Rena is an international award-winning actor and is one of only 6 actors in the world to have worked with both George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg during her illustrious career that spans 3 decades.
One of 9 children, she was born and bred in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand to a Maori/Welsh Father and a European Mother. She was first published at 8 when she won a national children’s poetry contest, and throughout her youth, Owen was active in the Maori Culture Club, High School Musical productions, and Community Stage Plays. Despite knowing her talents were in creativity, upon graduating, the Arts were not considered a viable career.
At 18, she moved to Auckland to pursue a Nursing Career and 3 years later qualified as a General & Obstetric Nurse (RGN). In 1983, she went on her OE (overseas experience), a common Kiwi pursuit, and landed in London. Awed by the huge city and the bright lights of the entertainment world, the temptations that came with it easily seduced the naive 21-year-old. But this life-changing period led her back to a creative career.
She trained at the Actors Institute of London in the mid-1980s. During her formative years, she worked in all aspects of the Theater. The first stage play she wrote, The River That Ran Away was produced by Clean Break and directed by the reputable award-winning British actress Ann Mitchell with Rena in the lead role. It enjoyed a successful London tour and was later published by NZ Playmarket (1991). Other UK highlights include Voices from Prison for the Royal Shakespeare Company, an award-winning play, Outside In that debuted at the Edinburgh Festival.
Upon her return to NZ in 1989, Rena acted in two one-hour dramas for Television NZ’s Series, E Tipu E Rea. A first of its’ kind; the series was written, acted, directed and produced by Maori. In constant pursuit of learning and honing her craft, she continued to work extensively in theatre; acting, writing, directing, working as a dramaturgy, and was a founding member of Taki Rua Theatre.
She wrote and recorded short stories for Radio NZ, wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed stage play, Daddy’s Girl whilst playing reoccurring roles in two NZ TV Series, Betty’s Bunch, and Shark in the Park. Rena was a rare recipient of a Dame Te Atairangikaahu (the Maori Queen) Literary Award & Scholarship.
Rena’s first feature film was a supporting role in the Kevin Reynolds/Kevin Costner film, Rapa Nui (1993), followed by the leading role in the cult-classic NZ film, Once Were Warriors. Her electrifying performance garnered her universal rave reviews. David Denby declared, “Owen’s performance is classic!” Roger Ebert proclaimed, “You don’t often see acting like this in the movies. The two leads bring the Academy Awards into perspective.” Ruby Rich called her “The Bette Davis from Down Under”, while Thelma Adams wrote, “Owen has the looks of Jeanne Moreau, the raw emotional power of Anna Magnani and a slim athleticism all her own”.
The film was voted one of Time Magazine’s top 10 films in 1994, it garnered over 30 International Awards, and screened in 66 countries. Rena won Best Actress awards at the Montreal, Oporto, Seattle, and San Diego Film Festivals, as well as the Cannes Film Festival’s Spirit Award. While in NZ, she was awarded the Benny Award for Excellence in Film and the Toast Masters Communicator of the Year Award.
Rena returned to the Theater to act in two Stephen Berkoff plays, East West and Kvetch. She guest starred and earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in the NZ TV Series, Coverstory. She then played a leading role in the Australian Network 10 TV Drama Series, Medivac (1996-1998), a leading role in Garth Maxwell’s feature film, When Love Comes, and a supporting role in Rolf De Heer’s critically acclaimed, Dance Me To My Song that was in competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and earned her an Australian Film Institute (AFI) Best Supporting Actress nomination.
In 2000, Rena set up a base in Los Angeles to learn more about filmmaking. She played beloved Taun We in George Lucas’ Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, followed by a cameo role in Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Whilst developing two screenplays, she played a reoccurring role in WB’s Angel. Lucas cast her again as Nee Alavar in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Rena went on to play supporting and cameo roles in multiple international films. Highlights include; Lions Gate’s NZ/Canadian co-production Nemesis Game, Vincent Ward’s acclaimed Rain Of The Children, NZ TV film A Piece Of My Heart, and USA thriller, Alyce Kills.
In 2010, Rena played a 3 month role on NZ’s longest running TV series; Shortland Street and won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 2011 Aotearoa Film and Television Awards (AFTA). A reoccurring role in the award-winning Australian TV series, East West 101 earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts (AACTA), and a Best Actress nomination at the Monte Carlo International Television Festival in 2012.
In her latest TV Series as a series regular, Rena played the Matriarch opposite Brian Cox’s Patriarch of a multi-ethnic crime family set in the Torres Strait Islands for an ABC TV Series fondly nick-named, ‘The Sopranos In Thongs!’ The Hollywood Reporter voted The Straits as one of the ‘Top 10 Series’ to binge watch on Hulu in 2013.
