Photography: Babiche Martens.
When US-born actress Jacque Drew moved to Aotearoa in pursuit of love 21 years ago, she was told rather bluntly by a local talent agent that she’d never get any acting work in New Zealand.
“I met this Kiwi bloke named Jeff when we were doing summer Shakespeare in Massachusetts and we fell in love, which is such a cliché,” recalls Jacque, now 61, adding that they tied the knot and made a home in the States.
“But then 9/11 happened and we moved here.”
“I was 40 at the time and an established actor in Portland, Oregon. Being mid-career, I thought New Zealand would be a lateral move, but it was hard to even get auditions. It was depressing.”
Thankfully, the experienced actress and voice coach was able to transition to teaching.
“When the drama school at Unitec did a season of US plays, they asked me to do some accent coaching,” Jacque explains.
“That led to coaching the New Zealand cast on Bridge To Terabithia, which was a big film.”
Unexpectedly, Jacque’s acting career then took flight with roles in Shortland Street, The Wilds, Ash Vs Evil Dead, One Of Us Is Lying and Dame Jane Campion’s Oscar winner The Power Of The Dog. Today, she is renowned as an accent coach, who has worked on almost 30 major Hollywood films, such as the Robert Redford movie Pete’s Dragon and Sword Of Destiny, the Netflix sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which saw her working with Michelle Yeoh.
Admiring Hollywood’s finest
“I was a huge fan of hers well before she won her Oscar because she’s an exquisite actress,” says Jacque.
“She’s also a lovely human. It was a gruelling shoot, but Michelle did things like put white orchids in every actor’s trailer. It was hard not to be a bit starstruck as she’s so elegant and regal, but she’d always tell me, ‘Please, you have to give me notes.’ There was no attitude, just grace.”
New Zealand’s next big thing, local lass Nell Fisher, who features heavily in the final series of Stranger Things, is another fave. Jacque was her acting and accent coach for her first film, Evil Dead Rise.
“She was this amazing 11-year-old playing the lead in a terrifyingly gory horror film. We had so many laughs behind the scenes and I left set most days covered in fake blood from Nell’s hugs.”
Not every star is sweet
Of course, not all stars are sweetness and light.
“I did work with one A-lister who wouldn’t look at me or say hello, but sometimes they’d have me crouch under a desk and feed them lines,” Jacque recalls.
A mum to 15-year-old Olivia, she credits her kind husband, actor Jeff Szusterman, 56, as the ultimate support, helping her to juggle everything.
“Jeff understands this crazy life – that it’s feast or famine, with unorthodox hours,” she shares.
“We’re one of the very few actor couples who really enjoy working together. We’ve played husband and wife in commercials for Campbell’s soup and Air New Zealand, and we’re really good at it because we’re yin and yang.”
The devoted couple also run All Your Acting, a popular Auckland drama school for young people.
A helping hand on set
“Jeff’s taking on some of my on-set work too, so if I need to step off for an acting gig, he steps in.”
Considering how busy the past year was, including a spell acting on the new series of Spartacus: House Of Ashur, you might have expected Jacque to carve out some summer downtime, but she’s joined the cast of Auckland Theatre Company’s returning hit show Murder On The Orient Express (see page 83 for more).
“Acting recharges my battery, so when I go back to coaching, I can whole-heartedly help other actors do their best work,” says Jacque.
“Because coaching is an act of service, it needs compassion and energy, so my own tank must be full if I’m to give it my best.”
The sixties are a woman’s power decade, she adds.
“We’re seeing more older women on screen who aren’t trying to turn back the clock, like Emma Thompson, Sarah Lancashire, Robyn Malcolm … We have lines on our faces and they’re beautiful! I’m at this wonderful post-menopausal stage where I know who I am, I like what I see in the mirror and I’m ready to go where the road takes me.”
Auckland Theatre Company’s Murder On The Orient Express returns to the ASB Waterfront Theatre this Saturday. For tickets, visit atc.co.nz.
