Most famous for his roles in SeaChange and Lord of the Ring, Australian actor David Wenham is sinking his teeth into a new Anglo-Australian murder mystery. James Croot investigates.
Dripping in Chocolate's producers owe David Wenham's mother plenty of gratitude - if it wasn't for her love of murder mysteries and chocolate they wouldn't have got their leading man.
The 46-year-old actor plays Sydney cop Bennett O'Mara in the one-off drama, which has its world premiere on New Zealand's UKTV on Sunday (7pm).
A jaded detective, O'Mara investigates a series of baffling murders linked only by wrappers belonging to local chocolatier Juliana (CSI's Louise Lombard).
However, the deeper he becomes embroiled in the case, the more he finds himself falling for the chief suspect's charms.
Describing the character as the modern-day equivalent of a classic Humphrey Bogart film noir role, Wenham says the script reminded him of the kind of thing his mother used to watch and that drew him to the project.
"She loved crime fiction and whodunits, so I thought, 'you know this is something my mum would really love, so let's jump in and have fun'."
Confessing to sharing his mother's love of chocolate, Wenham reveals it was also the subject of a Wenham-household "crime of a century" in his youth.
"My mum used to love chocolate ginger - which is something my tastebuds are now gravitating towards - and I remember one particular instance when I was a kid. My mum had this box she used to keep in the fridge. She went to get some one day and all the chocolate had been eaten off the ginger. I'm pleased to say, I didn't do it - eventually one of my sisters owned up."
With the likes of the Underbelly series and Killing Time dominating Australian (and international) screens, it's hard not to think our trans-Tasman rivals are experiencing something of a crime and drama boom. However, Wenham believes it's nothing new.
"To be honest, I think there's always a fascination with crime. I look at it from the Australian perspective. It was the thing I used to watch on television growing up. Yes, in the last handful of years it has come to prominence, and there's been a few twists on them as well. But while some people think it is something that has suddenly come out of nowhere, I think it has always been around. I think there's a voyeuristic fascination about the darker side of life - things that don't occur in everyday, normal life. Also, in something like Dripping With Chocolate, it's also a fun thing to try and follow the story and guess who the killer is".
A regular sight on Australian screens (large and small) for the past 25 years, Wenham says the biggest change he's seen has been in the ambitions of young Ocker actor.
"Now, when kids graduate from drama school, literally the first thing they do is get on a plane and go to Los Angeles. That wasn't even in our wildest dreams when I graduated."
Не says being able to work on Dripping in his home town of Sydney was a nice change.
"It is strange that not much is
Actually shot in this place. For many and varied reasons I've done much more Aussie stuff in Melbourne. It was actually great to be able to go home after a day's shoot and go to bed and it's great to see Sydney up there on the screen."
Wenham says he is enjoying filming on this side of the Tasman. Along with Lucy Lawless and Holly Hunter, he's shooting Jane Campion's seven-part drama Top of the Lake in Queenstown, which is set to air in 2013.
Like Dripping, it's partly financed by BBC Wordwide.
"I was very dirty on Peter (Jackson), Phillipa (Boyens) and Fran (Walsh) for not inviting me back for The Hobbit, but this is a great opportunity. I love being in New Zealand. It's a terrific country, geographically and culturally special and everyone is so warm and embracing."
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