Theatre credits throughout the past 15 years include leading roles in the classic NZ plays; Haruru Mai and The Pohutukawa Tree, and in the USA; multiple Stage Readings for Native Voices at the Autry in LA and La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, Charity Stage Readings for the City of West Hollywood, and a leading role in a Hawaiian play called Fine Dancing. Rena adapted and directed Toa Fraser’s play, Bare for the Asian American Theatre Company (AATC) in San Francisco.
2014, Once Were Warriors was voted the number one film of all time in New Zealand. Rena played a pivotal role in a documentary celebrating the film’s 20th Anniversary, Where Are They Now? Her last USA independent feature film, The Well premiered at the LA Film Festival and she was cast in reoccurring roles for A&E’s TV Series, Longmire and Sundance’s TV Series, The Red Road. Her last NZ film, The Dead Lands enjoyed a Special Presentation Premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, garnered rave reviews, and sold to multiple territories. To close out 2014, Rena played the supporting role of Glaeser in The Last Witch Hunter directed by Breck Eisner, starring Vin Diesel.
We had the ultimate pleasure to interview Rena! Check out the interview below.
Hi, Rena! Thank you for granting the interview. What a wonderful portfolio you have.
Thank you and you are most welcome!
We’re excited to speak with you on your latest projects. You’re well-known for your excellent work in the Kiwi classic Once Were Warriors.
Once Were Warriors started as a book which I read in 1990. At the end of reading it, I remember thinking, whoever wrote this book lived the lifestyle because it was so authentic. I also thought, if this book is ever made into a feature film, the mother is a role to die for!
3 years later I auditioned for Beth Heke and it was a dream come true to be cast in the leading role. Prior to that, I had worked extensively for 8 years in theater and television learning and honing my craft. So I was very ready for the challenges of the demanding role and I put everything I had into it.
May 1994, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was afforded rave reviews and was sold to 66 countries. It became a global success and won numerous international awards. I won 6 international best actress awards, and the film made Time Magazine’s Top 10 list of the best films in the world in 1994.
The film’s success opened international doors for me and I went onto to work in different mediums in different countries and I became one of only 6 actors, and the only actress to have worked with both George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg.
Having said that, I still get more attention today for my work in Once Were Warriors and as an actor, it is a big-time blessing to be in a critically acclaimed and unforgettable film that made a difference, changed people’s lives, and is a piece of work that I can forever be proud of.
You have worked with some powerful Hollywood directors, such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. There’s nothing like having a great director tied to a project. What was your biggest takeaway working with them?
Lucas and Spielberg are very similar, I would just say that Spielberg is more extroverted. I loved working with both of them and the thing I’ve learned the most about filmmaking is; whether you are working with one of the biggest directors’s in the world, or an unknown director, with a big budget, or a low budget, the ingredients of what makes a good film is the same; originality, vision, talent, strength of story, passion, purpose, and well-executed craftsmanship in every department!
You are a lead in Freeform’s highly-anticipated mermaid drama, Siren. We know you can’t say much, but tell us about the storyline, your role, and character.
It is an ensemble and I am a series regular, but I would say my character is more of a supporting role. Our leads are the trio of; Ryn our leading mermaid, Ben our leading man and marine biologist, and his girlfriend Maddie who is also a marine biologist.
I’ve done a few TV series as a series regular and a few reoccurring TV roles, but what makes our show new and fresh is the subject matter; mermaids, mermaids, mermaids!
Siren is set in a coastal community called Bristol Cove which is known for its mermaid myths and legends. My character Helen owns the local antiquities store that specializes in all things from the ocean, particularly mermaids. She is a historian of the town and is considered ‘an eccentric’. Helen is referred to by one character as ‘the town nut job’ because she believes in mermaids and has tried to convince others of a history that appears very real to her. But trust me, Helen is no nut-job!
When real mermaids come to land, our leading characters look to Helen for answers and some guidance. Helen can be a tough cookie, but she is also sensitive and cares deeply, especially for the mermaids. Besides eccentric Helen, the characters of our town live very ordinary, relatable lives. Like that of fishermen, businessmen, shopkeepers, a barmaid, or marine biologists, and you could say everyone’s world gets ‘shook up’ when our leading mermaid, Ryn comes to town.
But hey, you know I can’t give much more away right now, but I can say that I can’t wait for you to meet our Bristol Cove community, and we like to think that Siren will do for mermaids what Twilight did for vampires. 🙂
You’re also a scriptwriter. Where do you get your inspiration?
I was born highly creative and was first published at 8 years old when I won a children’s poetry contest. Initially, I believe my inspiration came from my vivid childhood imagination and growing up in rural New Zealand (NZ). Then later in my 20s when I wrote stage plays, my inspiration came from life experiences.
My most recent screenplay development has been an adaptation of a best-selling 1975 historical novel called Behind The Tattooed Face. A young woman’s quest for peace, Behind The Tattooed Face, is an epic tale of power, love, and war set in pre-colonial Aotearoa, New Zealand.
