Josua Tuivavalagi was around 10 years old when he discovered his love of acting.
“My parents introduced me to theatre, like stage school and then I just started getting into it – I just found a passion for it,” the young actor from Karangahake told The Profile.
A shift from stage to screen acting took place after he watched a movie and said he realised “I want to be like these guys”.
The rest was history.
It’s what makes his recent news one for the books: his official film debut.
Now 16, Josua has made his official debut in the action-comedy movie The Wrecking Crew, which was released on Prime Video on January 28. When he found out his final audition secured him the part, he was “overjoyed”. “I didn’t think I would get it. I kind of had other things on my mind at the time. It was such an amazing feeling.”
But it doesn’t end there.
The budding star was cast alongside Hollywood greats such as Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Temuera Morrison, Maia Kealoha, Frankie Adams and Roimata Fox.
“I was pretty star-struck when I met all of them. I was really nervous,” he said.
Jason was jamming on the bass guitar when the young actor, who is also a year-12 student at Paeroa College, walked into the trailer and met his co-stars.
After spending lots of time working with the actors “you just get to know them and they’re the nicest people ever”, the young thespian said.
It took around four weeks to film the movie, he said, which took place in New Zealand and Hawaii.
He practiced his script by running lines in front of the mirror to see his facial expressions and also learned a tip for a scene that involved crying, he said.
“The secret for that was to get super tired and then yawn and then tears would just start coming out,” he said.
“The first two takes, it was like, I got tears flowing, but then [for] the rest, I kind of ran dry after that.”
He said the humility of his coworkers was something that stood out to him.
“I noticed that Dave [Bautista], he is such a humble, reserved, nice, kind guy.
“And he doesn’t flex anything. He’s just there and he’s acting and you can feel the passion with him. And I got that from all of the actors. They’re all just doing their jobs,” he said.
There was a significant moment he shared with Dave Bautista, who is known for various roles such as Drax from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Rabban from Dune, as well as a former professional wrestling career. “There was one really good memory. I was with Dave and we were filming a scene by the barbecue and we just had the meanest chat ever,” he said. “We talked about his wrestling career and acting and how he grew up. We just had a deep talk pretty much about just life in general.”
It was clear the experience enriched Josua’s vision. “It was just awesome to hear from him and all the experiences, how he grew up in the slums and how he went from that to a famous actor. He’s the best,” he said. “Dave is the coolest. That’s who I aspire to be.”
He said the times that challenged him the most were waiting for scenes to begin and waiting for the movie to be released.
But it was the “constant support” from his parents, Tūī and Roshan, that encouraged him on his path.
While on set, Temuera Morrison shared wisdom, “good talks” and inspiration, he said. When it came to watching the film, Josua said he’d only seen it once when he went along with four family members to a private screening with all the cast and crew.
“I think I’m one of those people who don’t really like watching themselves.”
His friends told him he did a “good job” and they were “super proud” of him but also kept him grounded by “just making fun of me for it”, he said. “I’m happy that people don’t treat me like I’m a super-star. It’s just normal. Everyone is just treating me like how I usually am treated. I’m happy about that.”
Something that wasn’t filmed was a pretend jam session he had on set with Jason Momoa. “I remember we were just jamming out because there was this one scene we had to do. I pretended to do guitar and he pretended to do the bass.”
While it was make-believe, Josua is in fact a musician and played the guitar. “I’m planning on starting a band, we’ve played a few songs already, but hopefully I can keep pursuing that. I quite like music.”
He is also a keen kickboxer and footballer, but Josua is determined to follow his passion for acting. “I feel like I need to do more. I hope that the jobs will keep coming,” he said. He also wants to connect with more people in the industry.
“I want to meet other actors and just learn from them … gain their knowledge and then see what I can improve on myself with that knowledge,” he said. “I’m excited to try new things with my acting.”
By DAVIDDA HIKATANGATA
