Jay Laga'aia

Trivia

• At his wedding, his Best Man was his Star Wars cast mate, Temuera Morrison.
• Played the role of Mufasa on stage during the Sydney run of The Lion King in 2004/05
• Awarded Best Actor in a Television Series for Street Legal at the NZ TV Guide Awards in 2003.
• Nominated for Best Actor for his work on Street Legal at the New Zealand Television Awards in 2002.
• Jay hosted the Star Wars convention, Celebration III, a four-day event held in Indianapolis in April 2005.
• Jay and his family were surprised with a backyard makeover by Don Burke in an episode of the Australian TV show Burkes Backyard in 2004.
• Jay has been a presenter for children’s show Playschool on the ABC, in Australia, since 2003.
• Star Wars co-star, and close friend, Temuera Morrison was best man at Jay’s wedding when he married his wife, Sandie, on 16 August 1990.
• Jay was a Breakfast Radio co-host for Mai FM, during 2002. He was also the Breakfast Show DJ on Aotearoa Radio in the same year.
• In addition to being a skilled singer, Jay can also play the guitar and saxophone.

Quotes

• "To be part of the legend, I was gobsmacked. I was scared but, at the same time, excited just to see familiar things like R2-D2 and C-3PO. And when George Lucas introduced himself, you just sat there and went, 'I don't know what to call him. Your Majesty?' In the end, I just went, 'G'day."
• "They stood us on these four-poster tables and they scanned us. Next thing you know, I received a toy of my character. I'm a Barbie girl now."
• "I wanted Draco to have the face of Tom Cruise and the mask of Hannibal Lecter, a combination that made him like honey on steel - it was sweet, but if you licked it you would cut your tongue. So Draco was this barbarian who you just didn't want to cross, because he would much rather clean his knife in your innards than have to talk and reason with you!"
• "Lucy was still trying to get used to her costume, so we did the rehearsals wearing robes. So the first take was the first time I'd seen her in the full outfit, and when the door opened I just stood there and went 'Hmmm... I know I have to stand here and say something, but how about ... WOW!' The director was laughing in the background and said 'Cut, we'll go again...' But I was totally gobsmacked. Lucy looked absolutely stunning, and it was an image that's been implanted in my brain ever since.
• "I came back here because I believed in the project and I wanted to get scared again. I have faith and respect for the producers and the writer and director. But most of all I was sick and tired of hearing myself whinge: 'Am I good enough, am I this or am I that?' So it was either put up or shut up."
• "There is possibilities in everything. When you film in NZ sometimes the budget doesn't quite stretch as far as the script would need. That's when a we use a bit of kiwi ingenuity and lots of duct tape to get us through the scene."