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Once was a warrior – now a Hollywood star
by Rob Messenger
ABC Wide Bay Queensland, August 21, 2003

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Rena Owen won the hearts of most cinema goers when she stared in a Kiwi film, ‘Once were Warriors’ in the mid 1990s.

Well Rob Messenger is an old friend of Rena’s, having stared in a short film with her about five years ago.

Since then she has been a busy bee, moving to the USA and getting married, all the while sustaining a busy life in the roller-coaster world of Hollywood.

“I’ve continued a nice diverse range of acting work, through theatre, television, film, and I’ve continued to direct for theatre, and I’m in the early stages of producing a film that will be shot in New Zealand in 5 to 10 years time. So basically I’ve just continued on my artistic path,” said Rena.

Despite her change in continents, she still returns regularly to both sides of the Tasman, for both personal and work reasons.

She’s just returned to Sydney recently, where she was involved in the most recent Star Wars episode, where she played the role of a human.

“It made a nice change, because in the last Star Wars film I played an Alien, so it will be nice to see myself as I am in the last Star Wars prequel to be made.”

She says that despite the lack of continuity and the lack of regular work, Hollywood remains the place to be if you want to make it in the world of film and creative arts.

“It is the capital of film, and it is a great learning centre. You’ve got everything at your doorstep, but the most exciting part of it is that you never know what is around the corner,” said Rena.

It seems that our semi-adopted star is battling on, and succeeding in the throng of competition.

You can hear her chatting with Rob Messenger on the phone from California by clicking on the links below.

For part one of the interview, click on the link below
(Audio in RealMedia format) | Requires RealPlayer

Listen to the second part of the interview by clicking on the link below
(Audio in RealMedia format)

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