For five glorious years, actor Matt Chamberlain was a fan favourite on Shortland Street, where he played embarrassing dad Murray Cooper, the husband of flame-haired nurse Wendy.
“That was the first job I’d had that went longer than six months,” grins Matt, 60, who surprised his Canterbury farming family when he decided to go into showbiz. “I had a Bachelor of Commerce from Lincoln, and I’d also been a painter, a labourer and driven a pea harvester, so acting wasn’t exactly on the horizon!”
Although he did enjoy drama at high school. “I was in form six when Christchurch Girls’ High entered a play competition. Because they needed some guys, I put my hand up, as much to meet girls as anything,” chuckles Matt. “I really wanted to act after that, but I was told you couldn’t do it professionally in New Zealand.”
After working in a bank in London while on his OE, Matt “discovered that office life wasn’t for me” and on his return to Aotearoa, after a stint of mending fences in Canterbury, he tentatively applied for a role at Toi Whaakari: New Zealand Drama School. “And to my surprise, I got in!”
Fortunately, Matt has always had the support of his high-school sweetheart Rebecca Rose, 60. Becs is now a renowned artist and sculptor. Her big, bold works can be found in galleries, parks and private collections around the world. They’ve been together for 39 years and she’s supported his acting ambitions throughout.
Since graduating in 1992, Matt has appeared in One Lane Bridge, the Lee Tamahori epic The Convert and the heartwarming new film Tinā. His plays Timberrr…!, set in the world of competitive wood chopping, and The Anthony Wilding Story, a one-man show about the champion Kiwi tennis player, are also touring.
But of all the things this creative couple has produced, it’s their three children, Will, 25, Tom, 24, and Lucy, 20, whom Matt and Becs are most proud of. Tom is now following in their artistic footsteps by forging a path as a musician. He has a key role in indie pop-rock band Park Rd, which is making waves here and in Australia.
“We got together in 2018 when we were all at Steiner school,” says singer-songwriter Tom. “There were only 13 people in our class and we were the only musicians. Our drummer Te Kapua [Pene] actually learnt drums to be in the band. Our first big gig together was the school ball.”
They went on to win the Auckland final of SmokeFree RockQuest in 2019.
“That was pretty insane – almost like being in a movie,” tells Tom. Park Rd has since been gigging and recording with increasing success, drawing comparisons to Kiwi icons Six60.
With the band touring Aotearoa’s summer hot spots, Matt preparing to take his one-man show on the road and Becs creating art in her studio, theirs is a busy household. But, they’ve made time for our photoshoot, where Matt reflects on his son’s musical talents.
“We had an old piano when we lived in Wellington. This cool, young guy came to the house to give Tom lessons,” says Matt. “The first night, Tom learned the opening of the Star Wars theme and that was it.”
Tom adds, “Playing piano with my grandmother is also an early memory of my musical journey. Another game changer was when my teacher taught me the blues scale because I loved improvising.”
The family moved to Auckland in 2011, when Matt’s Shorty gig became long-term. The move caused a major fork in Tom’s life. He recalls, “I was 10 when we moved and I lost a lot of confidence coming into my early teenage years. I always felt super self-conscious.
“Then at school, I wrote a song as a creative response to a project on Nelson Mandela. I was so scared when I played the song in front of my class, but it felt magical when the teacher had tears in his eyes.”
Currently working with Park Rd on their second album, Tom says he will always be grateful to his parents for giving him the space and all the support to succeed.
Sharing a smile with Becs, Matt concludes, “Our advice to Tom has always been to give it a go. You never know how things work out, which really is part of what makes life so interesting.”
The Anthony Wilding Story comes to the Hamilton Arts Festival on 1 March. Visit hamiltonartsfestival.co.nz for tickets and more info. Tinā is in cinemas from 27 February.
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