NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

The Diary: Douglas biopic major coup for Aucklander

NZ Herald
26 Sep, 2014 12:00 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Dean O'Gorman, and (inset) Kirk Douglas the actor he plays on screen.

Dean O'Gorman, and (inset) Kirk Douglas the actor he plays on screen.

Indie movie puts Dean O’Gorman alongside host of big names

Auckland actor Dean O'Gorman jetted out of the City of Sails this week for New Orleans to start shooting tomorrow on a new biopic movie in which he will portray Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas.

The 37-year-old Kiwi, who plays a dwarf in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit adaptations, plays Douglas, who worked with screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Trumbo was blacklisted during Hollywood's heyday for ties to the Communist Party.

In the indie movie, called Trumbo, the Kiwi will star alongside a host of big names, including Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, who plays Trumbo.

The Hollywood Reporter says David James Elliott will play John Wayne, Michael Stuhlbarg the actor Edward G. Robinson, Diane Lane as Trumbo's wife and Helen Mirren as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

John Goodman, Louis C.K and Elle Fanning also join the celebrated cast.

It's a major coup for O'Gorman who auditioned for the role only a month ago by Skype from his home in Auckland.

Two weeks later, he was flown to Los Angeles by director Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents) and screen-tested in person. Then came the fittings for the facial prosthetics, including the famous Douglas chin dimple, and the 1940s wardrobe.

"The movie is a huge boost for Dean's profile. He's extremely honoured to be working alongside such a stellar cast, who all signed on knowing he's one of the lead roles," said his New Zealand agent, Imogen Johnson.

"It's a testament to Dean's reputation. He's humble and hard-working. People love working with him and he's always in demand."

O'Gorman, who lives permanently in New Zealand, returns to the screens as Fili in The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, which will be released in New Zealand on December 17.

Discover more

Entertainment

Diary: Lorde's Swift sister act

26 Aug 05:00 PM
Entertainment

The Diary: 24 things to know

28 Aug 05:00 PM
Entertainment

Diary: Millie's tattoo tribute

02 Sep 10:38 PM
Entertainment

Diary: Ex-mistress now psychic

04 Sep 05:00 PM

The Kiwi's acting repertoire is diverse, from blockbusters and independent films to TV series, including local productions The Almighty Johnsons and Go Girls.

In Trumbo, O'Gorman will play the iconic actor during a controversial period in Hollywood's history in which the screenwriter refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The film is based on Bruce Cook's 1977 book.

Trumbo won two Oscars - under the pseudonyms Robert Rich and Ian McLellan Hunter - while blacklisted, for The Brave One and Roman Holiday.

His screenwriting role on Spartacus, for which he was belatedly credited, is thanks to Douglas, who was one of the film's executive producers. He influenced the decision to hire Trumbo to write the screenplay, and his praise of Trumbo has been cited as the beginning of the end of the blacklist.

Big fella goes silent

Kim Dotcom has gone to ground after declaring defeat on Saturday night. His typical daily Twitter diatribe has gone silent. But what of the email he brandished before the election pronouncing unequivocal proof John Key misled the House over when he was aware of Dotcom's existence?

It was referred to Parliament's privileges committee by Mana leader Hone Harawira, but rejected by the Speaker because Parliament had been dissolved ahead of the election.

Will the email still go to the privileges committee now the Internet Party has no position in power, or friends with it?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That's unlikely. Laila Harre, who faced defeasance as party leader and is presumably now on the job hunt, took to Twitter to explain.

"It will need an MP to take it there," Harre told a follower. However, she couldn't name one MP willing to take up the quest. So, what next? Harre said it was up to "Kim and his lawyer" to decide the next move.

Congrats of the week

• Congratulations to Lorde who was named yesterday as Billboard's Best Artist under 21, beating hotshots Justin Bieber, 5 Seconds of Summer and Cody Simpson. The 17-year-old Kiwi singer celebrated with a trip to a Cleveland aquarium.

Lorde becomes acquainted with a bearded dragon at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium in Ohio.

• Congratulations to former Black Cap Jesse Ryder, 30, who scored a century to celebrate a two- year contract extension with English country club Essex.

• Congratulations to actress Danielle Cormack who was named this week as a ChildFund ambassador in Australia. The star of Wentworth, who has two sons Ethan and Te Ahi Ka, has been sponsoring Akullu, a young woman in Uganda, for nearly 10 years.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Wentworth star Danielle Cormack has this week been named a ChildFund ambassador in Australia.

Final four questions

1. Which high-flying London banker called a prominent Auckland real estate agent on Monday about buying two holiday mansions on Waiheke Island following the election result?

2. Which married realtor and which former politician are getting too close for comfort for some corners?

3. Which All Black is proving to be the team's cheeky documentarist, snapping his teammates in various states of sleep after a tough game of golf? Nice one, Beauden Barrett.

Beauden Barrett tweeted a picture of All Blacks taking a snooze on the bus.

4. His rumoured new girlfriend supermodel Naomi Campbell was nowhere to be seen, but where was Irish heart-throb Michael Fassbender snapped looking windswept and sporting a new moustache? On the Wellington to Picton Interislander ferry. The 38-year-old actor is in Marlborough shooting The Light Between Oceans.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Andree Malpass posted a picture to Instagram of herself with actor Michael Fassbender on the Picton ferry.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Premium
Entertainment

Auckland Writers Festival special: A sneak peek at Dervla McTiernan's gripping new novel

17 May 05:00 AM
Premium
Entertainment

Auckland Writers Festival special: Duncan Sarkies writes about democracy ... and alpacas

17 May 02:00 AM
Reviews

Review: Bubbah shocks audiences by shaving her head at comedy show

17 May 01:36 AM

Sponsored: How much is too much?

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Premium
Auckland Writers Festival special: A sneak peek at Dervla McTiernan's gripping new novel

Auckland Writers Festival special: A sneak peek at Dervla McTiernan's gripping new novel

17 May 05:00 AM

We're celebrating this year's festival with extracts from some authors on the programme.

Premium
Auckland Writers Festival special: Duncan Sarkies writes about democracy ... and alpacas

Auckland Writers Festival special: Duncan Sarkies writes about democracy ... and alpacas

17 May 02:00 AM
Review: Bubbah shocks audiences by shaving her head at comedy show

Review: Bubbah shocks audiences by shaving her head at comedy show

17 May 01:36 AM
Premium
Auckland Writers Festival special: Family secrets unveiled in Amma

Auckland Writers Festival special: Family secrets unveiled in Amma

17 May 12:00 AM
Sponsored: Cosy up to colour all year
sponsored

Sponsored: Cosy up to colour all year

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP