About
Carl Drake was born in England, moved to Ireland when he was young, where he discovered his passion for acting after he was cast in his first school production. He later emigrated to New Zealand where he continued his final schooling year at Mt Albert Grammar School where he was cast as the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance. A joint production with Auckland Girls' Grammar School which became such a hit, the production was later mentioned in a book called Keeping it in the Family in 1989 written by John O'Leary.
Unfortunately life got in the way and Carl's acting career was put on hold to pursue a "real job" in accounts management.
In 2007 he revisited his dream of acting by joining Dolphin Theatre in a production called Why Me? and has never looked back.
Showreel
“An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words.”
Monoreel
Secret Bridesmaids' Business - Titirangi Theatre
Stage
Carl has had a number of roles in theatre since his first role in Why Me? in 2007. He won Best Actor Runner Up at the Short & Sweet Festival 2013 at the Herald Theatre.
The Great Maiden's Blush
Film
With a small handful of short films and a web series episode under his belt, Carl has been cast in an independent feature film and spent two weeks in Wellington on the set of The Great Maiden's Blush.
Shortland St
Media
Appearing on a number of commercials in the last three years, Carl also managed to land a small role in Shortland St giving him a chance to revisit the set and work with some familiar faces.
The Great Maiden's Blush
Role: Henry
Company: Torchlight Films New Zealand
Directors: Andrea Basshard & Shane Loader
It's a story of friendship, of forgiveness, and the redemptive power of truth. It's a story of new motherhood; of babies and absent fathers; of opera and drag racing and gardening. It's a a story of a girl-racer serving a prison sentence for manslaughter who is temporarily released to hospital to give birth to her first child. She shares a room with another single mother, a classical musician and a gardener, but their uneasy friendship is threatened when both are challenged over the secrets around the paternity of their newborn babies.
Moments
Role: Uncle James
Company: Angle3 Pictures
Director: Daryl J Wong
Following the death of her absent father, Sam reluctantly reunites with her Uncle James to discuss the fate of his belongings. But when the only thing that her father leaves her is his old film camera, Sam hesitantly takes it upon herself to finish the rest of the reel left inside. However, as she draws ever nearer to the final frame, Sam starts to takes one step closer to reconciling her turbulent relationship with her father; as the final years of his life come into focus.
The Passenger
Role: Officer Miles Cleary
Company: Certain Scenes Productions Ltd
Director: Scott Boswell
From the director of The Fall Guys comes a short film which is simply about... a thief, a policeman and a baby.
Natural Instinct
Role: Morgan Forster
Company: Malaga Films
Director: Kavendran Naicker
Writer: Stephen Paea
Sound: Jason Prasad
Production Assistant: Alex Tetupu
Lucky Girl
Company: Write Club
Director: Alan Cornish
Producer: Enny Benzonelli, Melissa Osgood
Writer: Simon Lambert, Alan Cornish
Cinematography: Daniel Habedank
FORD ‘THE SUPPORTERS’
Role: Father
Company: Exile Films
Director: Christine Jeffs
Renowned director Christine Jeffs directed the All Blacks, Black Caps, Black Sticks and a large cast to produce this TVC that captures the essence of being a supporter.
Project J Pilot
Role: Jacob Alexander
Company: Dreamer Films
Director/Writer: Leah McVeagh
Joseph Alexander, a guy with an unusual gift for interpreting dreams, flees from home after a disturbing nightmare. As he adjusts to university hall life alongside his witty new neighbour, Amelia King, tensions rise back at home, causing his stepbrother, Jeremy Whitecliffe, to set out on a sinister scheme of his own...
Shortland St
Role: Paul Harvey
Company: South Pacific Pictures
Director: Steven Zanoski
Seth Packhurst and Paul Harvey don't see eye to eye so Seth enlists the help of Sarah Potts to convince Paul to fund their project. However, Sarah misinterprets Seth's intensions and chaos ensues.
Backstage at Short+Sweet
Carl feels that being a part of a stage production is one of the most exhilarating experiences anyone can have. Being surrounded by equally passionate and focused individuals all working together to move an audience. It truly satiates one's soul.
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
Origin of the Species
Role: Charles Darwin
Writer: Robyn Paterson
Director: Kat Glass
Company: Short & Sweet Festival
Year: 2017
Rabbit
Role: Father
Writer: Nina Raine
Director: Rachael Longshaw-Park
Company: Stray Theatre Company
Year: 2017
It's Bella's twenty-ninth birthday. Friends and former lovers meet for a drink to celebrate. But as the Bloody Marys flow, the bar becomes a battlefield. Fun, for these friends, is serious.
In the uncivil war between the sexes, what happens when the women have the real fire-power - stockpiles of testosterone, lethal wit and explosive attitude? And what happens when patriarchy gets personal, when it's your own father who is tragic and terminal? When the only man you really love is dying?
"Raine's miraculous wit is so bracing…so pitch-perfect—that the show is an instant contender for debut of the year." - Variety.
This smart and sparky battle-of-the-sexes comedy keenly examines attraction and ambition, sex and secrets and the challenges of gender and politics.
Twelfth Night
Role: Duke Orsino
Company: Pop Up Globe
Director: Miles Gregory
Year: 2016
Directed by Dr Miles Gregory, Twelfth Night was presented by an all-male company in Jacobean dress. With its focus on the contrast between the sensual court of Orsino and the household of Olivia in a perpetual state of mourning frequently undermined by the antics of Sir Toby, this production of Twelfth Night featured a guitar-playing Feste who was in modern dress by the end of the show. Twelfth Night opened Pop-up Globe Auckland on Thursday 18 February 2016.
Romeo & Juliet
Role: Lord Montague
Company: Pop Up Globe
Director: Ben Naylor
Year: 2016
Directed by Ben Naylor, Romeo and Juliet was presented in bespoke costumes and set in a Verona where the violence between the Capulets and Montagues continually threatened to spill off the stage and out into the yard. Set in a police state, the Prince was accompanied by baton-wielding masked guards while the rival families fought each other with knives, and the likes of Capulet and Paris were unafraid to show off the extravagances of their wealth. Romeo and Juliet opened at Pop-up Globe Auckland on Friday 19 February 2016.
The Leaf Jar
Role: Peter
Company: Howick Studio
Director: Regan Crummer
Year: 2015
You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.
Peter is a man who seems to have it all. But the truth threatens to tear his seemingly perfect life apart and he wll be faced with a choice. Will it destroy his belief in the ones he loves?
Fold
Role: John
Company: The Basement
Director: Jessica Jeffries
Year: 2015
In the best New Zealand suburb, five of the best of friends each hold five of the best birthday parties, all celebrating what a wonderful thing it is to live lives like theirs. As they wallow in joyous disregard for the problems of others, or even each other, it becomes clear that there are some problems that cannot be solved with wine, presents and small talk.
God of Carnage
Role: Alain Reille
Company: Dolphin Theatre
Director: Annie Whittaker
Year: 2013
Two sets of parents, one of whose child has hurt the other at a public park, who meet to discuss the matter in a civilized manner. However, as the evening goes on, the parents become increasingly childish, resulting in the evening devolving into chaos.
Reading Lamouche
Role: Jamie
Writer: Finnius F. Teppett
Director: Calum Gittins
Company: Short & Sweet Festival 2013
Year: 2013
The World's First Fight
Role: Adam
Writer: Robyn Paterson
Director: Patricia Vichmann
Company: Short & Sweet Festival 2013
Year: 2013
The Priory
Role: Carl
Writer: Michael Wynne
Company: Howick Little Theatre
Director: Adey Ramsel
Year: 2012
Following her split from her boyfriend, Kate decides to invite a group of her closest friends to a renovated and supposedly haunted priory, for a New Year's Eve party. However, as the drinks and drugs start to flow, personal revelations begin to emerge leading to near tragedy and a fraught morning after.
Mammals
Role: Phil
Writer: Amelia Bullmore
Director: Terry Hooper
Company: Howick Little Theatre
Year: 2010
The play depicts a marriage in crisis following husband Kev's revelation to his wife Jane that he is in love with someone else. The arrival of Kev's best friend Phil with his whirlwind of a girlfriend triggers a series of confessions which threatens to upturn all of their lives. Kev and Jane's increasingly desperate attempts to discuss their problems whilst hiding them from their two daughters makes for an insightful and often painfully amusing drama.
When the Reaper Calls
Role: Professor Victor Pierce
Writer: Peter Colley
Director: Barry Spring
Company: Dolphin Theatre
Year: 2009
Victor and Harlan are two young philosophy professors who have been friends, rivals and inveterate pranksters since their student days, but things have changed ...
Victor has turned into a wild hedonist in keeping with his belief that “when you’re dead, you’re dead”, while Harlan has become a dull stoic, leading a strict unemotional existence in preparation for the afterlife.
They are on holiday with their long-suffering wives in the Canadian wilderness, and Victor has devised a prank which he believes will prove the falseness of Harlan’s philosophy and shake him out of his passionless state — but the prank goes horribly wrong.
Secret Bridesmaids' Business
Role: James
Writer: Elizabeth Coleman
Director: Brian O'Connor
Company: Titirangi Theatre
Year: 2009
It’s the night before Meg’s wedding. She and her bridesmaids are planning to kick up their heels as the final hours before the big day tick down. However not everything goes according to plan as a last minute scandal threatens to ruin the whole affair.
Straight & Narrow
Role: Philip
Writer: Jimmy Chinn
Director: Kevin Murray
Company: Dolphin Theatre
Year: 2009
In this West End hit sex comedy the central couple is Bob and Jeff. Jeff is considering leaving Bob and for a woman so he can become a father. Meanwhile Bob contends with a meddling family that is ignorant of his living situation.
His mother, a domineering comic creation, complicates matters by pressing Bob to get married. She refuses to recognize that there is anything about her son which might upset her conventional sensibilities.
The happy ending finds Bob and Jeff together and mother having come to terms with the truth.
Daryl J Wong
“I can’t speak highly enough of Carl’s love of the craft. In filming ‘MOMENTS’, Carl came at it with a hundred percent passion, reaching deep into the script to grasp the essence of his character - the heavy-hearted photojournalist “Uncle James”. On set, Carl was an absolute joy, and always kept morale high with a warm smile and a witty joke. He took all of my directions effortlessly, and kept his blocking consistent throughout every set-up - ultimately making the editing process all the more relaxing. Carl has a constant drive to hone his talents as an actor, and provided enlightening input throughout the film’s production. If “collaboration is king” in filmmaking, then I count Carl to be a true ally in future projects to come.”
“I have had the amazing pleasure of working with Carl on my latest short film ‘The Passenger’. I was blown away by the dedication and passion he puts into his craft. He really got into the skin of his character and brought Officer Miles Cleary to life, using his own experiences, his professional training and his vivid imagination. Carl gives 100 percent to any role he is given and digs deep to find the nuances of the character through their psyche and physicality. He takes what the other performers give them and strives for truth in every scene. He is a unique talent and an extremely driven actor.
Carl takes direction well and is not afraid to go for what he believes will work, he wants the best for not only his part but the entire production and will help out wherever he is asked in any way he can. I can’t recommend him enough.”
Scott Boswell
Terry Hooper
“Not only is he a great actor with exceptional comic timing with truth in his characterisation and delivery, his behind the scenes presence was that of fun loving, professional and always supportive of his fellow actors. I can say this without impunity and from personal experience due to stepping into the role of a friend on stage at the last minute, this did not throw him and he worked with me on and off stage in such a fantastic way that I felt incredibly safe on stage while supporting his director.”
Carl Drake
P: 027 487 7788
E: carl@carldrake.co