Double billing - ROKENWOOD'S FAMILY AFFAIR

Lights, camera, action! Mother and daughter acting legends Elizabeth and Katherine McRae love it when their paths cross on screen

- Fleur Guthrie

As a teenager, Katherine McRae and her mum Elizabeth enjoyed watching BBC dramas on television together, marvelling at the longevity of actresses like Vanessa Redgrave and Dame Edith Evans, who worked long into their golden years.

“We’d sit there saying, ‘Look at these ancient old actors who just keep on going!’” laughs Katherine. “So it really tickles me that now mum is that actor! And it’s lovely. I’m very proud of her still working at 84 years old.”

“Well, I didn’t expect to still be working at this age,” admits Elizabeth, who has a recurring role as nosy Mrs Marlowe on TVNZ 1 crime drama The Brokenwood Mysteries.

“But as long as they’re looking for someone to play a mad, old woman, I’m happy to do it,” she says with a smile. “I just take what comes along, really.

“I looked up to people like late Kiwi actress Yvonne Lawley, whose acting career spanned more than 60 years, and was a great example of somebody who never retired. We did radio work together and performed in Three Tall Women at Christchurch’s Court Theatre in the 1970s. One absorbed a hell of a lot from watching and listening to her.”

It’s a sentiment that resonates with Katherine when sharing what she’s learnt about acting from her mum.

“I remember rehearsing a scene with her for an audition I was going to. Instead of saying the line in a flowery way, which is what I was doing, Mum said to me, ‘The character’s just asking to be handed her shawl – you’re using the line to get something. Try not to overthink it.’ It was so useful.”