Ask some entertainers their age and they visibly bristle, but former Shortland Street actor Mike Edward is only too happy to share.
“I don’t mind at all – I’m proud of my age,” says Mike, who turns 49 at the end of the year. “There’s some really cool things which come with living long enough. I hope I’m a bit wiser. I’ve certainly made a lot of mistakes and learnt from them. Now I really treasure the relationships and the time I have.”
With Shorty co-star Teuila Blakely.
And the father-of-two believes the wisdom of age will do wonders for his next role – his first in three years – as an average Kiwi guy turned stripper in New Zealand’s most successful play, the global hit Ladies Night, which is rumoured to have inspired The Full Monty.
“I remember that in my twenties, I would’ve had anxiety about what this means for my acting career, but now I’m like, ‘What a great opportunity! I’ll never get to do this again.’ It’s joyous to be this age and still be asked to do this show!
“It’s flattering, but it’s also a big challenge now because when I was younger and I did the show, it was all easy. Now that I’m older and my body is more broken, it’s more of a fight to get there, but that’s actually what the play is about. It works because we’re watching men overcome obstacles.”
Three years ago, a string of injuries forced Mike to quit acting and performing with the circus theatre company The Dust Palace, which he founded in 2009 with his ex-wife Eve Gordon. The aerial and balancing routines took their toll, to the point where he would have to take anti-inflammatories first thing every morning to make it through the day.
“But that’s what happens in life,” reflects Mike. “Everyone’s bodies naturally deteriorate and anything physical can speed up that process. I was always a bit risky as well – I enjoyed doing things that were dangerous.”
He broke an AC joint in his shoulder during stunt work for the Hollywood blockbuster Avatar, his right bicep “wore out” over five years, then he needed knee reconstruction. He’s also broken fingers and
had teeth knocked out, so he quit to pursue a career in business development. Now, though, Mike is taking a temporary break to tour Aotearoa in Ladies Night, where his acting career began.
Thirty years ago, having recently graduated from Auckland Grammar School, Mike was a chiselled decathlete who longed to be on the stage when he was flown to Christchurch to appear in one of the early productions of Ladies Night.
It’s about a group of down-on-their-luck Kiwi blokes who decide to put on a male strip show and set about transforming their beer bellies into six-packs.
Back then, Mike played one of the supporting roles. This time, he’s the leading man and says he can relate to the older, more world-weary Barry, thanks to feeling a little “physically broken” yet still grafting his way in the world.
The actor’s career has done a full circle.
“When I first started acting, I was very nervous,” he recalls. “It was because I wanted the roles and the work so much, so whenever I auditioned or performed, my heart would beat so heavily. I struggle
to look back on those performances now because I can feel the fear under them.”
Yet Mike went on to land a string of high-profile gigs in TV shows such as The Strip, Nothing Trivial, Spartacus and Head High. He also played builder Zac Smith on Shortland Street, where he memorably “scandalised Kirsty climbing down a ladder in shortie shorts”, and performed regularly with The Dust Palace.
Mike would love to go back in time and tell his 20-year-old self, “You’re enough, be authentic and allow that to come through.” He explains, “As an audience, we don’t want to see someone who is totally in control. We want to see someone human. Doing Ladies Night now is fearful, but that’s OK because Barry, the character, would be terrified, so I lean into that.”
He sees Ladies Night as a “lovely bookend” to his acting career and says that after the nationwide tour, he’ll happily return to work at Gaze Commercial, which Mike describes as “one of the country’s most established property design and delivery companies”.
He says, “It’s the first time in my life that I’ve ever had a salary, which was bizarre because, as an actor, I had many a night where I ate Weet-Bix with hot water and didn’t know where the next rent cheque was coming from.
“I’ve turned down a lot of work during the past few years, but with this, it felt right to do it. It’ll make me a better employee because I’ll come back with renewed energy. I feel really privileged.”
The nationwide tour of Ladies Night kicks off in Rangiora on 25 September and ends in Hamilton on 22 October.
For more info, dates and tickets, visit eventfinda.co.nz.
