Hone Ropata
| Hone Ropata | |||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||
| Portrayed by | Temuera Morrison | ||||
| Duration | 1992–95, 2008 | ||||
| First appearance | 25 May 1992 | ||||
| Last appearance | 7 July 2008 | ||||
| Created by | Ken Catran | ||||
| Introduced by | Caterina De Nave (1992) Jason Daniel (2008) |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||
| Profile | |||||
| Occupation |
Chief Executive Officer of Shortland Street Hospital (2008) Clinic owner (1995–2008) Consultant at Shortland Street A&E clinic (1992–94, 1994–95) |
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| Sisters | Aorewa Atutahi |
|---|---|
| Nephews | Manny Atutahi |
Dr. Hone Ropata is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Temuera Morrison as part of the original cast. Morrison maintained the role for three years before briefly reprising in it 2008 to commemorate the show's 4000th episode.
Caterina De Nave developed the idea of what was to become Shortland Street, after watching successful Australian soap opera's, Home and Away and Neighbours and noted the lack of diversity concerning race in the cast. De Nave alongside a team of writers and story liners, decided to include several ethnic minorities, with Ken Catran pitching the idea of Hone - a determined Maori doctor. Alongside Hone, was Jaki Manu - a Maori nurse, and Sam Aleni - a Polynesian Paramedic (a rarity at the time). He was written as part of the Ngāti Porou iwi. Temuera Morrison had several minor roles in television but successfully landed the role and Hone made his debut on the shows first ever episode. Following acting in the film, Once Were Warriors in 1994, Morrison struggled to leave the character of Jake Heke (an abusive and out of control drunk), and subsequently found that upon returning to Shortland Street he was, "Dr Jake and I'd tell the patients, 'You'll be fucking sick by the time I've finished with you.'" In 1995 Morrison decided to leave the role after what he saw as "hands in pockets" acting.
At the shows 2007 Christmas celebrations, Morrison was approached by cast members Michael Galvin (Chris Warner), Craig Parker (Guy Warner) and producer Jason Daniel. The trio offered Morrison a return to the show citing the high ratings, which he accepted and later jokingly blamed on Daniel force feeding him beer. Morrison agreed on the condition that the character could ride a Harley-Davidson motorbike and could date a "hot" woman. It was announced in March 2008 that Morrison would be reprising his role of Hone after 13 years to mark the shows 4000th episode. Morrison was signed to an initial 6 week contract, but Morrison was open to a potential extension or even a full-time role. Daniel was pleased with Morrison's return, "We've constructed a story that makes it interesting for Tem to come back and play so that it's not just more of the same. It's his character under pressure and with a series of challenges that make it an interesting journey for him as a character and an interesting challenge for Tem." Hone's return aired on 5 June 2008 on episode 3999. Morrison proved to be problematic on set; not remembering his lines, being uncomfortable filming emotional scenes, and not arriving on set when he had to film something he did not like. He departed following the conclusion of his six-week contract. Morrison was not asked to reprise the role for the shows 20th anniversary in 2012. In 2014 Rene Naufahu (Paramedic Sam Aleni) suggested bringing back Morrison so that the former co stars could "forget their lines" together.
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