NCIS: Hawai’i
Season 1 M-Net (*101) 20:30 Action
New Zealand-born actor Alex Tarrant says that being cast as NCIS agent Kai Holman in new spin-off action show NCIS: Hawai’i was a blessing and a curse. “My grandma called me in for tea after I was cast. She told me that she’s happy, but that I’m not to embarrass her or our people onscreen. And she’s watching every episode to make sure that I do justice to my Maori heritage,” says the 32-year-old. “Do you know how mean my granny is? I’ll get a whooping if I do anything wrong, so I’m on my best behaviour working on this amazing show!”
1 Alex was diagnosed with reading condition dyslexia only in his final year of studying at Toi Whakaari, the most prestigious drama school in New Zealand. While it’s a serious condition, Alex says that it proves he’s talented “as no one knew I was bluffing and didn’t read my scripts properly.”
2 After being diagnosed, he joined the New Zealand National Dyslexia Association to help children who drop out of school because they don’t get help with their studies.
3 He’s a self-confessed Tolkienite and says that “I cried for a week solid” after he was cast (which he can’t reveal yet) in the TV series The Lord Of The Rings, based on JRR Tolkien’s novels and the trilogy fantasy movies of the same name.
4 The Lord Of The Rings is filming in New Zealand, so Alex gets to sleep in his own bed every night. “I’m also the cool kid on the cast because my castmates are on my turf now and I’m like their king,” jokes Alex.
5 He has a British bulldog named Winston and says that he misses the pup while working “but I don’t miss his poops. They’re huge!”