{"id":4646,"date":"2025-07-19T01:51:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T01:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/4646\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T01:51:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T01:51:23","slug":"robyn-malcolm-doesnt-hold-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/4646\/","title":{"rendered":"Robyn Malcolm doesn’t hold back"},"content":{"rendered":"

As her long career climbs to new exciting peaks, one of New Zealand’s favourite actors remains politically fierce, sexually outspoken and determined not to be overlooked by her famously sexist industry. By Gill Higgins<\/p>\n

It might be a strange comparison, but I think of Robyn Malcolm like a tornado. Wherever she lands, she kicks up what\u2019s in her path and somehow leaves you feeling more alive than before.<\/p>\n

And so it was that on a mini break from filming in Perth, she swept me into a whirlwind 24 hours: a dash to Tauranga to speak at a women\u2019s business event, then straight to Wellington for dinner with old friends, then on to see her son Pete\u2019s band, American Muscle, that same night. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And while she\u2019s at it, she\u2019s across her social media. She\u2019s the face of a new anti-ageing cream for the vagina (yes, really), she\u2019s promoting her latest Netflix series, pushing the relaunch of Outrageous Fortune for its 20th anniversary, and gearing up for the October release of the long-awaited Pike River film. Somewhere in there, the dogs get walked too.<\/p>\n

And she\u2019s just turned 60.<\/p>\n

\"Robyn<\/p>\n

Robyn Malcom, then and now. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

For those of us racing toward that milestone, Malcolm\u2019s not just weathering it \u2013 she\u2019s changing the forecast. \u201cThe ticking over into 60 that I was nervous of because of what it represents \u2013 I am so in love with. I love it!\u201d<\/p>\n

So naturally, I wanted to know how she\u2019s so positive about a period of life that many dread. <\/p>\n

Once back in Auckland, exhausted, we head to the home she\u2019s had for over a decade. It\u2019s an old villa, painted a striking pink to brighten up her street. It\u2019s loud, it\u2019s a statement, it says \u201cI\u2019m proud of who I am\u201d, just like its owner. <\/p>\n

Malcolm\u2019s sense of purpose has always been clear. From a young age, acting was everything. At 15, after a clash with a senior staff member at school (she told them to f*** off), she turned to her father, Pete \u2013 who happened to be the school principal. His response? It was time to leave and chase her dreams. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A young robyn Malcolm and her dad, Pete. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

It was her dad who told me that story and I could tell he was quietly proud of his stubborn, determined daughter. She moved to Wellington to live with her grandmother and never looked back. A Kiwi star was born.<\/p>\n

\"Malcolm<\/p>\n

Malcolm in her first show (that’s Michael Hurst). (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

That determination has never left her. Malcolm has never been afraid to stand up \u2013 for herself and for others. She recently marched against the government\u2019s Fast-track Approvals Bill. She\u2019s protested the atrocities in Palestine. And in 2010, she famously took on the Warner Bros, during the filming of The Hobbit, speaking out for better pay and conditions for local actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went through hell with that, it was awful. I had death threats and loss of work.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Young<\/p>\n

Young Malcolm was equally outspoken. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

So always feisty, but she\u2019d say never more so than now. <\/p>\n

\u201cSince menopause my feminism \u2013 which has always had a really healthy spring in its step \u2013 is so f***ing rabid now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of her ire is directed at her own industry. The ageism, the sexism \u2013 she says it\u2019s relentless and she\u2019s felt it especially keenly since going through menopause. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first went through it, I was just sobbing my heart out going, I don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening.\u201d Her doctor prescribed HRT and antidepressants. But as she looks back now, she wonders \u201chow much of my feeling shit was about my place in the world and the messages I was being given\u201d?<\/p>\n

\"Malcolm<\/p>\n

Malcolm says menopause was a hard time. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

She shares the stories with humour, but the undertow is serious. Like the time in her late 40s that she was asked to sign a nudity clause \u2013 something she was happy to do – only to be told they\u2019d prefer her to keep her clothes on. Or the roles she lost to women 10 to 15 years younger, despite the fact she was the one who was the same age as the character.<\/p>\n

She quotes Amy Schumer \u201cwhen you\u2019re no longer f***able, suddenly there\u2019s less tolerance\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t crushing,\u201d she says, \u201cbut it made me furious.\u201d<\/p>\n

An industry’s obsession with youth<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also frustrated by the effect the industry\u2019s obsession with youth has on women. She knows many actors who\u2019ve spent thousands of dollars chasing it. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s almost like an illness, this dissatisfaction with how we look, how we try to be something we\u2019re not.\u201d <\/p>\n

She feels women waste far too much time and money betraying the very things we should be grateful for. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are we so critical, so mean, so judgemental, so downright vile to our bodies\u201d?<\/p>\n

She\u2019s been there. But she\u2019s done with it. <\/p>\n

\"Malcolm,<\/p>\n

Malcolm, in the Shortland St era. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

