THIS KIWI KID IS ON A ROLE!
NZ’s newest screen talent is one cool character!
With his vibrant ginger hair and piercing blue eyes, aspiring young actor Bo Liew-King missed out on several big roles because of his distinctive look. But finally, after a year of auditions, the perfect part has landed right in his lap.
The 11-year-old son of well-known Kiwi artist Flox is the smiling face fronting the new children’s show George+
Me, which launched this week on TVNZ’s new children’s media platform Heihei.
One of two main characters on the science-focused, 10-part educational series, Bo presents fun, funny and insightful facts about all things body-related, from organs and bones, to teeth and feet.
The budding TV host tells us, “Every episode is themed around a different part of the body, and is about one-and-ahalf minutes long. There’s only George, who I play, and another animated character named Me.”
Shot mostly outdoors on Waiheke Island during the summer school holidays,
George+Me is the first major acting stint for the local from Grey Lynn, Auckland.
His proud mother Flox, aka Hayley King, says, “Bo has quite a unique look that’s hard to match with screen parents, so we were waiting for the right acting role to come up and Attitude Pictures, who produced the show, were marvellous to work with for this first time. I’m sure something else exciting will come from this.”
Outoftheblue
As part of his debut with Heihei, Bo learnt to work in front of an animation blue screen, spending two busy eight-hour days helping bring to life his cute on-show sidekick Me.
Bo says, “Using the blue screen involved pretending there was a giant blister or that I was standing on some feet because it’s meant to be a bit gross so that kids like it.”
The talented skateboarder – who can do a range of challenging tricks despite starting the sport only two years ago – adds, “I sat in uncomfortable positions on the hard floor for hours, but it was fun experiencing something different.”
Heihei, which means “chicken” in Maori, is New Zealand’s answer to Netflix but solely for children. Available online free at heihei.nz, it’s aimed at kids aged five to nine and is designed to bring more locally focused educational content to Kiwi kids.
Flox – who is most widely known for her graffiti murals featuring native birds, ferns and flowers – explains, “There’s been a lot of talk of children growing up with American accents in New Zealand and the idea is that all the content on Heihei is New Zealandbased, in te reo and English, with a Kiwi accent.”
Bo – who says he’d prefer to keep acting as a hobby, rather than a future career, so he can focus on his weekend soccer games and skateboarding – is excited to see himself wearing his character’s pineapple-print pants on TV.
He grins, “For the show, I wore my favourite board shorts that I got in Bali and a yellow T-shirt because it’s what I wore at the audition and they liked it.”
Having recently returned from China, where she attended the world’s biggest trade fair for art supplies, Flox adds, “It’s been hard as well as fun for Bo. It was definitely work, but
I can’t wait for him to reap the reward because what you end up seeing is completely different to how it feels creating it.”
Being creative is in Bo’s genes, says his mother, whose last major street-art project saw her paint a large mural of Bo’s face in Mount Maunganui.
“He’s better at drawing from his head than me,” says Flox, who is also mum to son Indiana, four. “He often personifies food and has done many characters, like Corny Cobb and Sausage Man, which are really quirky and cute.”
Of course, she’s looking forward to seeing her eldest son’s acting work turned to magic. She smiles proudly, “Bo did very well. He’s a real sociable guy with plenty of energy and there were no complaints. I’m really proud of him.”