The mammoth abstract concrete and steel creations scattered throughout the garden of Matt Chamberlain and his wife Rebecca Rose’s Auckland home are just like their relationship – unconventional, but beautiful. The Shortland Street actor, who plays bar owner Murray Cooper, and his sculptor wife of 17 years are a blend of opposites. She’s a big ideas person who’s driven by intuition, while he’s more focused on the finer details.
“We sort of complement each other,” says Matt, who has three children with Rebecca – Will (13), Tom (11) and Lucy (8). Although his on-screen character Murray is going through a rough time, recently separating from his wife Wendy (played by Jacquie Nairn), life couldn’t be more different for high school sweethearts Matt and Rebecca.
“We’re quite different and we celebrate our differences; we encourage it with the kids too,” says Rebecca. “I really love her ability to think big,” adds Matt. “She just goes out and makes these beautiful sculptures happen. Whereas I probably start thinking about all the steps that need to be done to get there.”
Although both are creative types, Matt admits their different ways of seeing the world have been the key to the success of their relationship. “She’s got a great visual sense of things – I’m okay at communicating by written word,” says Matt.
Rebecca thinks big in her studio
“I don’t change him into my way of thinking and he doesn’t change me, adds Rebecca. “We just let each other be. “We know each other’s strengths and we allow each other to breathe a little bit.”
Compromise and flexibility have also played a part over the years. The family were based in Wellington until Matt’s Shortland Street opportunity saw the family move to Titirangi, Auckland in March last year. Rebecca’s new work shed, partly built by Matt, sits at the bottom of their property next to a chicken coop. It’s a sign the couple have set down roots.
While Rebecca has relocated to help Matt’s career, Matt is always supportive of her work. Although he admits he’s not as practical as his handyman Shorty Street character, Matt is always keen to help with some of the more physical sides of Rebecca’s art.
“Building the work shed was a bit of a disaster, but I’ve become good at lugging around sculptures,” says Matt, who keeps fit by biking 19km to work every day, up and down the steep slopes of Titirangi. “[The sculptures] can be really heavy and just when I’ve moved it to one spot for an exhibition, she always wants to move it somewhere else. “Becs knows what she wants and I do it,” he jokes.
Matt with on-screen estranged wife Wendy
But Matt admits sometimes his help has been in vain. He ran into trouble when transporting one of Rebecca’s works, an intricately designed aluminium orb, on the back of the trailer. “I looked in the rear-view mirror and I saw an empty trailer. “A few swear words were said and I pulled over, and saw this aluminium ball rolling down the centre lane of the motorway. A policeman had to close the lane,” he laughs.
Matt has become used to the unusual stresses that come with Rebecca’s work. Some of her sculptures, which can sell for thousands of dollars, need to be planned down to the last detail in order to maintain their structural integrity. One piece, called The Spark, a design made of steel wire inspired by a dandelion, required intense concentration and now hangs in Telecom’s head office.
The challenging piece took its toll on Rebecca, according to Matt. “She was working on it so hard late into the night and I could see her brain was fried – she had been concentrating for so long,” he says.
“The maths and the engineering part of that one was really involved,” adds Rebecca. “I remember seeing the first photo of it and I was quite moved. I thought ‘Wow, you’ve made that,'” adds Matt proudly.
“We sort of complement each other,” says Matt.
Despite their unusual professions, the couple, both 48, try to maintain a sense of routine for their children who are now settled into their Auckland lives. Each morning Matt wakes the kids up by playing the piano and the pair share taking them to their after-school commitments, which include rugby, dancing, unicycling, guitar, piano and violin lessons.
“The other day Tom said, ‘You know what, I don’t really want to go back to Wellington now – but don’t tell anyone,'” laughs Matt. “We like to have a lot of fun together at the kitchen table each night,” adds Rebecca. “Everyone has a go telling funny stories about their day. “I think it’s a great thing to sit down and listen to each other. We make it work.”
