Stan-Shortland

Entertainment

Stan-Shortland Street's New Man

By Atama Raganivatu

TONGA’S Wolfgramm fam ily is indeed a talented clan. Members of it have excelled in sport, enter tainment, politics and academia. Best known amongst them are Paea Wolfgramm, the first Pacific Island national representative to win an Olympic medal, and the branch which forms the chart-topping American pop group “The Jets”.

Now, a new name can be added to the Wolfgramm roll of honour. Stan Wolfgramm can, as an individual, claim a greater number of accomplishments than many entire families. He boasts a black belt in the Korean martial art Tae Kwon Do, is a qualified instructor in both scuba diving and skiing, was once a promising decath lete, runs his own performance and produc tion company, has written a couple of stage plays, is an accomplished dancer and, for ten years, he travelled the globe as a cele brated fashion model.

Nevertheless, Wolfgramm’s ambition has always been to establish himself as a professional actor and he took a lengthy step towards achieving that goal when join ing the core cast of Shortland Street, the television soap opera which has a large and devoted following in Fiji and New Zealand.

Wolfgramm had been dabbling in acting for the best portion of a decade prior to Television New Zealand recruiting him for their most popular drama. When he left Auckland in 1984, shortly after graduating from the local university, his plan was to make his name in theatre far and wide and to support himself with modelling work

between performances. But, it transpired that lucrative modelling assignments con siderably outnumbered occasions for him to exhibit his thespian talents while over seas.

His aptitude for posing for international fashion magazines took him to Canada, California, Europe, Australia and New York and kept the wolf away from Wolfgramm’s door. Acting engagements, in contrast, were confined to television commercials (in which he has made over 100 appearances) and “bit parts”. Amongst the high profile productions to include him as an extra were the television dramas “21 Jump Street”, “Wise Guy” and the James Bond movie “Never Say Die”.

In 1989, Wolfgramm made his greatest commitment to stagecraft when enrolling for the famous Lee Strasberg Actors’

Studio in New York - an institute which numbers A 1 Pacino, Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro in its list of illustrious for mer pupils. At the Studio, he mastered all the nuts and bolts of modem drama betwixt modelling appointments until, six years later, he passed through the advance class es. Acting is a notoriously precarious pro fession though. Wolfgramm found himself as just one amid many talented actors seek ing very limited performing opportunities in New Zealand. While waiting for the “big break”, he gained minor roles in theatrical plays, corporate motivational videos and, of course, television advertisements.

Between these projects, he studied his craft further at drama courses in Auckland and Sydney.

Then, he was offered the character of sports physician Dr Stephen Isaac in Shortland Street. Some critics scoff at the concept of a Strasberg graduate appearing in a New Zealand soap opera. Wolfgramm abruptly dismisses their opinions as elitist nonsense. “The impersonation (of Isaac) is the kind of challenge which motivates me as an actor. Everything new and different

gets the blood flowing and the heart racing - I love it! Training is only 50 per cent of becoming a good actor, the other 50 per cent is learnt through practical experience.

I may be trained, but a lot of the Shortland Street actors have years of experience,” he says. Besides the stimulation presented by fast turnaround television, there was anoth er reason for Wolfgramm welcoming the chance to portray Stephen Isaac. “In my whole career I’ve auditioned for less than ten Polynesian characters,” he laments.

“There have been lots of Hispanic and Greek parts I’ve tried for, yet few Polynesian. Polynesian is close to my heart. I find joy, more understanding in depicting Stephen. Hopefully, any success I achieve will lead to further Polynesian roles being devised.”

Drama is definitely the main focus of Wolfgramm’s life now. Yet, he has not turned his back entirely upon the fashion scene. He was the artistic director and pro ducer of Pasifika Fashion Festival, which was staged at the Auckland Town Hall in March. Apart from being the largest Polynesian fashion show anywhere, the festival raises precious funds for the Pacific Island Family Support Unit at the Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland.

Wolfgramm, who claims German and Cook Island heritage, in addition to Tongan, eagerly embraced his festival management duties. However, he was adamant his own days on the catwalk were finished. “Modelling was my bread and butter. It enabled me to travel throughout the world,” he acknowledges. “But acting is my passion. I recently spumed a lot of money to model in Brazil. I much prefer working on material closer to my heart.”

The 34-year-old six-footer obviously has his sights set upon a long and successful acting career. The reviews Wolfgramm’s Shortland Street performances have received to date suggest he will thrive in the profession. ■

Stan Wolfgramm