Nervous tension:
Shortland Street actors Lukas Whiting and Ngahuia Piripi became so caught up in their wedding day roles as a soon-to-be married couple, they were as anxious as a real-life bride and groom. Kerry Harvey reports.
Wedding jitters
were for real for a Shortland Street bride and groom.
Actor Lukas Whiting says there was nothing fake about his pre-wedding nerves on the eve of Finn Warner’s wedding to fellow doctor Esther Samuels (Ngahuia Piripi) on Shortland Street. “It was quite weird and surreal,” says Whiting, 25. “I didn’t think too much about it beforehand and then that morning people came up to me, like, ‘It’s your big day, mate’ – talking to me as Lukas rather than Finn. “You’re like, ‘Not really. I didn’t want this. They’ve just written it for me.’ “But it is a weird feeling standing at the altar and everyone’s looking at you and all the attention is on you.
“It’s quite nerve-racking in a way because it does feel a little bit real.”
His screen bride also admits to being caught up in the moment.
“I had people fussing over me all day just like a real bride,” she says, adding it was also her first on-screen nuptials.
“I loved the dress. It was tailored for me and all my lady lumps but I was very wary the whole day about sitting down because of the beading on it and I didn’t want the tulle on the bottom to get caught so I was trying to be really careful.”
However, Esther and Finn have more to worry about than a bit of ripped tulle.
On the eve of the big day, warning bells threaten to drown out any wedding bells as Esther’s former lover, Curtis Hannah (Jayden Daniels), remains convinced that he is the better man for her.
When Curtis discovers Esther has yet to introduce Finn to her parents, he takes it as sign she is not convinced Finn is the man for her.
However, Piripi believes the young doctor has got it right.
“You want a partner who is going to enrich your life and they have similar careers and goals. You can’t just run on chemistry,” she says. “But while I think Finn’s the right choice that doesn’t mean the love she has for Curtis is going to disappear. A lot of us have that ‘what if’ guy in our lives but, unlike Esther, they don’t come face to face with them most days.”
She warns that even if the
wedding goes ahead, the future may not be easy for the newlyweds.
“It’s always heart issues with Esther. If it’s not medical heart issues it’s the love heart issues,” she says, hinting her character’s serious heart condition may resurface.
“She is still young so you would like to think her heart is going to keep going for a bit but who knows. How long does happiness last in Ferndale?”
Whiting is also tight-lipped about what the future holds for the pair but he believes Finn has put his worries about Curtis behind him.
“There’s always going to be that love that Curtis and Esther have that is different to that relationship that Finn and Esther have,” he says.
“I can relate to it. It is that first love. It’s that one person that stole your heart. You realise that as you drift apart, grow apart, you become different people but it’s shared experiences, and shared history, that really ties those people. I think Finn is something new and I think Esther sees a future in that rather than holding on to the nostalgia that is Curtis.” But what happens if he is wrong? “I don’t think Finn would cope very well. Esther has been his everything and he’s invested so much in her. His love for Esther is just so, so intense so if it wasn’t to go ahead I don’t think it would end well. I think everything would just crumble.”