My Boy's Steeling The Show

The former shorty star gives his son the stage!

When Blair Strang set the premiere date for his new play Nigel, it was only by pure coincidence that he chose the very same date Shortland Street’s mammoth 25th birthday episode goes to air this month.

“I’m not meant to leave Shorty and Shorty isn’t meant to leave me,” laughs the actor, who found fame as ambulance driver Rangi Heremaia on the TVNZ 2 soap. “We’ve tried over the years, but it’s a bit like a dysfunctional relationship – we just can’t let each other go.”

However, a lot has changed since the star’s six-year stint on the show, which came to a gruesome end in 2001, when Rangi was murdered by his mistress and her husband. Since then, Blair has risen from the dead to finish a law degree and run his own Auckland practice, as well as star on Go Girls and Nothing Trivial.

On top of that, he’s launched the Sapphire Theatre Company, for which the 45-year-old will make his directorial debut with the ’90s-themed comedy Nigel. And making the milestone even more special is the fact that the show will also see Blair’s son Steel, 20, in his first professional acting role.