Returning home to New Zealand for her role in Andrew Adamson’s Mr Pip was a short, but cherished time for Kerry Fox.
The Wellington-born actress has been based in the UK for 18 years and become one of New Zealand’s most internationally acclaimed actresses, starring in films including Bright Star, Intimacy and Shallow Grave.
Her sons, Eric (12) and Hugh (4), are “true Londoners” says the star, so the chance to bring them to New Zealand while filming was unmissable.
Though most of the film, based on Lloyd Jones’ acclaimed novel, was filmed in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, Kerry’s small but critical role (we won’t reveal her character so we don’t spoil the plot) was shot here.
The star mourns the fact her kids are missing out on the kind of childhood she experienced, and says she tries to enrol them into a local school whenever she films here or in Australia.
The quick-witted star, known for her indifferent approach to the press and cutting sense of humour, is on the PTA, and says parenthood has softened her and made her a better actress.
“Being a mum makes acting an awful lot easier. You’re much more vulnerable as a person. You spend more of your time worried, because the most important thing is the kids.”
While she shared no scenes with Mr Pip’s star, Hugh Laurie, working alongside actress Xzannjah Matsi reminded Kerry of her own acting beginnings in An Angel at My Table.
“I remembered that sense of being cared for and that naivety,” she explains.
Kerry (47) has never shied away from difficult or challenging roles. In 2001, she hit headlines for her film Intimacy, in which she performs oral sex on screen.
Her quest for grittier parts is one of the reasons Kerry has chosen to go grey gracefully.
“I sort of purposely allowed that colour to come out, because I figured they always cast younger than is written in the script.”
“In my past few roles I’m playing older than myself. There are much better parts for women, because when we get older, we get more complex.”
