Millen Baird couldn’t back down from a challenge his wife, Outrageous Fortune actress Siobhan Marshall, had already completed – and crushed. But when he was approached to compete on Celebrity Treasure Island, he didn’t give an immediate yes.
The comparison with his highly successful other half, who powered through the 2022 season, coming in third place, could be a little damaging to his ego, the actor explains.
“She’s like a unicorn,” Millen, 51, says of Siobhan’s work ethic and strategy. “When I was deciding whether to go on CTI or not, she told me it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance that I couldn’t refuse, and just to have fun and avoid the drama. She gets through life using that mentality, but for me, I oscillate between a sloth and a workhorse. All I can do is try to carry everyone as far as I can.”
But as the second captain of Team Aihe, the actor – famous for his roles on 800 Words, The Almighty Johnsons, Step Dave and Auckland Daze – has hardly been a slouch, already winning two puzzle challenges, despite not rating his skills.
“Well, Siobhan is phenomenally good at puzzles, but I’d rather watch Netflix,” laughs Millen, who has recently starred in Madam, My Life Is Murder, the Kiwi film Bookworm and US horror movie M3gan.
As he chats to Woman’s Day on the golden sands of the Coromandel, the actor has some not-so-fond flashbacks to his 41-year-old wife’s time on CTI, when he was left at home with their two daughters, Remy, now five, and Roux, two.
“It was like she’d died in a freak accident because she was suddenly gone and there was no contact,” Millen recalls. “The cast was also hit by Covid, so filming was extended and she ended up being there for 35 days in total. I counted! Every day, I was making a mark on my prison cell.”
Luckily for Millen, Siobhan didn’t leave him entirely on his own. “The two grandmas pitched in. They’d sub in and out to make sure Daddy was OK.”
These days, the family lives in Auckland’s Mission Bay, having moved back from California in February of 2023. They’d shifted to Los Angeles to pursue the Hollywood dream and break into the acting scene, but as much as they loved their time in the City of Angels, there were some dark moments.
“The most surreal moment I had was when times were a bit tough,” confesses Millen. “I did some carpet cleaning to get by and I had this 18-year-old telling me how to clean carpets. That was a low point. I was like, ‘Mate, I need to make something happen.’”
The life of an actor can be a rollercoaster of ups and downs, and Millen admits he sometimes wishes he’d chosen something a little more stable and consistent. “There are times I think I should have stuck to accounting,” he laughs. “But I didn’t inherit my dad’s genius with numbers. I get a nosebleed sometimes when I’m trying to do my tax return.”
However, becoming a father himself has been the making of Millen. He explains, “It has taken the attention off me, for sure. Kids hold a mirror up to you and reveal your true character. They’re so honest.”
Hilariously, his youngest, Roux, has taken to calling Millen by his nickname “Millsy”. The actor grins, “She has only called me Dad once or twice. The most brutal thing she does is, at 5am, she screams out, ‘Millsy, get me my iPad and a milky!’ They think I’m waitstaff.”
Though he loves to joke about the kids, having a family was once a distant dream for Millen. He had even resigned himself to a life without children before he met Siobhan 12 years ago.
Millen explains, “When I was with a previous partner, I saw a fertility doctor who did a sperm sample. He was like, ‘Millen, there should be 20 million sperm swimming around the soup. You’ve got seven.’ My self-esteem at that time was even lower than my sperm count. But then with Siobhan being the fertile beast she is, we ended up with two!”
Since their IVF journey, Millen has been outspoken about his fertility issues and his youthful diagnosis of undescended testicles. He admits, “My testicles didn’t drop when I was 12 or 13, which was embarrassing at the time, but now I don’t mind talking about it because it’s a real issue for a lot of guys. It’s a really stressful time.”
Siobhan was a constant source of support for Millen as they tried for a baby and they still support each other through challenges, often co-writing and co-starring in each other’s stage and screen projects.
“She’s my best friend,” Millen grins. “For some reason, we don’t seem to get sick of each other. She’s such a laid-back cruiser, whereas I’m always in my head. That’s something we might have to address on CTI at some point!”
Watch Celebrity Treasure Island Mondays to Wednesdays at 7.30pm on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+.
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