Robyn Jane Malcolm MNZM (born 1965) is a New Zealand actress, who first gained recognition for her role as nurse Ellen Crozier on the soap opera Shortland Street. She is best known for playing Cheryl West, matriarch to a sometimes criminal working-class family, in the television series Outrageous Fortune. She has also worked in Australia, including roles in the TV series Rake and Upper Middle Bogan. She plays the lead role in the six-part 2023 NZ drama After the Party.
Robyn Malcolm | |
|---|---|
Malcolm in 2019 | |
| Born | 1965 (age 58–59) Ashburton, Canterbury, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Relatives | Roger Sutton (brother-in-law) |
Early life and education
editRobyn Jane Malcolm[1] was born in 1965[2][3] in Ashburton, New Zealand.[4]
She attended Ashburton College,[4] and graduated from Toi Whakaari (New Zealand Drama School) with a Diploma in Acting in 1987.[5][6]
Career
editMalcolm's first long-running television role was nurse Ellen Crozier in soap opera Shortland Street. She appeared on the show for over five years.[7]
She played the lead role in television feature, Clare, based on the cervical cancer experiment at Auckland's National Women's Hospital which resulted in the Cartwright Inquiry.[7][8]
In 1999, Malcolm was one of the founding members of the New Zealand Actors' Company along with Tim Balme, Katie Wolfe, and Simon Bennett. The company produced and toured a number of successful stage productions throughout New Zealand.[9]
In 2005, Malcolm took on the role of Cheryl West, matriarch of the West family, in Outrageous Fortune. Mixing comedy and drama, the show became one of the highest-rated and most honoured in New Zealand history.[10]
Malcolm co-starred in 2010 feature film The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell, playing mother to a family obsessed with go-karting and motorsports.[11] She has also had small roles in movies Absent Without Leave directed by John Laing,[12] The Last Tattoo directed by John Reid,[13] Gaylene Preston's Perfect Strangers,[14] and Christine Jeffs' Sylvia.[15] She had a minor role as Morwen in the second film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.[16]
She played Kirsty Corella in the Australian television series Rake, and Julie Wheeler in Upper Middle Bogan.[17]
She plays Mrs Keene on the 2023 drama series Black Bird.[18]
Malcolm plays the lead role in the six-part drama After the Party, which aired on TVNZ from 29 October 2023.[19] The Guardian reviewer Luke Buckmaster called it "one of the greatest performances in any TV show in years".[20]
Recognition, awards, and honours
editMalcolm was nominated for Best Actress at the 1998 TV Guide Television Awards for her work in Shortland Street. She was nominated again for her role in Clare.[citation needed]
In 2003, Malcolm won an International Actors Fellowship at the Globe Theatre in London.[21]
For her role in Outrageous Fortune, Malcolm won several television awards, including the Qantas TV Awards for Best Actress in 2005 and 2008, TV Guide Best Actress in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and Air NZ Screen Awards Best Actress in 2007.[citation needed]
Malcolm won the Woman's Day Readers' Choice Award for Favourite New Zealand Female Personality in 2005, and New Zealand's sexiest woman at the 2007 TV Guide Best on the Box awards.[22]
In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, Malcolm was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to television and theatre.[23][1]
In March 2024 she was honoured with a Best Actress accolade at the Series Mania film festival in Lille, France. She received this prestigious award in the International Panorama section for her outstanding performance in After the Party, a series she co-created with writer Dianne Taylor. This recognition marked a significant milestone as the first time a New Zealand entry had been considered for an award at the festival.[24]
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absent Without Leave | 1992 | Betty | |
| The Last Tattoo | 1994 | Working girl | |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | 2002 | Morwen | |
| Perfect Strangers | 2003 | Aileen | |
| Sylvia | 2003 | 1st woman at Ted Hughes' lecture | |
| Boogeyman | 2005 | Dr. Matheson | |
| The Lovely Bones | 2009 | Foreman's wife | uncredited |
| The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell | 2010 | Gail Snell | |
| Burning Man | 2011 | Kathryn Dent | |
| Drift | 2013 | Kat Kelly | |
| Dream Baby | 2015 | Marianne | Short film |
| Edith | 2016 | Barmaid | Short film |
| Goodness Grows Here | 2017 | Trish | Short film |
| Hostiles | 2017 | Minnie McGowan | |
