The festive season is meant to be a time of joy and celebration, but when leading lady Sia Trokenheim came to shoot her new movie Kiwi Christmas, the distraught star was living a mother’s worst nightmare.
A day before filming started, the Step Dave star’s five-year-old son Terenzo was hit by a car while out riding his bike on the winding streets of Auckland’s Titirangi.
“I heard a big truck take off, then I heard the screeching of the car and then screaming,” recalls Sia, 38, who is also mother to 18-month-old daughter Tosca and stepson Bruno, 11.
Rushing up the street with her husband Andre, 40, the actress didn’t know what to expect. “I knew seeing what was in front of that car could change my life forever,” she recalls, shaking her head.
“I could have lost my son.But there he was, sitting up and covered in so much blood, I could barely see his face. Immediately, I started being really practical about it and thought, ‘OK, he’s sitting up and screaming. That’s a good thing – he hasn’t broken his spine or neck.'”
Sia’s children (from left) Bruno, Tosca and Terenzo.
Terenzo had fractured his skull from the top of his head all the way down to his neck. As her son was rushed to hospital, Sia came close to throwing in the towel and quitting Kiwi Christmas.
Of heading to the film set the next morning, Sia recalls, “I questioned myself completely, but I knew he was going to be OK and that his daddy was going to be looking after him every second of every day.”
Sia spent her days on set full of worries for her son and with her phone in hand whenever she was off camera. Fortunately, she was surrounded by a supportive cast and crew, including Westside actor Xavier Horan.
In the movie, the pair play a married couple going through a trial separation when their two children discover Santa – who has become fed up with materialism at Christmas – on holiday in New Zealand.
Xavier Horan with Sia
Teaming up again for our festive Woman’s Day shoot, the co-stars are clearly close friends, and it’s hard to take a picture amid their constant banter and laughter.
When Xavier, 35, finds a guitar lying around, the pair sing a carol in perfect harmony.
“We used to do this before we shot a scene to get in the zone!” laughs Xavier, who has also starred in acclaimed Kiwi movies The Last Saint and The Dead Lands.
With Terenzo thankfully soon back to his perky self – the only lasting impact from his accident is a missing tooth – more challenges popped up during filming.
“We had a lot of things not go our way,”Sia laughs.
Kiwi Christmas co-stars Sia and Xavier with, from left, Samuel Clark, Kari and Luca Andrews set the scene for a jolly good time!
Nodding, Xavier agrees.
“Kari Väänänen, who plays Santa, had to go to A&E on the first day after stubbing his toe and we had torrential rain so bad, we had to cancel a day of shooting, something that never happens on a movie.”
Yet all the drama “really pulled everyone together”, the father-of-three tells.
“When s*** hits the fan, it shows everyone’s got a good attitude. And we had beautiful weather in the weeks that followed – we were all out having lunchtime swims.”
For Xavier, Christmas with his wife Nicole, 34, and their kids Madison, 13, Tait, 12, and Peyton, three, is a favourite time of year.
“Nothing beats waking up to see the excitement on their faces,” the proud dad grins.
“That buzz and anticipation they have getting up to open presents. It’s just a great opportunity to be together as a family on Christmas Day.”
For Swedish-born beauty Sia, celebrating the holiday in the Southern Hemisphere is quite different from her childhood.
She recalls, “It was a bit of a culture shock to come here and see Santa in surf shorts and jandals. I couldn’t get my head around it for a long time!”
But this year, whatever the weather, Sia’s happy to have her family together safe and sound.
She smiles, “It’s going to be wonderful. I just love seeing my kids happy, sitting down and eating. It’s what really warms my heart.”
