Emily Chalk
In showbiz, it’s often said you should never work with children or animals. Unofficially, it also includes your partner. But Sophie Henderson has clearly never heard that maxim because the Outrageous Fortune star just made her third film with husband Curtis Vowell.
As well as being an actor himself, Curtis is also a successful director, with 14 years behind the camera, cutting his teeth on Shortland Street. Now making a name for himself globally, Curtis was recently in the UK directing Seize Them! – a Dark Ages comedy featuring big names like Aimee Lou Wood from The White Lotus and Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan.
The birth of a creative duo
“Curtis and I started making things together in 2010 when we created a theatre show called I Heart Camping at the Basement” says Sophie, who along with being an actor is also a writer and producer.
“It did well, so we thought we would be a sure thing for funding for our next thing. But when a couple of funders turned us down, we made a film instead.”
That movie was Fantail – Sophie’s first-ever feature.
“It started out as a play, so there was just one location – a petrol station – and four actors, which kept it affordable to make,” Curtis says of that first low-budget offering.
From gritty dramas to feel-good rom-coms
Following Fantail’s success on the festival circuit, Sophie, 39, wrote The Justice Of Bunny King, a grittier more ambitious project, starring Kiwi A-lister Thomasin McKenzie. Up next, the hilarious Baby Done, with comedian Rose Matefeo playing a reluctant mum, with Curtis directing again.
Now the dynamic couple – who share two daughters Matilda, nine, and Sylvie, six – are repeating their tried-and-true working formula with their latest project, the semi- autobiographical Workmates.
“It’s like a love letter to the arts and the friendships you make in theatre,” explains Sophie of the rom-com that was inspired by her experience running Auckland’s iconic Basement Theatre.
Filmed on location at the actual Basement, it’s about best friends Lucy and Tom, who run a struggling theatre company called the Crystal Ballroom, and how when numerous safety breaches threaten to shut it down, Lucy realises she’s in love with her workmate.
From real-life theatre to on-screen romance
Go Girls actor Matt Whelan plays Tom, Lucy’s love interest, opposite Sophie in Workmates. Some of Aotearoa’s best-loved actors, including Chris Parker and Kura Forrester, make cameo appearances.
“I ran the Basement for five years with my mate Sam [Snedden], who’s also a producer on the film, and it was the best job I ever had,” say Sophie, who wrote the film during COVID lockdowns.
“With shows cancelled and artists out of work, the script took shape when I had time to reflect on the fragility of live performance.”
When asked what other aspects of Workmates were based on real life, Curtis, 45, is quick to describe the film as being, “a true story made untrue by exaggeration”.
Sophie explains, “Curtis and I were happily together when I was at the Basement, and my relationship with Sam was platonic. Which is why, for a long time during the film’s development, I fought making the relationship romantic. But the story got stronger when I let go of the truth and allowed the characters to decide what they wanted to do. “So the theatre narrative belongs to me and the love story took off when I let go of the whole truth, which added much-needed tension.”
Balancing family and film
There was stress offscreen too because two parents making a movie with young children at home isn’t easy.
Sophie shares, “We were obsessed with the film to an almost unhealthy extent. And every day was a challenge, but we took it moment by moment. “The kids came on set now and then, too, including one day when I did the most horrific stunt.”
Explaining his wife’s commitment to her craft, Curtis says, “Soph fell through a trapdoor on to the stage and there was fake blood, and we have this photo of the kids clearly wondering, ‘What is our mum doing?’”
As for Curtis and Sophie’s own love story, their paths crossed when they were both fresh out of drama school, dreaming of their big break. Curtis was new to Auckland, working as a postie and cleaning caravans on the side, while Sophie was in retail.
Auditions that changed everything
“It was 2006 and we auditioned for the Silo Theatre’s Ensemble Project with Oliver Driver and Michael Hurst,” Curtis recalls.
Sophie continues, “Two hundred people tried out and we were doing a warm-up, when Oliver told us to stop and pick someone. Curtis turned to me and said, ‘Do you want to be my partner?’”
After spending the day improvising and role-playing, they were both selected for the company, but remained “just friends” for the two plays they did together. Then Sophie’s friend, Kiwi screen queen Morgana O’Reilly, was working with Curtis on the classic play Bare.
“One night during the season, with Morgana’s encouragement, me and Curtis got brave enough to kiss in a bar,” Sophie says.
Looking to the future, Curtis will continue to direct Shorty and be available for bigger projects, while Sophie has just signed on as artistic director of Silo Theatre.
“Running a theatre will always be my favourite job because I get to find the writers, directors and actors of the future,” Sophie enthuses.
“And I love that running a theatre is so much bigger and more meaningful than just writing scripts in our bedroom. I get to help build a community by lifting other artists up.”
Workmates is in cinemas from Thursday.
