How Rachel House Brought the Kiwi Accent to the Big Screen

In this episode, Sienna tells her dad Ben she wants to grow up and be like actor and director Rachel House.

Rachel has done it all - from iconic Kiwi films like Whale Rider, Boy, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, to Thor: Ragnarok in the Marvel universe. She voiced Gramma Tala in Moana, brought characters to life in Pixar’s Soul and Coco, and most recently played the villain Piglin in A Minecraft Movie!

Sienna and Ben chat with Rachel about:

• Growing up in Kamo, Northland, and falling in love with drama as a kid
• Early performances, from The Wizard of Oz to Shakespeare at age six
• Drama school and discovering her whakapapa later in life
• Starting out in acting, handling rejection, and keeping going despite setbacks
• Iconic Kiwi roles and the magic of voicing Gramma Tala in Moana and Voicing the villain Piglin in Minecraft and losing her voice doing it
  
• A surprise meeting with Chris Hemsworth on Thor and what it’s really like working with Taika Waititi
• Big career moments, recognisable roles, and “pinch yourself” Hollywood surprises
• Advice for young people dreaming of acting, storytelling, or media careers
• What she would tell her younger self

Rachel shows that with passion, determination, and a bit of courage, you can end up in some of the world’s biggest movies and on this podcast too!

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