James Napier (actor)
| James Napier Robertson | |||
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James Napier Robertson in 2016
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| Born |
James William Napier Robertson 24 March 1982 Auckland, New Zealand |
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| Occupation | Director, screenwriter, actor | ||
| Years active | 1995–present | ||
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James William Napier Robertson (born 24 March 1982) is a New Zealand writer, film director and producer, who wrote and directed 2009 film I'm Not Harry Jenson, and 2014 film The Dark Horse, for which he won Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Film at the 2014 New Zealand Film Awards, and which was declared by New Zealand critics "One of the greatest New Zealand films ever made". He has also appeared earlier in his career as an actor in Shakespearean theater and several television productions including The Tribe and Being Eve, and has described how acting work "funded his early filmmaking".
Born in Wellington, New Zealand, but moving to Auckland at a young age, Napier Robertson attended Takapuna Grammar School, where he first started acting in Shakespeare productions and musicals.
His great grandfather is actor Alan Napier, his uncle is actor Marshall Napier and his cousin is Marshall's daughter, actress Jessica Napier. He is also related to the author Charles Dickens.
Napier Robertson and Ella Yelich-O'Connor, who is known by the stage name Lorde, grew up in the same suburb, Devonport, as well as attending the same high school, Takapuna Grammar School.
He joined a local outdoor Shakespeare Theatre Company in his late teens, which he performed with for a number of years, often at the Pumphouse Theatre Amphitheatre. He has described this time with the company as his favorite period of acting.
After this period he was cast in a number of local and international television shows which he acted in for the next few years, both in support and lead roles. He was first cast in Being Eve as Jared Preston, a wayward teenager at the titular Eve's school, then in Shortland Street, and Mercy Peak as Luke Bertram, an arsonist dealing with his mothers death by burning down local buildings until he is caught by the police.
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