with the way things were handled and I think the people running the show noticed. I didn’t have a meltdown on set or anything. It was just time to go. I’ve regretted a few things but that’s not one of them. After leaving I didn’t get any work at all for a pretty significant period which was awful. It didn’t help that Katrina had lots of TV work on. You become insecure which is never healthy for a relationship. After six years we grew apart. She went overseas and I went back to law school.
6 Why did you become a barrister?
So I could put my son through St Kentigern’s College. I was 25 when Steel was born, in the middle of Shortland Street and not ready to be a dad at all. But I fell in love as soon as he was born. When Steel was 11, his mother and her husband wanted to leave Auckland and we agreed that he would live with me. It’s just been the two of us living together since then. As a dad I’m somewhere between liberal and sergeant major. I think it’s important that boys talk, if they go into their shell that’s when you’ve got to watch them, so I’d always make dinner and we’d sit at the table and talk.
7 Your son is now 20 and starring in a play you’re directing. Did you want him to become an actor?
No, I tried to steer him away from it but he had so much exposure the poor bugger never had a chance. I watched one of his school plays with as objective an eye as I could because I didn’t want to give him any false hope but he has got an instinctive ability. And he’s pretty too. He’ll hate me for saying that. In this play he’s paired with the writer Kate McDermott’s daughter and they’re just gorgeous on stage together.
8 Your play is called Nigel. What’s it about?
It’s set in 1996 and filled with retro 90s clothing, fashion, music and TV shows, so if you’re looking for a laugh and want to celebrate that era, this is the show for you. It’s about a man trying to empty his flat for a special date but people keep turning up unexpectedly from his ex-girlfriend to his parents to Suzanne Paul. I’ve always wanted to produce shows so I set up Sapphire Theatre Company to do this. I’m only directing because I couldn’t afford to hire one but ironically it’s becoming my forte.
9 What was your childhood like?
I grew up in Kohimarama. It was a different suburb back then, the beaches weren’t nice. My mother was very much the matriarch. She and all my aunties were teachers. I was really naughty and mum was freaking out so I got sent to Kings Prep then St Kent’s. Private schools aren’t for everyone but they provided a positive focus for my energy and an environment where it’s the norm to succeed. I ended up head boy.
10 Was your Maori culture part of your upbringing?
Mum’s Maori from a staunch rightwing farming family up North. Dad’s Pakeha from a staunch left-wing family on the South Island’s West Coast. I wasn’t brought up speaking te reo because back then to be successful was to be European. There were two Maori kids at Kings and four at St Kent’s. But we’d go back to mum’s marae at Takahiwai, near Waipu, for tangis. I got a hell of a shock at my first European funeral. I wondered if people were grieving. No one showed any emotion and when I went for the feed afterwards it was just some tea and biscuits. Law school opened up a lot for me. I learnt there was a te reo version of the Treaty which they didn’t teach us at school. I started out in Maori land law before switching to family law.
11 Why do you like practising family law?
It’s an area of law I seem to click with. I couldn’t do mergers and acquisitions. Family law is focused on what’s in the children’s best interests. I also like being able to give parents clarity. It started to get really tough in 2014 when the Government decided that lawyers could only look after the urgent, high threshold cases. The rest of the families are left to look after themselves. So now we’re only dealing with the domestic violence, methamphetamine stuff, which wears you down. Having a creative outlet has been really important for me.
12 What’s next for you?
I’d like to do at least two more productions with my company. Mum would like me to move into politics and it’s something I haven’t put aside to be honest. I support New Zealand First.
Shortland Street’s 25th Anniversary Documentary, Thursday, 8.30pm, TVNZ2 Naughty Shorty Bloopers Show, Friday, 7.30pm, TVNZ2 Nigel, Pumphouse Theatre Takapuna, today until Saturday www.pumphouse.co.nz