Lighter side of life:

Actor Ben Mitchell, who plays Shortland Street’s TK Samuels, claims that he doesn’t deal in emotions and is happy to detach himself from his soap character. In fact, after all TK’s woes of late, Ben wants his character to find a lighter side. Kerry Harvey

Why Ben Mitchell wants Shortland Street’s TK to lighten up.

Ferndale favourite Dr TK Samuels has been wrestling with his demons, but actor Ben Mitchell is unfazed by his character’s emotional angst. While many actors find themselves caught up in – and exhausted by – the on-screen woes of their characters, the Shortland Street veteran says he is not one of them. “If I looked back a couple of years and watched every scene I was in, I’d go, ‘Gosh I really feel for the character’. I’d feel what the audience would feel, the diehard fans who go ‘Man, that guy’s in pain’ – and they’re meant to feel that otherwise they wouldn’t care about the character,” he says. “But I don’t think about that. I don’t go ‘Oh gosh, poor guy’. I just turn up and say the words and walk off. I don’t do any emotion at all. I’m anti it. It’s so weird.” However, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand why the emergency room doctor is struggling to come to terms with the fact he killed a man. “It’s a huge juxtaposition for him,” Ben says. “It’s his mission in life to save lives so to then to take one, that’s the demon really.” The actor happily confesses the current people-trafficking storyline – which started back in mid-2016 – has been his favourite in his 11 years on the show. In the storyline, TK – who had split from

long-time love Kylie (Kerry-Lee Dewing) – fell for former stripper Trina (Lucy Barclay), sparking a vendetta between the doctor and her criminal ex-boyfriend Hayden (Aaron Jackson).

Hayden kills Trina – and tries to kill Kylie and TK – only to be killed himself when TK drowns him.

TK confesses to the police but, when Hayden’s body can’t be found, is told there are no charges to answer.

However, plagued by nightmares, TK becomes more and more agitated about what he considers the murder he committed and this week Harper (Ria Vandervis), concerned for his emotional well-being, decides he needs to return to the quarry.

She fears she made a bad decision when TK vents his anger, but she talks him through it and TK manages to forgive Hayden and, more importantly, himself.

Ben says he has no idea what is in store for TK – but he would like to see him lighten up a little, for a while at least.

“People meet me and go ‘Gosh, you’re nothing like your character’ and I’m like ‘Well because I’m not. It’s not real’,” he says.

“He’s moody and morose and he’s serious about life. He takes too much responsibility and he cares deeply about what people think of him – all things I don’t have.” But the two do share some traits. “I could say ‘I’m completely different’ and make out I’m such an amazing actor but at the end of the day they’re just words on a page,” Ben says. “His hot-temperedness, I have to relate that to myself. I can go from zero to 100 (very quickly). His fierceness to protect definitely lies close to me – particularly to protect women.”

It is this latter characteristic that Ben believes causes most of TK’s problems. During his 11 years on the show, the doctor has been married and widowed twice – first came Sarah Potts (Amanda Billing) then Roimata Ngata (Shavaughn Ruakere). There have also been several relationships that ended unhappily.

“Usually the women in his life have been strong, opinionated characters that like to be relatively independent,” he says, adding this means they have often gone against TK’s advice – and paid the price.

“He warned Trina to stay away from danger which is the right thing to do. He’s got that father energy, but she goes ‘Hey, I know what I’m doing’, then she died.

“He warned Sarah about not getting involved in the virus but she wanted to carry on because she believed it was the right cause and she died. Then there were so many conflicts with Kylie.”

TK’s ‘psychosis to protect’ has led him to hit rock bottom, says Ben.

“He walks around in life and goes ‘I’m trying to do the right thing here. I’m in pain and I’m in misery’. That’s his emotional house.”

Ben wants TK to become less protective and meet someone who brings out the lighter side in him.

“I wouldn’t say comedy – I’m not that gifted as an actor – but some people bring out the lighter side of you so I’d be interested to see if someone can do that for TK.”