Australian import Mark Ferguson made a big impact as an actor in New Zealand from his first appearance on Gloss. He went on to play Darryl Neilson, one of Shortland Street's most memorable villains, followed by Darryl’s good guy brother Damien. Since then, Ferguson has appeared in the Spin Doctors series and international shows such as Hercules and Spartacus.

In this ScreenTalk, Ferguson talks about:

• How being Australian got him the part on Gloss
• Being amused by the over-the-top costumes and dialogue on the show
• Not expecting Shortland Street to last beyond a couple of years
• Playing both a baddie and a goodie on the soap
• How Richard Taylor from Weta Workshop brought some centaur realism to Hercules
• Having his on-screen time in The Lord of the Rings stolen by an elf
• Learning the scripts for Spin Doctors in one night
• Banging a piece of wood on the set of Spartacus
• Feeling fortunate to have had a career playing “evil bastards”

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

NZ On Screen: Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside