Monkey star sacrifices hair for role.

Kiwi actress Luciane Buchanan tells Sarah Nealon about the drastic change she made to her appearance for her role in The New Legends Of Monkey.

Luciane Buchanan (right) was under no illusion about what was required for her role as a teenage monk in The New Legends Of Monkey.

When she heard about the part on the fantasy drama, it was made clear she would have to swap her thick, long tresses for a shaved head.

“Before I even auditioned, it was like, ‘Actor must agree to shave their head’. I’ve always secretly wanted to do it but never really had the guts. I would freak out at a bob and think, ‘No, that’s too short’,” she says.

“If I was a teenager I would be like, ‘Hell no, my hair is everything to me’. But I didn’t even flinch, I was like, ‘This is awesome’.”

Buchanan, 24, who has appeared on local series like Filthy Rich and The Blue Rose, plays Tripitaka, one of the main characters on The New Legends Of Monkey.

The series, a remake of the cult 80s show Monkey, was filmed in New Zealand and features a mixture of international and local actors including Josh Thomson (The Project), Rachel House (Moana) and Jordan Mooney (Westside). “We had a month of rehearsals,” says Buchanan. “We had boot camp which was very tough, and I watched fantasy genre films to get the idea of the tone because I’m used to natural acting where it’s quite slow but this is very fast paced. “Also there is ancient language I had to learn as well as an ancient text that I had to learn how to handwrite.” Thanks to the contacts she made while filming the series, Buchanan, whose first on-screen role was as a 17 year old in the telefeature Billy, a drama based on the life of Billy T James, is now living in Los Angeles and attending auditions. “I want to keep creating and work with great people,” she says. “I know when I’m on set that’s my favourite place, I’ve worked in many places but that’s my little zone.”