Elisabeth spreads her wings 'WHY I'M A RARE BIRD!'

In her own words, the former Shorty villain tells how championing her wildlife hero is a real feather in her cap

Is there life after Shortland Street? Countless Kiwi actors have asked themselves that question after leaving Ferndale. Me included.

After playing the murderous Nurse Carla Crozier in the ’90s, only to return 25 years later to play the same character, only she’d reinvented herself as psychotherapist Carla Summerfi eld, I’ve often wondered how many acting opportunities have been lost to me as a result of playing such an unhinged individual.

To beam into the nation’s living rooms at 7pm each weeknight and bludgeon husbands, kidnap children and set fire to opulent houses, it’s not exactly endearing behaviour. As a result, when people ask why I look familiar, rather than confess to being a particularly bad egg from the country’s longest running soap, I prefer to say, ‘Oh, I have one of those faces.’

Luckily for me, acting isn’t my primary profession and today I’m more of a writer. A freelance journalist whose work appears in a variety of publications, including this fine magazine, I also write for the stage and screen. And six years ago, I added documentary-maker to my CV, when I made a revised version of the classic New Zealand television series Islands of the Gulf.