When I Grow UpWhen I Grow Up

How Rachel House Brought the Kiwi Accent to the Big Screen

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In this episode, Sienna tells her dad Ben she wants to grow up and be like actor and director Rachel House.

Rachel has done it all - from iconic Kiwi films like Whale RiderBoy, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, to Thor: Ragnarok in the Marvel universe. She voiced Gramma Tala in Moana, brought characters to life in Pixar’s Soul and Coco, and most recently played the villain Piglin in A Minecraft Movie!

Sienna and Ben chat with Rachel about:

  • Growing up in Kamo, Northland, and falling in love with drama as a kid
  • Early performances, from The Wizard of Oz to Shakespeare at age six
  • Drama school and discovering her whakapapa later in life
  • Starting out in acting, handling rejection, and keeping going despite setbacks
  • Iconic Kiwi roles and the magic of voicing Gramma Tala in Moana and Voicing the villain Piglin in Minecraft and losing her voice doing it
  • A surprise meeting with Chris Hemsworth on Thor and what it’s really like working with Taika Waititi
  • Big career moments, recognisable roles, and “pinch yourself” Hollywood surprises
  • Advice for young people dreaming of acting, storytelling, or media careers
  • What she would tell her younger self

Rachel shows that with passion, determination, and a bit of courage, you can end up in some of the world’s biggest movies and on this podcast too! 

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When I Grow Up

Like most teenagers, Sienna Boyce is still figuring out what she wants to be -  an actor, scientist, 
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