COVER STORY
Martin Henderson talks about fame and the downside of success.
Martin Henderson once said he never wanted a regular TV role. He was living in Hollywood and much more glamorous movie gigs came along often enough.
Times change, though, and at the age of 42, the prospect of being able to walk his dog in the Los Angeles hills, go surfing and mountain biking, see his girlfriend every day and sleep in his own bed has become much more appealing.
And when the call came from television mogul Shonda Rhimes, it could have been for any of her small-screen projects. Henderson and Rhimes knew each other – he’d been in a Rhimes political-drama pilot, Inside The Box almost a decade ago, and then had a part in another Rhimes TV medical drama Off The Map.
It turned out, though, when they met up, that Rhimes wanted the Kiwi actor for Grey’s Anatomy.
Henderson left their meeting planning to accept a gig he calls a no-brainer, but then realised he wasn’t sure what exactly he was signing up for.
What turned it from a comfortable recurring role on a long-running, much-loved television show was Rhimes’ unique way of working.
Henderson’s character, Nathan Riggs, has offered a sense of mystery to viewers – but also to Henderson.
“I had no idea what the actual role was, other than it was going to be a doctor,” Henderson says. “So I called her up and said, ‘I am pretty much sure I am going to say yes, but what exactly would my character be?’
“And she said, ‘That depends on whether you’re going to do it ... if it is you, we are going to write to you and the qualities we really like in you’. So I said, ‘So I am basically playing myself?’ ”
Rhimes told him she liked to let her characters develop on screen and see what chemistry evolved before working out their next move.
“So it was kind of terrifying on my first day at work,” says Henderson, smiling broadly. “I didn’t know what kind of doctor he was. I didn’t know his name, I didn’t really know a thing, so each episode was a revelation about his backstory.”
Henderson says Rhimes sits in on the actors’ table reads – he has just come from one, his dog at his feet, when we meet at his agent’s office in Beverly Hills – tapping at her laptop, tweaking lines of dialogue until the last possible moment.
But Henderson trusts Rhimes’ track record, especially in keeping
Grey’s alive for 13 seasons. “I know I am in really good hands,’’ he says.
In the footsteps of McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) and McSteamy (Eric Dane), Henderson was happy to be given the tag McKiwi (“All those other ridiculous names seem hard to live up to. Kiwi is a given, I can manage that.”) when Rhimes told him he could adopt a New Zealand accent.
There was one stipulation: “They want to understand you in Milwaukee. I was thinking of doing my best Murray from Flight Of The Conchords.”
It is a rarity for Henderson, who has spent years dealing with accent coaches (except the time on Everest, where he turned coach to school the rest of the cast on New Zealand nuances), and he says, “An absolute treat. It’s one less thing to worry about and lets you focus on doing the scene.”
Temuera Morrison told a colleague, in passing, that Henderson had hit the jackpot in securing such a gig on Grey’s. At first, he’s not sure how to take that.
“My first 10 or 15 years in this town, I didn’t want that consistency,” Henderson says. “It didn’t gel with the kind of lifestyle I wanted. I didn’t want to do just one thing.
“So for many years, I didn’t want to do television for that reason – being locked into one character.
“Now at my age, it is actually quite attractive – so, yes, as a lifestyle choice it is the jackpot in some ways. I’m still getting used to it. LA has been my base for 17 years, but the majority of my work has been anywhere but here. So to have a job where I can come home and see my dog, stop off at my girlfriend’s on the way home after work – I’ve never had that.”
Shooting movies, he says, “You find yourself in a new town, another hotel room, you have the lamb chops for the third time in two weeks from
room service, so you go out and find a cafe ... and you sit there on your own with your script. Not to begrudge it; I am very happy.
“I’ve had a lovely career and life but there gets a point where I don’t find it fun or glamorous. I would much rather have a simpler, normal existence. This show offers me that opportunity.”
Henderson has been in plenty of high-profile shows, but Grey’s has changed things.
“I’ve noticed that shift a little already – the show is hugely popular in England, France, Italy. I was on vacation this hiatus and, yeah, you can feel it (the attention).”
He has, at least, experience of the fame generated by a medical soap. On his wikipedia entry, it suggests that Henderson is, ‘Still mostly known for Stu’, his 1992-1995 Shortland Street character. He laughs.
“I think that’s probably right. If I go home, most people are like ‘Stuey!’ and I am always shocked. I think I look old, but people still remember me from how I looked 17 years ago.”
He’s still musing on Tem Morrison as he talks of how content he is in life and how one of his guiding principles is to be grateful for what he has.
“I guess Tem has a point,” he concludes. “In some ways, this is the happiest period of my life.”
“I’ve had a lovely career and life but there gets a point where I don’t find it fun or glamorous. I would much rather have a simpler, normal existence.” – Martin Henderson