Up Close

From the Hills of Hollywood to the Shores of Auckland. We find out what these two charming stars have been up to while in town for TV3’s Big Night In Telethon…

It’s been a long time since we last heard from actors Martin Henderson and Alan Dale. The two Kiwi stars have been working non-stop on their flourishing careers in the land of Hollywood. However, despite their busy schedules, they still made it to TV3’s Big Night In telethon where they showed their support for the Kidscan charity. SocialFlossie got the chance to catch up with these two dashing lads during the lead up to the event, where we found out about their latest ventures.

Good to be home?
Alan: Oh yes, I love it here. I’ve been back since about 5 o’clock this morning. I’m here for a little while too. I’m doing a film with Katie Holmes and Guy Pierce in Australia in September so I’m thinking I’ll hang out here… but I might get lonely and want to go home to see my family, so I might pop back.
Martin: Very good, yes, I’ve been back about 11 hours, but it’s been great so far.

How did you get involved with the Big Night In?
A: It’s really bizarre actually, I have a house here and my next door neighbor sent me an e-mail as he’s working on the production of the Big Night In and asked if I was going to be down in this area and if I’d be prepared to be part of the telethon. And I was part of the ’88 one and the ’84 one, so I instantly said yes and of course it’s for a great cause.
M: A lady cornered me at a conference actually awhile ago when I was back here visiting my friends and family. She told me who she was and what she was doing and why. As well as some of the statistics and the situation with the kids and I was very surprised and kind of shocked. I think I held a very naïve understanding of poverty. However, with Kidscan raising awareness about this issue, we now have the opportunity to provide for those in need and give back to our community, it feels great and I’m so proud of New Zealand and the fact that we’re doing something about it is fantastic.

And what item did you donate to KidsCan?
A: I donated an Ugly Betty Poster which I have signed to auction off.
M: A jacket which was a wrap present from the first American feature film I did called “Windtalkers”, which was a Nicholas Cage action, WW2 movie. So I signed that and auction it off.

Can you tell us about some of the projects you’ve been working on lately?
A: I did a Law & Order SVU in New York in late May that I’m pretty proud of, I think it’s my best work ever really. It’s my proudest moment if you like. Apart from that, I’ve been doing Lost, I go back on Lost again in October.
M: Well I’ve just finished working on a film called Battle in Seattle, which was a bit of a coincidence actually, because I’ve been able to do some promotion for that as well while I’m here. I also just did a TV pilot for ABC which unfortunately didn’t get picked up, so we’re now in discussions with the network about a development deal where they kind of sign you on, not for a project, but basically to develop shows around you and get involved with the development of show which is exciting. It gives me the opportunity to find something a little more tailor made too.

Are there any people in the industry you’ve really enjoyed working with?
A: I don’t really get on with actors actually. Oh! That sounds terrible. I mean I’m fine with them but it’s a transient business, you don’t work with the people very long and if you hang your heart on a relationship that your form during production, you know it’s likely it’s gonna get broken… so instead I get to know people and then if I see them again, we catch up. Like when I worked with Harrison Ford in 2003 on Hollywood Homicide, I had the chance to get to know him and then later I was working with him again in Indiana Jones and we had the chance to catch up which was nice.
M: Yea there’s a lot… Cate Blanchett, she was wonderful to work with in Little Fish, and that director, Rowan Woods, an Australian director, who is fantastic. Also, Woody Harrelson in Battle for Seattle, that was kind of thrill cause he was such a childhood hero of mine, he’s hilarious and a great actor, to do scenes with him was a real buzz.

Is there anyone you would really like to work with in the industry?
A: I’m a huge admirer of Gene Hackman and I don’t even know if he’s doing very much anymore but if I was given the opportunity to work with him, that would be wonderful.
M: I would love to work with Charlie Kaufman, the writer, I think he’s genius, he’s brilliant and I would love to be in one of his movies. Infact, I intend on writing him and telling him that, I absolutely love his work.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re back in New Zealand?
A: Well the thing is, when you live in Los Angeles, the Hollywood lifestyle is pretty full on. So I really just like going to a little house I own here on a beach, it’s just a little place, not very flash but I really just like going there, it really means something to me and I just love to soak in New Zealand to be honest. I mean I know we always call NZ “god’s own” but it really is, and the rest of the world knows now, which I don’t really want them knowing about it because then they’ll want in on it.
M: Seeing my family and friends definitely, that’s always great. But it’s just the state of mind I think of being here, there’s a stillness, a simplicity and a way of life here which I miss greatly when I’m over in the States, it’s a very different culture over there. But to be honest, my favourite thing is to be out in nature, I love to get out on a boat and go sailing in the Coromandel. And every Christmas when I’m here I love to go driving around the North Island just to take it all in.

Book:
A: Shantaram by Gregory David Robets It’s about a convict who escapes prison and ends up in Bombay before joining the Mafia. I just finished that as I got on the plane to fly down here last night, I really enjoyed it, couldn’t put it down!
M: Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogal. I actually just picked that up recently, it was recommended to me years ago by a dear friend and I saw it in my bookshelf and thought it was one of those books I never got around to reading so I’ve just started reading that. Love in the time of Cholera is another one of my favourite. I went into a café the other day in L.A. and there was a girl sitting at the counter reading that and we got into a discussion about it and it reminded me how much I love that book, so that would be another one I’d love to revisit.

NZ Hotspot:
A: Matakana, I discovered that area recently, I really like it up there. The market and the stuff you can get up there is great, it’s unfortunate that I’m not here long enough to buy any stuff and use it, but it’s a lovely place.
M: I love the coffee at Dizengoff on Ponsonby Road. I also love getting out on the Hauraki Gulf, that’s my favourite thing in the world to do, sailing around the gulf.

Film:
A: In the Loop. It’s an English comedy, I just watched it on the plane ride down here. Very funny, lots of foul language and it’s about the English getting involved with the Iraq war and how corrupt it is. It was very well done.
M: Synecdoche New York. Not sure if that’s been released here in New Zealand yet. But it’s an excellent film, written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, I absolutely loved it. I’d love to be in a film like that.

Album:
A: No I can’t think of any album in particular. But I have been listening to a lot of New Zealand tracks lately. There’s some great music that comes out of this country. New Zealanders need to be more proud of what they do here, the music is superb
M: You know what, I’ve just started to get back in to The Cure. Been digging that! Just at home by myself, crank it full volume, it’s great!

Guilty Pleasure:
A: Well I have to say one of the things when I’m in Los Angeles, which, this will sound kind of crazy, because it’s southern California and the beach, I don’t eat fish. I mean how can you eat fish anywhere else in the world when you are able to get the fish that we get in New Zealand?
M: Well…I do like to ride my motorbike…very fast, I know I could get in trouble with it, but I know the roads to go on. That would be my guilty pleasure.