| Twenty One Points | 2018 | Mum | Short film |
| Charmer | 2018 | Woman | Short film |
| This Town | 2020 | Pam | |
| The Moon Is Upside Down | 2024 | Hilary | [25] |
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Television
edit| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shark in the Park | 1989 | Janice | Guest role (1 episode) |
| Shark in the Park | 1990–91 | Janet Finn | Guest role (2 episodes) |
| Married | 1992 | Maddie | |
| Joyful & Triumphant | 1993 | Raewyn | Television film |
| Shortland Street | 1994–99 | Ellen Crozier | Main role (600 episodes) |
| The Tribe | 1999 | Ma'am | Guest role (1 episode) |
| Clare | 2000 | Clare Matheson | Television film |
| Op' Stars | 2000 | Narrator | Television documentary |
| Atlantis High | 2001 | Violet Profusion | Guest role (1 episode) |
| Mercy Peak | 2003 | Liz | Guest role (2 episodes) |
| Intrepid Journeys | 2003 | Herself | 1 episode |
| Serial Killers | 2004 | Pauline | Lead role (7 episodes) |
| Outrageous Fortune | 2005–10 | Cheryl West | Lead role |
| bro'Town | 2009 | Herself | 1 episode |
| Big Night In | 2009 | Herself | Television special |
| The Jaquie Brown Diaries | 2009 | Herself | Guest (1 episode) |
| Rake | 2010–14 | Kirsty Corella | Recurring role (11 episodes) |
| Top of the Lake | 2013 | Anita | Main role (series 1; 7 episodes) |
| Agent Anna | 2013–14 | Anna Kingston | Lead role; also executive producer |
| Upper Middle Bogan | 2013–16 | Julie Wheeler | Main role |
| Charlotte: A Life Without Limbs | 2014 | Presenter | Television documentary |
| The Brokenwood Mysteries | 2015 | Ruth Phelps | Episode: "To Die or Not to Die" |
| The Principal | 2015 | Sonya | Guest role (1 episode) |
| Wanted | 2016–18 | Donna Walsh | Recurring role (10 episodes) |
| The Code | 2016 | Marina Baxter | Main role (series 2: 6 episodes) |
| Wake in Fright | 2017 | Ursula Hynes | miniseries |
| Harrow | 2018–21 | Maxine Pavich | Main role |
| Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You | 2018 | Irene Newton-John | miniseries |
| The Outpost | 2018–19 | Elinor | Main role (season 1–2: 23 episodes) |
| My Life is Murder | 2021 | Tamara Innes | Episode : "Call of the Wild" |
| Black Bird | 2022 | Sammy Keen | Recurring role |
| Far North | 2023 | Heather | Main role (season 1) |
| After the Party | 2023 | Penny Wilding | Main role |
| Heartbreak High | 2024 | Cait White | Guest role (Season 2, Episode 5) |
| † | Denotes television series that have not yet been aired |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Threepenny Opera | Lucy Brown | Downstage Theatre |
| 1988 | The Rivers of China | Various | Downstage Theatre |
| 1988 | Les Liaisons dangereuses | Cecile de Valonges | Downstage Theatre |
| 1988 | Judy | Various | Downstage Theatre |
| 1988 | Jones & Jones | Ida Baker | Downstage Theatre |
| 1988 | Gulls | Puppeteer | Downstage Theatre |
| 1989 | Twelfth Night | Viola | BATS Theatre |
| 1989 | The Horse of Bernada Alba | Martirio | Downstage Theatre |
| 1989 | Othello | Bianca | Downstage Theatre |
| 1989 | Aunt Daisy | Various | Downstage Theatre |
| 1990 | Sweet Nothings | Various | NZ Tour |
| 1990 | Serious Money | Mary Lou Baines / Various | Downstage Theatre |
| 1990 | Macbeth | Ross / Hecate | Downstage Theatre |
| 1990 | Hamlet | Ophelia | BATS Theatre |
| 1990 | End of the Golden Weather | Various | Downstage Theatre |
| 1990 | Conquest of the South Pole | La Braukman | BATS Theatre |
| 1991 | Weed | Raewyn | Circa Theatre |
| 1991 | Via Satellite | Chrissy | Circa Theatre |
| 1991 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Cecily Cardew | Downstage Theatre |
| 1991 | Songs for Uncle Scrim | Various | Circa Theatre |
| 1991 | A Pack of Girls | Raewyn | Downstage Theatre |
| 1993 | Two Weeks with the Queen | Various | Circa Theatre |
| 1993 | Lettice & Lovage | Miss Farmer | Circa Theatre |
| 1995 | Othello | Emilia | Watershed Theatre |
| 1999 | Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice | Downstage Theatre |
| 2000 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Maggie the Cat | Downstage Theatre |
| 2000 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Titania | NZ Actors Company |
| 2001 | A Way of Life | Jenny | NZ Actors Company |
| 2001 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Titania | NZ Actors Company |
| 2002 | Middle-Age Spread | Judy | Auckland Theatre Company |
| 2002 | Queen Leah | Kent / Caius | NZ Actors Company |
| 2005 | The Duchess of Malfi | Cariolla | Auckland Theatre Company |
| 2007 | The Cut | Susan | Silo Theatre |
| 2010 | Happy Days | Winnie | Silo Theatre |
