Gisborne cop realises acting dream
At 43, Josh Calles’ acting dream came true with a starring role in Broken. He talks to Jack van Beynen.
"Every time in my personal life I've had success, I've gone somewhere where I'm uncomfortable."
Josh Calles
When he was a child, Josh Calles had more energy and passion make-believe than other kids.
As he grew up in Gisborne, he dreamed sometimes of being an actor. But when he gave acting a go, his sport-loving mates teased him and he stepped back in line. After school, his family took priority. Calles and wife Mel had children young, and Calles worked as a builder and, more recently, a police officer, to put food on the table.
But his acting dream endured. ‘‘For me, for all these years it was all about being responsible,’’ he says.
‘‘It was just looking those ways to put food on the table, and every now and again you stoke the fire of the dream, you don’t let it die out, you just keep the embers going, you never let it go. Because you never know.’’
Now, aged 43, Calles will make his acting debut – and it’s a big one.
Calles plays the lead character, Logan, in the feature film Broken.
The movie is based on the true story of Tarore, the daughter of a Nga¯ ti Haua¯ chieftain killed in the 1830s in a conflict with a neighbouring iwi.
Tarore had been given a copy of the Gospel of Luke by missionaries, and the book encouraged the chiefs of the feuding iwi to put end their longrunning conflict.
(This story was also the basis of Joy Cowley’s Tarore and Her Book.)
Broken modernises the story, setting it in a coastal New Zealand town where two gangs jostle for power.
Calles’ character is a former member of the Mad Bulls gang who is pulled back into the conflict when his daughter is murdered by the rival Pouakai gang.
He must choose between forgiving her killers or seeking bloody revenge.
Church connections were part of what got Calles the role – he describes his casting as a ‘‘classic tale of it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’’.
Broken is produced by City Impact Church, and directed by Tarry Mortlock, son of the church’s founders and leaders Peter and Bev Mortlock.
City Impact Church has many connections to Gisborne’s House of Breakthrough church, where Calles is a member, and Calles had known director Mortlock for over 10 years before the film was made.
Once given the chance to act, however, Calles seized it with both hands.
The role proved a real challenge and took him to some dark places.
‘‘[Logan] is a character that I’m almost at the opposite end of the spectrum to. I’m normally jovial, I’m normally a bit of a larrikin.’’
They had their commonalities, however.
Like his character, Calles is a father – to four instead of one, however. Two of his children are grown up and are following their dad into the police force.
Calles’ six years as a cop also came in handy.
He’s had his share of interactions with gang members, and he tried to incorporate some of their mannerisms and ways of speaking into his character.
‘‘There’s a certain amount of animosity – that might be a bit too strong in some cases – but they’re not welcoming.
‘‘However, I have worked with gang members that I’ve developed a relationship with, and there’s actually warmth.
‘‘Because they’re guys just like me – they’re husbands, they’re uncles, they’re fathers.
‘‘When I deal with them it’s obviously in a different context and so they have a stand-offish approach, but when I’ve dealt with them outside of my uniform, they’re just like me,’’ he says.
In a scene featuring an armed offenders squad callout, he was able to help with some of the authentic details.
‘‘Some of the extras, who weren’t cops, they were holding their imitation glocks like they were gangsters themselves.
‘‘They’d watched too many movies,’’ he jokes.
Calles got to evaluate his performance on the big screen at the film’s premiere in Gisborne on January 25. He was please to see the surprised reactions of his family and friends.
‘‘They were interested to see how I would come across as this totally different character.
‘‘To my surprise, they didn’t see me, they actually saw Logan, so from an actor’s point-of-view that’s exactly what you want. It was very very encouraging.’’
Though he ‘‘absolutely loves’’ his police work, Calles hopes to do more acting.
‘‘What I loved about this role was the fact that I was challenged to go to different places. Every time in my personal life I’ve had success, I’ve gone somewhere where I’m uncomfortable. That’s where growth lies, when you do something that you’re not used to doing.’’
❚ Broken (M) is now screening in cinemas around the country.