Honouring the heroes:
Shortland Street actor Teone Kahu tells how he was determined to do justice to some real-life heroes in a storyline in which he returns to the soap a changed man. Kerry Harvey reports.
Shortland Street star’s tribute to real-life heroes.
When Dr Hawks Logan left Ferndale to work in the war-torn Middle East, actor Teone Kahu thought he was done with Shortland Street – until he was asked back. “I originally said no,” Kahu says. “I wasn’t too keen but then they broke me down with the storyline and I love a challenge. It just worked out to be the right time and I thought, ‘Why not?’ ” Not least among his concerns about reprising the role was how fans would feel about Hawks returning without his lover Sass Warner (Lucy Lovegrove) and the fact he would be working closely with his real-life partner, Ngahuia Piripi, who plays Dr Esther Samuels. Sass has moved to Paris with a new boyfriend and Hawks is attracted to her former sister-in-law, Esther, meaning Kahu and Piripi share many scenes. “It has its challenges as any sort of work relationship does, but I felt we were really able to handle ourselves professionally and actually give advice to each other and work together,” he says, at the same time refusing to reveal if the pair get together on screen as well. “The world works in mysterious ways so I’m excited to see where it goes – or where it doesn’t go. However, I feel like, regardless of what happens, it will create a great friendship.” Kahu is keen to see how fans react to Hawks who has lost a lot more than his girlfriend in the months since he left Ferndale. After being seriously injured in a bombing attack on the hospital where he was working, his leg had to be amputated and he is now faced with adapting to life without it. “I actually did a lot of research because I wanted to give it all respect because I know there are a lot of great athletes who I look up to
“My mother is from a small fishing town in the South Island and there was a fisherman from there who lost his leg on a fishing trip. So I took him out for a beer and asked him a heap of questions.”
– Teone Kahu
personally who have conquered that barrier,” he says.
“My mother is from a small fishing town in the South Island and there was a fisherman from there who lost his leg on a fishing trip. So I took him out for a beer and asked him a heap of questions.
“I also spoke to certain war heroes who had lost their legs. I watched the TV series Strike, which is about a cop who went through that.
“I also researched how other actors had prepared for the role, just to see the changes they made in terms of how they walked, because I knew everyone was going to be expecting to see obvious changes.”
Following consultation with a nurse who worked with prosthetics, Kahu went even further, taping his leg to ensure the same degree of stiffness Hawks would feel with his artificial leg.
“I couldn’t really arch my ankle so it was painful but I would much rather give full respect than overdo a limp,” he says.
Other aspects of the character were much easier, including the after-effects of brain surgery that leave the doctor speaking his mind.
“I love it. I kind of am like that in real life ... I speak my mind in a humorous and loving way and when they told me they were going to do that to Hawks, I was pretty excited,” Kahu says.
“I went downstairs and high-fived the writers and said, ‘I can’t wait to do this’. Hawks can be a very serious guy, but he’s also mischievous and funny. I got to play both.”
His satisfaction at being able to play a huge range of emotions is no surprise given his Shakespearean background. At 18, he was selected to act and train at the bastion of Shakespearean theatre, London’s Globe, along with 19 other Kiwi pupils as part of the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival.
“I didn’t really like (drama) in high school,” says Kahu. “I was more into footy. Then I fell in love with Shakespeare – just the way a language that’s spoken before my time, before my parents’ time, can still be so relevant today if you play it with the intent of the scene and emotion.
“I was fortunate enough to be able to perform at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and see the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company at Stratford-upon-Avon.
“I feel like that really helped me harness my love for acting. I still read Shakespeare and still go see as many plays as I can just because that’s what keeps the fire burning.”