Alison Bruce is a New Zealand television and film actress, who starred in the 2001

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

''Magik and Rose''. She also appeared in the teen series ''

Being Eve ''Being Eve'' is a teen comedy-drama television series from New Zealand, originally shown on Three (TV channel), TV3 from 2001 to 2002, and later broadcast on Noggin (brand), Noggin's teen block The N in the United States. ''Being Eve'' focuses ...

'' and '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', and had a recurring role as Simula in '' Young Hercules''.

Early life and education

Bruce was born in Tanzania to a Scottish father and an English mother. Her family moved to New Zealand when she was around eight. She trained at Auckland's Theatre Corporate in the early 1980s.

Career

Bruce soon began a busy acting career with stage roles that include starring in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' (as Ophelia) and ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...

'' (as Roxane). She made her screen debut in the 1984 teleplay '' The Minders''. Since then she has acted in more than 30 screen roles, including sizeable parts in two feature films: the 1990 chase comedy ''User Friendly'', in which her character steals a keenly-sought dog statue from a crazed former boss; and 2001 feature ''Magik and Rose'', which Bruce later described as a turning point in terms of the type of roles she is offered. The comedy-drama saw Bruce playing Magik, a fortune-teller who arrives in a Kiwi town in a house-truck, seeking the daughter she gave up for adoption many years before. Bruce also acted in the based-on-a-true-story feature ''

The World's Fastest Indian ''The World's Fastest Indian'' is a 2005 New Zealand biographical Sports film, sports Drama (film and television), drama film based on the story of New Zealand speed bike racer Burt Munro and his highly modified 1920 Indian Scout (motorcycle), I ...

'' (as a doctor) and the short film ''Mon Desir'', which was selected to play in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section of the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.

Television

Bruce's television roles include the eccentric mother of Eve, the main character in award-winning series ''

'', and the hospital personal assistant who falls pregnant in '' Mercy Peak''. The latter part would win Bruce two consecutive New Zealand television awards for best supporting actor. She also had a number of small roles on the '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' franchise, including playing an Amazon Queen (Queen Melosa). Bruce enjoyed the chance to take part in fight scenes, and "do all this stuff you normally don't get to do in television". Bruce played estranged mother to a family of gods in the first two seasons (2010–2011) of the television series '' The Almighty Johnsons'', and worked with New Zealand director

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and ''The Power of the Dog (film), The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for ...

on the 2012 series '' Top of the Lake''.

Personal life

Bruce's long-term partner is

casting director In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra to land the role of a character in a script, screenp ...

and actor Neill Rea. they were living in central

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Alison Bruce FanSite
' *

' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Alison Living people New Zealand film actresses New Zealand television actresses New Zealand people of English descent New Zealand people of Scottish descent Actresses from Auckland 20th-century New Zealand actresses 21st-century New Zealand actresses Year of birth missing (living people)