Jess Hong attended the premiere of her long-awaited Netflix show 3 Body Problem.
Jess Hong attended the premiere of her long-awaited Netflix show 3 Body Problem.
New Zealand acting talent continues to make waves overseas this week: Sam Neill rubs shoulders with Cillian Murphy, Robyn Malcolm nabs an international award for hit Kiwi drama and Jess Hong makes a splash on new Netflix show
It’s been a massive few weeks for Kiwi acting talent abroad. Creamerie star Jess Hong’s long-awaited Netflix show 3 Body Problem has seen her feature at red-carpet premieres in Los Angeles and London in the last two weeks.
Earlier this month Hong was premiering the show in Austin at SXSW (South by Southwest). The cast plays a close-knit group of brilliant scientists confronting the greatest threat in human history - aliens en route to Earth for a visit.
In February, Spy reported that Hong, 29, was about to gain global stardom in the latest Netflix series, 3 Body Problem, the new series from the creators of Game of Thrones.
Hong is doing her country proud: her character Jin Cheng plays a pivotal role in the series – which has a New Zealand back story – allowing Hong to show off her Kiwi vernacular with aplomb.
Among Hong’s co-stars are Eiza González and Benedict Wong. The show premiered on the streaming giant last weekend and has shot straight to the top of the most-watched Netflix series.
The media publicity for the show has been impressive. Famous billboard sites in major cities have had the message from the aliens in the show, “You Are Bugs”, and Hong has had interviews in major publications on both sides of the Atlantic.
Robyn Malcolm became our first local actor to take home an award from the Series Mania Forum in France, for her performance in After the Party.
This week, multi-award-winning actor Robyn Malcolm became our first local actor to take home an award from the Series Mania Forum in France, for her performance in her New Zealand drama After the Party.
When Malcolm first spoke to Spy about her show last year, she spoke of co-writing her character of Penny Wilding to be strong and gritty like that of Kate Winslet’s character in Mare of Easttown and Frances McDormand’s in Olive Kitteridge.
This week, US entertainment bible Variety celebrated Malcolm, comparing her role to those of McDormand and Winslet, saying Malcolm had joined the ranks of TV’s most beloved anti-heroines.
Variety says Robyn Malcolm had joined the ranks of TV’s most beloved anti-heroines. Photo / Instagram
Variety also announced Channel 4 has acquired the UK rights to After the Party.
Hong and Malcolm’s agent Imogen Johnson from Johnson & Laird told Spy shecouldn’t have been prouder seeing Robyn receive international accolades for her brilliant performance in After the Party.
“And Netflix’s massive global release with our very own Jess Hong front and centre has topped off a huge couple of weeks for our talent,” says Johnson.
Sam Neill has recently returned home from Hollywood after doing his bit on the green carpet - alongside Annette Bening - to promote Peacock series Apples Never Fall. Photo / Getty Images
Kiwi acting legendSam Neill has recently returned home from Hollywood after doing his bit on the green carpet to promote Peacock series Apples Never Fall, currently screening on TVNZ+.
Earlier this month, Neill looked smart posing with his co-star and recent Oscar nominee Annette Bening. That same week he posed in Los Angeles with his former Peaky Blinders co-star and this year’s Academy Award winner for Best Actor, Cillian Murphy from Oppenheimer.
Last week, Murphy was reportedly seen dining at popular Auckland restaurant Lilian. Murphy’s son Aran is part of the cast of Taika Waititi’s new film adaptation ofbestselling book Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishugiro.
Sam Neill posed in Los Angeles with his former Peaky Blinders co-star Cillian Murphy. Photo / Instagram
Industry Insider tells Spy that Waititi’s movie, which also stars Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams and Natasha Lyonne, is filming in Auckland and around Queenstown.
This week Neill showed his Instagram followers Murphy visiting him at what looked to be Neill’s Two Paddocks Vineyard in Queenstown, both modelling Oppenheimer’s famous hat from the movie.
