Pictures: Maree Wilkinson.
Lately, Greta van den Brink has to pinch herself to check her life is real. Just a few years ago, she was feeling deflated and worried she wasn’t making any headway in life. Fast-forward to today and the stuntwoman, actress and singer can’t believe the opportunities she’s had thrown her way.
From working with horses on a blockbuster set, to filming with screen heavyweights and writing a song that unexpectedly found its way into a TV series, Greta, 25, feels incredibly lucky.
The Aucklander tells, “Impostor syndrome will regularly come and tap me on the shoulder, and I have to remind myself, ‘I’m ok. I’m allowed to be here.’ I don’t know how I’ve ended up here, but I’m really pleased I have.
“I’ve realised I’m quite good at being a beginner at lots of things, whether it’s gymnastics, martial arts or acting. I’m happy to go back to basics to learn things.”
It’s this willingness to try new things – and a solid background in horse riding and showjumping – that nabbed the attention of someone who quickly changed the trajectory of her career.
“I got a job on Disney film Mulan as a wrangler – 150 horses and 2am starts to get them ready for set,” she explains. “I’d watch the stunties and thought it looked like a lot more fun than what I was doing! I went up to Thomas Kiwi, who is a bit of an acting and stunt legend, and asked him to train me. I paid him in lemons and eggs from the farm!”
Her enthusiasm paid off. When Netflix show Cowboy Bebop needed a 1.73m-tall stunt double, Thomas immediately thought of Greta.
She recalls, “He said, ‘We don’t have anyone the right height. Do you want someone to smash your face and throw you over an office desk?’ Of course, I said yes!”
Stunt work led to Greta doubling for Lisa Kudrow in Taika Waititi’s Time Bandits, alongside Jemaine Clement and Zoë Bell. “I couldn’t believe it. I’d watched Friends, so it was surreal working with Lisa, who was incredibly kind and had no ego whatsoever.”
Greta’s latest venture saw her stepping into the limelight – her first major acting role. She plays Nikki, a newcomer to outback life, in the hit Netflix series Territory.
“She’s a bit like me – thrown into a world she knows nothing about,” she laughs. “Filming in the Northern Territory was incredible. The landscape was completely foreign to me, much like it is for Nikki, and acting was also definitely a shift for me, going from hiding my face from the camera to speaking lines.”
The show also had one more surprise for Greta. Producers used her song Road To Hell on the Territory soundtrack.
“I’d never written music before,” she admits. “Shane Rangi – a stunt performer, director and actor – would bring his guitar on a Saturday and we’d jam. He bought me a notebook and then said, ‘I think you’re writing songs – you should jot them down’.
“The first song I wrote was Road To Hell, written on two chords. Everyone seemed buzzed out to what a fit it was for the show, but at the time, I wasn’t sure about putting it into the world! It was a really nice nudge to keep going.”
Since then, Greta has written two more songs, Swimming On A Spoon and U + I, which she released on Valentine’s Day. Her music spans moody, western-inspired tracks to introspective pieces that help her process her emotions.
“Sometimes I think I’m writing about things I’ve only just started to understand,” she shares.
Greta grew up on the family farm in Auckland’s Karaka, the youngest of five siblings by at least 26 years. She had to make her own fun, using her imagination to keep occupied.
“I was always moving, roaming around, climbing trees – I used to ask for rope for Christmas to make swings, so in hindsight, there was a path!” she reflects. “My mum and dad [who is president of the Auckland Polo Club] met riding, so I was always going to ride – it was in the blood.
“I showjumped as a teenager, and now I’ve followed the footsteps of my dad and brothers by playing polo. It’s such a special sport because it’s one of the few team sports involving horses. The connection you have to develop with them is just incredible.”
From representing New Zealand in polo to falling off motorbikes (on purpose) and writing soul-baring songs, Greta can’t believe she gets to call it all work.
“Each part of what I do – acting, stunts, music and riding – feeds a different side of me. I don’t think I could ever do just one thing.”
Greta’s new single U + I is out now.
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