ZIGGY'S STARDUST MORGANA'S BOY WAS BORN TO PERFORM!

The young star of After The Party has powerhouse parents

- Elisabeth Easther

Morgana O'Reilly's moving one-woman play Stories About My Body ends with a riveting home video of her son Ziggy's birth. The wee lad draws his first breath on camera and there's rarely a dry eye in the house.

So it should come as no surprise that, five years after that emotional delivery, the cute-as-a-button boy is continuing with a showbiz career - this time, playing Robyn Malcolm's grandson Walt in the new TVNZ drama After The Party, a series that his dad, Emmy Award winner Peter Salmon, also happens to be producing and directing.

"For a while, I did worry I was being one of those stage dads who casts his own kids," confesses Peter. "But when we were creating the show and talking about characters, whenever Ziggy stopped by to say hi, it was clear he was perfect for it."

However, the role wasn't handed to Ziggy on a plate and the young star still had to do a camera test, but it was definitely an advantage that he had spent lots of time on set with his folks, and that he'd feel safe with his dad behind the camera and his mum as his acting coach.

"Ziggy is this really kooky clown," says proud mum Morgana, who's famous for her roles on Mean Mums and Neighbours. "He loves to make people laugh and he's found his place in the family by being this wonky, funny little guy.