Actress and TV presenter Miriama Smith made her acting debut in cop show Shark in the Park. At 20 she graduated to Shortland Street, playing nurse Awhina Broughton. Since then, Smith has appeared in a raft of TV shows including Mercy Peak, Mataku and Serial Killers.

She played lawyer Donna Hall in tele-feature Stolen, was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, and a judge on the Prime Television version of New Zealand’s Got Talent.

In this ScreenTalk, Smith talks about:

• Playing a ‘naughty friend’ on the set of Shark in the Park

• How Shortland Street provided a fantastic opportunity to hone her acting

• Feeling pressured to represent Maori with her character Awhina

• Loving the larger-than-life production sets on Xena

• Being ‘wowed’ by actress Lucy Lawless on the show

• Realising she could have an acting career while working on Mercy Peak

• Facing up to the immense pressure of Dancing with the Stars with cracked ribs

• Undergoing a physical and mental transformation for her role in Stolen

• Finding empathy for her character in Siege

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

NZ On Screen: Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside