Actor Stelios Yiakmis created a name for himself playing doctor Johnny Marinovich for five years on Shortland Street. He is currently appearing as bad guy Derek Peterson in crime drama The Blue Rose.

Yiakmis gained further acting credentials in a range of Australian and Kiwi TV shows such as McLeod's Daughters, All Saints, and Underbelly – Land of the Long White Cloud, and the Australian feature film Jindabyne.

In this ScreenTalk, Yiakmis talks about:

• Being overawed by his first scene on Shortland Street
• How a fellow actor couldn’t help him adjust to the work schedule
• Loving the polarising nature of his character Johnny Marinovich
• How a role in Street Legal gave him a chance to stretch his acting wings
• Confusing the local population on the set of McLeod's Daughters
• Wanting to punch director Ray Lawrence while filming Jindabyne
• Playing a real life criminal in the Kiwi version of Underbelly
• Relishing the chance to be a 'bastard' in The Blue Rose
• How not knowing the plot in advance made the role harder

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

NZ On Screen: Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside