“[Acting] is kind of like ready-made therapy on a daily basis,” she says.
“Because you’re role-playing constantly and you are doing one of the most important things in the world, I think, which is telling people stories about themselves.
“Somebody said to me once that being an actor is like being God’s squirrel. You’re constantly going, ‘oh! oh!’,” she says getting excited. “It’s always different.”
Memorable characters and real-life figures Malcolm has brought to our screens include Outrageous Fortune’s Cheryl West, Shortland Street’s Ellen Crozier, and more recently Bafta-nominated After The Party’s Penny Wilding and Pike River’s Sonya Rockhouse.
Like West, she’ll soon bring another crime mum to Kiwi screens in Run – as the mother of notorious Australian bank robber Brenden Abbott.
Robyn Malcolm, 60, says acting is like therapy. Photo / Simon Westlake
It was Shakespeare that sparked Malcolm’s acting fire after she left Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1987.
“I actually had no interest in [acting on] screen; I had no interest in television – my only interest was theatre. I was a complete Shakespeare nerd and still am,” she says.
The acting gods had other plans, not that Malcolm is complaining. Just recently, a full-circle moment put things into perspective.
“Because of the success of After the Party, I ended up in the casting offices of the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, with them saying ‘what do you want to do? What are you interested in?’.
“I burst into tears and told them the only reason I went to drama school was so I could be here.”
Her new TV series, Run, was shot in Australia, and she stars alongside Ashleigh Cummings, who coincidentally played a young Cheryl West in Outrageous Fortune prequel Westside, and fellow Kiwi George Mason, who plays her son Brenden Abbott. He was known as ‘The Postcard Bandit’ and was one of Australia’s most notorious bank robbers – it’s believed he robbed more than 40 banks.
Watch the trailer for Run here:
Malcolm works a lot across the ditch. In the past few years, she’s had roles on three other Aussie dramas. It’s a place many Kiwi actors go to get stable work.
“To be honest, I think [Australia’s film and TV industry] is in better shape than we are here at the moment. I don’t think we’ve got a Government that supports us too much here,” she admits.
“Australia feels to me like it’s in magnificent shape right now. There’s been some really fantastic work happening and lots of little independent local productions, and it feels very positive.”
Melanie Lynskey, left, as Anna Osborne and Robyn Malcolm as Sonya Rockhouse in Pike River. Photo / Matt Grace
Right on cue, a door slams in the background. It’s one of Malcolm’s teenage sons, Charlie or Pete.
Both are following in their mother’s footsteps as actors; one’s started drama school, and the other is starring in a new web series.
“People have said to me, ‘you must be horrified’, [that the boys are acting]. And I go, ‘no, I’m not’, because in my mind, it’s the best job in the world.
“My hope is that they’ll get a career. My hope is that they will love it as much as I do and that it won’t be about the money.
“My hope is that they will find stability as they move through and that they will cope with what is an incredibly unpredictable life.”
As for her own film future, Malcolm “doesn’t give a s**t” about – or fear – getting older.
“I don’t agree with this ‘need to look younger and behave younger to hold on to youthfulness’ thing,” she says.
“If you fight it, you’ll lose. It’s trying to shift that narrative a little bit – that’s kind of where I’ve got to.”
Malcolm’s honesty is refreshing and raw, but not conceited.
“I’ve been 36. I’ve been 40. I’ve been 52. I’ve been through all those ages and I know what they’re all like. It’s not my job to try and stay there,” she says.
“It’s my job to be the age that I am and to own it.
“And the lovely thing is that there are so many female stories, particularly older women’s stories, that have yet to be told, so it’s kind of like the world’s your oyster right now.
“In Māori culture, they worship their kuia [women elders]. Everybody talks about the wise older woman. We don’t. And it’s about time we did.”
Robyn Malcolm has plenty more stories to tell. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Malcolm’s career has been full of surprises. She’s “ridden horses, fallen off the back of boats, been set fire to, had to act with llamas and scary insects”.
And while turning 60 is a major step in anyone’s life, for Malcolm, it’s just one big, beautiful journey she’s ready to tackle with the same positivity she’s had since drama school. She’s not slowing down; she’s just getting started.
“For somebody like me who’s not too crazy about routine, it’s really amazing. And I feel very lucky to be at the age I am, and it seems to be getting better.”
Catch Robyn Malcolm in Run, streaming on TVNZ+ now.
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.