These days, she\u2019s found a new appreciation for her body, likening it to a car \u2013 a solid one, that\u2019s carried her for 60 years and is still going strong. \u201cI’m learning how to handle a slightly older vehicle now. I love that metaphor. Like I’ve got to go in for a Warrant of Fitness a bit more than I used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

She \u201cbuggered her knee\u201d while filming the 2024 TV series After the Party and her back plays up. \u201cBecause I\u2019ll still bend from the hips and lift 30 kg bags of compost out in the garden, you know?\u201d But she celebrates that her vehicle is still on the road. Still doing its job.<\/p>\n

It’s OK to be a woman and angry<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just an appreciation of her physical self, but her emotional self too’. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s fine to be an older, angry, belligerent, passionate, furious woman. It\u2019s really fine\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was all of this, all these experiences, that inspired her and co-creator (and head writer) Dianne Taylor to create After the Party. <\/p>\n

They knew it was a risk. A drama with a lead who was flawed rather than having flawless skin. Who wore trackie bottoms rather than flowing dresses. Who created a mess in the kitchen rather than a perfect pavlova.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really dug our heels in; there was a bit of pushback \u2013 \u2018she\u2019s not a nice character. People might not like her\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"With<\/p>\n

With her partner, Scottish actor Peter Mullan, in After the Party. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Some didn\u2019t. Funding was hard to find. It took three years. But the payoff was worth it. <\/p>\n

Rave reviews, rewards and nominations rolled in \u2013 from France, New Zealand, Scotland and even at the Baftas which are like the British Oscars. It was up against well-funded giants like Shogun and Jodie Foster\u2019s True Detective. Shogun won, but it was a wild ride, a little Kiwi show creating quite a storm. And now?<\/p>\n

\"Robyn<\/p>\n

Robyn Malcom and Peter Mullan at the Baftas. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting serious offers from overseas, we\u2019re making something new with people in the UK.\u201d That\u2019s all she\u2019d reveal, but she couldn\u2019t hide her excitement. <\/p>\n

If filming moves to the UK, that would be a bonus \u2013 because it\u2019s home to Malcolm\u2019s long-distance partner, Scottish actor Peter Mullan. They\u2019ve been together, albeit frequently oceans apart, for 15 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go, well, I love you, so we\u2019ll make it work. It doesn\u2019t have to be conventional, and we make sure we put the kids first.\u201d (Malcolm has two, Mullan has four, all of them aged in their late teens and older.) \u201cI remember my mum saying, \u2018I like this man he puts his kids ahead of you. And that\u2019s what he should do\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mullan has also been her acting partner, twice. First in Top of the Lake, then in After the Party, where she accuses him of paedophilia on screen. Off-screen, she\u2019s far more generous.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great human being, a phenomenal father. Fierce and politically connected. And one of the greatest actors in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

We can’t say enough about sex<\/p>\n

So, for Malcolm, unconventional works. Which means it makes perfect sense that while many actors push creams to smooth wrinkles on the face, Malcolm promotes products to revitalise the vagina. She\u2019s not shy about it, in fact, quite the opposite. <\/p>\n

\u201cNobody wants to talk about sex, I\u2019ve never understood why, it\u2019s like we just don\u2019t want to talk about sex. I figure we can\u2019t say enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

She dives straight in. Explaining that 84% of women experience vaginal atrophy as they age. It\u2019s due to cellular death and it can lead to painful sex, burning sensations and infections. Malcolm says Myregyna cream and pills can revitalise cells \u2013 and she swears they work. <\/p>\n

Maybe the New Zealand-made product contributes to Malcolm feeling more comfortable in her own skin than ever before. She has a partner she loves, two sons she\u2019s proud of, and a career catching its second wind. And she believes there\u2019s more to come. <\/p>\n

She calls this stage the final act of her play. One she wants to make the best yet. <\/p>\n

She\u2019s named it: Oh my God, I am mortal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven’t quite worked out how to articulate it but I think as your body gets older, the catch up that your mind has to do\u2026 it\u2019s to have a really visceral relationship with mortality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Standing up for what matters<\/p>\n

At her sons\u2019 age (19 and 17), she says death was barely a concept. Now, it\u2019s a constant consideration. \u201cLike, maybe be grateful for every day more than you were. Maybe take a few more risks. I\u2019m always thinking, how would I feel on my deathbed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Malcolm,<\/p>\n

Malcolm, protesting for Palestine. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s vital to her to stand up for what she believes in. One of the issues weighing heavily on her mind is the war in Gaza \u2013 she calls it \u201cone of the great moral catastrophes of the 21st century\u201d \u2013she says she\u2019d be on the very first boat if an international group of artists were heading there to help. \u201cAnd I really mean that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because more than anything, she wants her life to count. \u201cTo be able to say I did and said all the right things, that I showed up and that I was honest. And maybe that\u2019s what the last stage of life is about \u2013 finding your own way to your own sense of the authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As her long career climbs to new exciting peaks, one of New Zealand’s favourite actors remains politically fierce,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134,1861],"class_list":["post-4646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}