Audition lands Kayla starring role

 

Mangawhai’s Kayla Sharpe is the face of the upcoming multi-million dollar ad campaign for the new Hyundai Tucson which was scheduled to screen for the first time on National TV last Sunday night.

The script was originally written to feature a 10-year-old boy, however director Robin Walters of Curious Film thought it would be better suited to a girl.

Two hundred hopefuls from all over New Zealand tried for the role.

“Each of them were given the script and had a couple of days to rehearse before the audition,” says Robin. “I spent a whole weekend watching the auditions but no-one really jumped out as a suitable candidate.”

Outgoing 9-year-old Kayla was then invited to audition.

“Plan B,” says Robin. “I had met Kayla a couple of times and was always impressed with her confidence and attitude so called her dad and asked if he would bring her around to see how she would relate to the camera. I gave her a couple of lines from the script, filmed her on my phone and she totally aced it.”

After a couple of days of screen tests it came down to two.

“I then presented her to the advertising agency and the client,” continued Robin “and though it wasn’t the 10-year-old boy they were expecting, on seeing the audition they too were blown away.”

Then Kayla, the lead actor, three brand new cars and the whole crew went on a road trip from Queenstown for shooting at Glenorchy, then north to KeriKeri and Ahipara over a whirlwind five days and a star was born.

Kayla’s sisters Paige (6) and Ashleigh (8) are a little jealous she says, but still excited that their sister was going to be on TV.

Father Brad agrees that while this may not propel his eldest daughter into super-stardom it’s creating quite a stir within the family and their friends at Mangawhai Beach School.

If you need any further proof of the Mangawhai magnetism, Curious Film recently shot another advert in Mangawhai for a major banking consortium so keep a watch out for that on your screens in the near future too.

BIG BREAK: After landing a starring role in a major advertising campaign, Kayla Sharpe is taking her short acting career in her stride.

ROAD TRIP: Making a big impression, Kayla beat over 200 others for the role.