Photography: Robert Trathen
When Sam Gardner, was in utero, his mother, actress Janine Burchett, won a major prize at the New York International Children’s Film Festival.
“I’d made a short film with my sisters,” says Janine, 57.
“And I was thrilled to be invited to collect the award from Susan Sarandon, because I love her work and I’d never been to New York.”
But because she had not fallen pregnant easily, Janine made the difficult decision not to go.
“I didn’t want anything to upset the delicate embryo that became our darling Sam,” smiles Janine as she looks at her now-strapping teenage son.
Once Janine safely delivered her beloved bub, she felt comfortable accepting her first gig as a new mum. Janine, who has appeared in everything from Spartacus to Shortland Street, then returned to acting.
“It was a Pamol commercial, where I played the mum and Sam, who was just three months old, played the baby, dressed like a little girl in a pink onesie,” Janine laughs.
Which is how Sam landed an acting agent before he’d uttered his first word.
“But it wasn’t until I was seven and cast in a short film playing Matt Whelan’s son that I really clocked what acting was,” Sam, 18, tells.
“We filmed in the South Island and I really enjoyed the cooked breakfasts. Hash browns and baked beans every morning. And when I got home, I raved to my grandparents about the yummy food!”
Seeing mum on the stage
Around that time, Sam, along with dad Tony and little sister Eva, saw Janine in a play in Auckland.
“I can still picture all the props, which were bright pink, and to be watching Mum, only she wasn’t behaving like Mum.”
Spending time backstage and on film sets, Sam’s acting instincts evolved.
“Playing Louis in Under the Vines was another game-changer,” Sam says.
“I was 12 and working with the likes of Rebecca Gibney and Charles Edwards, and to see those layers of them as actors and real people, my understanding of performance continued to grow.”
Rolling with every punch
A keen competitive boxer, Sam has also learned to roll with the punches.
“Season two of Under the Vines was filmed during Covid and my parents took turns being my chaperone,” Sam recalls.
“But the day after Mum arrived in Cromwell to take over from Dad, I did my RAT test, as we all did every morning, and I’m like, ‘Mum, I have Covid!’”
“I was sure those two lines were a mistake,” says Janine, who by that stage had founded Shine, a successful speech and drama business.
“But a second test proved Sam right, which meant we were stuck in a one-bedroom unit in Cromwell for two weeks, where we read, learned lines and watched movies, and I taught several classes each day on Zoom.”
Sam shares, “I’ve never known Ma to slow down. While we were locked away, I bought a VR [virtual reality] headset that was shipped to our motel and I have a hilarious video of Mum VR boxing.”
A career on the rise
Sam has since earned roles on The Brokenwood Mysteries, Shortland Street and East of Eden, a Netflix series releasing this year.
“Meeting proper international celebrities is always interesting. I had a scene with Florence Pugh in East of Eden and she was super- down to earth,” Sam says, clearly at ease with the promising path his life is taking.
It’s a total contrast to what Janine faced starting out in the late ’90s.
“Back then, self-tapes weren’t a thing and international productions were less common down here, which is partly why I founded Shine,” she explains.
Looking into the future
Teaching has proved a reliable sideline, and Janine loves fostering life-long confidence and communication skills in her young students. As for Sam’s own future, he’s having a gap year, still acting and helping at Shine to save for university next year. He will take a place on the University of Sydney’s sought-after Dalyell Scholar Programme, where he’ll study commerce and art.
“But I love working with kids,” Sam says of the side-hustle he’s had since he was 16.
“Those little humans with no filters, who say what they think and feel, which can be very refreshing and sometimes very funny!”
And just as Janine has been the ideal role model for Sam’s blossoming career, those youngsters Sam teaches are surely looking up to him, imagining what their own futures might hold.
Watch Sam on Please Don’t Break Anything on YouTube, and Janine in the upcoming thriller Smoky.
