From Ferndale to HOLLYWOOD!

Former Shorty stars reveal how their time on the soap has helped them in their new lives in LA

- Leena Tailor

As a swarm of Shortland Street stars gathers for our Woman's Day photoshoot at the New Zealand Consul General's Residence in Los Angeles, cheeky Craig Parker makes a video call to his onscreen brother Michael Galvin, who's still in bed due to the time difference.

"Can you wake me up like this every morning?" the soap stalwart laughs, waving at all the Ferndale expats. It's three decades since he and Craig first starred as siblings Chris and Guy Warner on Shorty, but their off-screen friendship has stood the test of time and it's similar bonds that have helped other ex-Shorty actors navigate notoriously tricky Tinseltown.

Premiering on the 25th of May 1992, the medical drama was initially met with some resistance, with Craig recalling how many Kiwis called it "rubbish" and pretended they weren't watching.

"When I started, the initial cast had already suffered the worst of New Zealand's tall-poppy syndrome and finally people were starting to admit they liked it," recalls Craig, 51. "The cast bonded in a unique way because we were proud but defensive."

Like Craig, Kieren Hutchison, who played Jonathan McKenna, arrived a few months in. One minute, he was watching Shorty while working nights at a Whangarei video store. The next, he was working alongside Martin Henderson and Angela Bloomfield. He likens the early days to high school.

"The older guys, like Michael Galvin and Marton Csokas, were the seniors or cool kids," remembers Kieren, 47. "The rest of us were young actors just out of school. But there was great camaraderie."

Craig adds that the cast "travelled as a pack" while adjusting to fame. "Wherever we went, people were gawking. All those anxieties about being stared at when you're a teenager came true! We packed together as a defence."