| 2014 | The Good Person of Szechwan | Shen Teh | Auckland Theatre Company |
Personal life
editMalcolm has two sons.[26] Her sister is married to Roger Sutton, the former CEO of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority.[27]
Activism
editMalcolm voiced Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand advertisements for the New Zealand general election, 2008.[28]
Malcolm has helped spearhead an actors' union campaign to negotiate standard contracts for actors in The Hobbit films. The producers refused, saying that collective bargaining would be considered price-fixing and therefore illegal under New Zealand law. The situation escalated into international calls for an actors' boycott of the films, but the boycott was called off. Several days later, the producers said they were considering moving the films to another country as they could not be guaranteed stability in New Zealand.[29]
References
edit- ^ a b "Mike King, David Tua, Scott Dixon, Robyn Malcolm & more honoured on Queen's Birthday". The Rock. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ Reid, Neil (3 January 2010). "TV star tells why she's joined Greenpeace". Sunday News. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
Malcolm, 44,
- ^ Neville, Alice (21 March 2010). "TV stars' outrageous sexiness". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
45-year-old Malcolm
- ^ a b Collins, Simon (21 July 2009). "Celebs go toe-to-toe on smacks". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
- ^ Hughes, Andrew; Wix, Olivia (26 November 2009). "The Job Tour: Movie and acting careers in Wellington". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
- ^ "Graduate". www.toiwhakaari.ac.nz. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ a b "ROBYN MALCOLM (plays Cheryl West)". TV3. Media Works NZ. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Clare". NZ On Screen Iwi Whitiāhua. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Robyn Malcolm". NZ On Screen Iwi Whitiāhua. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Outrageous Fortune". NZ On Screen Iwi Whitiāhua. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Baillie, Russell (27 January 2011). "Movie Review: The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell". The New Zealand Herald.
- ^ "Absent Without Leave". Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "The Last Tatoo". NZ On Screen Iwi Whitiāhua. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Perfect Strangers (Original)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Smithies, Grant (3 June 2019). "Actor Robyn Malcolm 'surprised and delighted' by Queen's Birthday Honour". Stuff.
- ^ "Robyn Malcolm". NZ On Screen Iwi Whitiāhua. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Robyn Malcolm's brave new world". 27 January 2013.
- ^ Skipwith, David (15 July 2022). "'Huge energy': Robyn Malcolm pays tribute to late Black Bird star Ray Liotta". Stuff.
- ^ Greive, Duncan (25 October 2023). "Review: After the Party is queasy, morally complex and NZ's best TV drama in years". The Spinoff. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ Buckmaster, Luke (29 April 2024). "After the Party review – one of the greatest performances in any TV show in years". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Artists take their talent to the world". The New Zealand Herald. 22 May 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
- ^ "Westie named NZ's sexiest woman". Stuff.co.nz. 15 November 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2019". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "Robyn Malcolm takes out best actress gong at France film festival". Radio New Zealand. 24 March 2024.
- ^ "The Moon is Upside Down". New Zealand Film Commission. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ Fraser, Fiona (16 August 2010). "Robyn Malcolm's double life". New Zealand Woman's Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
- ^ Hampton, Jeff. "Unconventional lines man appointed new quake boss". TV3 News. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ "Future focus at Green campaign launch". Stuff.co.nz. 5 October 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
- ^ Paul Harper, Derek Cheng and Amelia Wade (21 October 2010). "Hobbit loss 'potential tragedy for NZ film'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
External links
edit- Robyn Malcolm at IMDb
- Wichtel, Diana (28 July 2007). "Cheryl and me". New Zealand Listener. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013.
- Biography at Johnson and Laird
- Robyn's profile and ScreenTalk interview August 2009. Requires Flash video software (53.6 MB).