In general, I am constantly inspired by humanity, all that makes us human, and all that may help us to evolve to be better human beings.
Your family is descended from Te Ruki Kawiti – a prominent Maori chief. Have your experiences growing up in such a culturally rich heritage shaped your path as a filmmaker?
Yes, and firstly, I love that you know this!
My father was Maori and a descendant of renown Northland chief, Te Ruki Kawiti and Welsh whaler, Arthur Owen Snr. My mother was a mix of English, Scandinavian, Welsh, and was born in New Zealand. But we never knew our caucasian grandparents as our mom was disowned for marrying my dad in an era when mixed marriages were still frowned upon.
So we grew up on our father’s whenua (land) under the tutelage of our Maori grandmother in Kawiti Valley on a dairy farm and in the township of Moerewa. Our Grandmother was a matriarch in every sense of the word and as our mother would always say, we were very lucky to have her throughout our childhood. The area I grew up in was predominantly Maori and steeped in the culture. I didn’t move to live in the city of Auckland until I was 18 years old and it was a major culture shock!
Where and how I grew up has definitely shaped who I am and who I’ve become as a person and a creative. I’m extremely grateful that I grew up in the lap of nature rather than in the concrete jungle of a city. We had highly creative childhoods and grew up understanding that the sun rises, you plant, you harvest, you feed the family, and the sun goes down. There is nothing more powerful than mother nature! I’m also grateful that we all enjoyed growing up within a very large extended family.
Growing up, I was always a member of the Maori Culture Group that regularly performed, Maori singing and dancing for tourists and dignitaries in the Bay of Islands, and I excelled with writing and drama in High School and was a lead in multiple musicals. But despite knowing my God-given talents and finding the space in which I belonged as a teenager, on a stage, the arts at the end of the 1970s in New Zealand were not considered a career, even more so for a little ‘brown girl’ as there were no ‘brown faces’ on our TV screens or in our cinemas. Also my career choices as ‘a woman’ were I could be a secretary, a teacher, a nurse, or a house-wife.
So the thing that personally pleased me the most about the success of Once Were Warriors is that it told little brown boys and girls that they too could become actors, writers, directors, filmmakers, etc. And now New Zealand’s Maori and Pacific Islander communities are so visible on small and big screens everywhere you go!
Finally, turning the epic pre-colonial Behind The Tattooed Face into a feature film is a cultural calling on my life and one I am both honored and excited by!
You have mentioned in a previous interview that you’re shy. Many people don’t see actors this way. How do you manage your shyness?
I am both an introvert, the writer, and an extrovert, the actor in me. I am an intimately shy person and acting gives me license to come out of myself publicly in a safe environment within an imaginary world. It took me a long time and many lessons to learn how to balance both aspects of myself, and I can’t have too much of either extreme.
What a lot of people also don’t know is, the bulk of our work as actors is an introverted process; thinking about our characters lives, their stories, preparing for the role, learning lines, etc, and the acting work is the extroverted execution of all our ‘internal work’.
Indeed, most people do not think of actors as being shy as they see us sharing our hearts and souls on screens, doing red carpets and interviews, etc. But for most of us like me, that is ‘our job’. I personally am not and will never be a 24-hour actor. I am a homebody and when not working, I like and need a certain amount of ‘ordinary’ like the way I grew up.
What are three “Good to Know” facts about you that no one knows?
- I am one of 9 children and come from a very close, tight-knit large extended family and will forever be at my essence, a little country girl. 🙂
- My first stage role was in a Bay of Islands High School musical of the classic, South Pacific and I played the role of Bloody Mary. I did a good job so the following year I was promoted to the leading role of Calamity Jane in the musical, Calamity Jane.
- I excelled at sports throughout my childhood and I was a North Auckland representative in basketball, track and field. I continued to play team sports into my 30s until I left NZ.
Do you have any upcoming projects that we haven’t mentioned?
I have just finished doing a very interesting role in an independent Australian feature film called, Escape & Evasion. It is the first time I’ve played a Military Major and I have to say, it was a really juicy role and I loved being in a military uniform.
I may return to do another episode of Seth McFarlane’s TV series, ‘Orville’ this year, and I have everything crossed that we will go to Siren season 2! I would also love to do another movie before 2018 ends! 🙂
Complete this sentence, if I had an opportunity to do anything in 2018 I want to do ___________.
If I had an opportunity to do anything in 2018, professionally I want to be Helen again in Siren Season 2, I want to be cast in a Marvel Comic’s or Disney feature film, and I would also like to move my epic labor of love, Behind The Tattooed Face forward into the next stage of production. Personally, I want to build my house in Muriwai Beach, Auckland and I want to commit to the love of my future! 🙂
Thank you xoxo.
Connect with Rena:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RenaOwen
Instagram: https://instagram.com/renaowen
Facebook: https://facebook.com/TheRenaOwen
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