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Utu star Anzac Wallace says it was an honour to be given a part in the ground-breaking New Zealand movie.
Wallace will make a rare trip from his Melbourne home for this weekend’s screening of the remastered film, Utu Redux, at the Auckland International Film Festival.
Set in the land wars, the tale of retribution came as a shock to many New Zealanders at the time who were unaware of their country’s bloody history.
Wallace was working on the construction of the Mangere Bridge in 1983 when he was spotted by the late Merata Mita, who was making a documentary about the long-running industrial dispute.
He says when Mita’s partner Geoff Murphy offered him a role, he thought it was a joke until the ticket arrived to fly to Napier and go on set with the likes of Bruno Lawrence, Wi Kuki Kaa and Ilona Rogers.
"I say that we are all actors. Some get paid. I was thrown into a role, I was given direction by Geoff Murphy and other people including Maori people who ran over the history with me. I had no knowledge of it at all. To be actually playing it and seeing the outcome, I'm quite honoured. It was an exciting time," Wallace says.
He hopes the re-released film will wake up a new generation of people to the Māori fight for justice.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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