Darryl Neilson is a fictional character in the
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
Shortland Street
''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...
. Appearing sporadically, Darryl made several recurring appearance from 1992 to the character's death in 1995. He was portrayed by
Mark Ferguson
Mark Ferguson (born 28 February 1961) is a New Zealand-based Australian actor and television presenter.
Biography
Born in Sydney, Australia, Ferguson attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and graduated in 1981. In 1982, he p ...
.
A character that fans "loved to hate", Darryl was introduced as the antagonistic son of receptionist
Marj Neilson (
Elizabeth McRae
Elizabeth Helen McRae (née Kersley; born 1 August 1936) is a New Zealand actress, best known for her portrayal of Marjorie Brasch (née Neilson) in the television soap opera '' Shortland Street'', and, in the last decade, as Jean Marlowe, ...
) and paramedic
Tom Neilson
Tom Leslie Neilson is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Part of the original cast, Tom was portrayed by Adrian Keeling from the shows first episode until May the following year when the character starred i ...
(Adrian Keeling). Utilized in the soap as a means to develop the character of Marj, Darryl was involved in numerous high-profile story lines. These included attempting to rape
Kirsty Knight (
Angela Dotchin
Angela Marie Dotchin (born 31 March 1974 in Auckland) is a former actress best most known for her roles as Kirsty Knight in '' Shortland Street'', and as Emilia Rothschild in ''Jack of All Trades'' and for starring as Kora on '' Young Hercules ...
), drugging
Chris Warner
Christopher Alexander Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who has been portrayed by Michael Galvin since the show's first episode, making him the longest running original character. Galvin quit the ...
(
Michael Galvin
Michael Galvin (born 27 March 1967) is a New Zealand actor, singer and playwright, well known for his role as Chris Warner on the soap opera Shortland Street, a character he has played almost since the show's debut in 1992 until 1996 and agai ...
) so that he missed his wedding day, faking the abduction of his own children, distributing dodgy drugs, stealing
Grace Kwan
Dr. Grace Kwan is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'', portrayed by Lynette Forday from 1994 to 1997. Forday reprised the role 16 years later in 2013.
Creation and casting
At a time when producers were structur ...
's (Lynette Forday)
egg cells
The egg cell, or ovum (plural ova), is the female reproductive cell, or gamete, in most anisogamous organisms (organisms that reproduce sexually with a larger, female gamete and a smaller, male one). The term is used when the female gamete is ...
and eventually drowning after attempting to murder Kirsty. Darryl's personality was seen as manipulative, egotistical and destructive. However, it has been noted that his saving grace was his "love for his mum".
Creation and casting
Upon the show first airing, audiences struggled to relate to the character of
Marj Neilson (
Elizabeth McRae
Elizabeth Helen McRae (née Kersley; born 1 August 1936) is a New Zealand actress, best known for her portrayal of Marjorie Brasch (née Neilson) in the television soap opera '' Shortland Street'', and, in the last decade, as Jean Marlowe, ...
), a character played largely for comic relief.
The character was the matriarch of the Neilson family unit however upon the rewriting of
Stuart Neilson
Dr. Stuart Neilson is a fictional character in the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'' who was portrayed by Martin Henderson as part of the original cast until early 1995. The character returned after 22 years off screen to celebrate ...
(
Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson (born 8 October 1974) is a New Zealand actor. He is known for his roles on the American medical drama series '' Off the Map'' as Dr. Ben Keeton (2011), the medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Nathan Riggs (2015–201 ...
), more members were added to the family.
To add more depth to the character of Marj and focus her story lines less on comedy, producers decided to introduce another of her sons that would appear antagonistic and help audiences sympathize with her.
[ The character of Darryl was created because of this.] Without auditioning, Mark Ferguson
Mark Ferguson (born 28 February 1961) is a New Zealand-based Australian actor and television presenter.
Biography
Born in Sydney, Australia, Ferguson attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and graduated in 1981. In 1982, he p ...
was offered the role in what he saw as typecasting due to his widows peak
A widow's peak is a V-shaped point in the hairline in the center of the forehead. Hair growth on the forehead is suppressed in a bilateral pair of periorbital fields. Without a widow's peak, these fields join in the middle of the forehead so as ...
. Ferguson appeared in a sporadic role for several years before running into a "contractual dispute" with producers. As a result of the dispute, Ferguson requested Darryl be killed off the soap. Darryl was killed off on the episode airing 21 March 1995, with his body making his final appearance several days later. Ferguson returned to the soap 3 years later as Darryl's brother, Damien Neilson
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' in 1998, by order of first appearance.
Damien Neilson
Damien Neilson was the identical younger brother of the villainous – Darryl ( ...
.[
]
Storylines
Darryl arrived to Ferndale in mid 1992 and refused to accept responsibility for the paternity of his newborn daughter. He began to date Kirsty
Kirsty or Kirstie is a feminine given name and nickname.
It is a Scottish diminutive of Christine in English-speaking countries and is also linked to Kirsten — the Scandinavian version of Christine.
People
* Kirstie Alley (1951–2022), Am ...
(Angela Dotchin
Angela Marie Dotchin (born 31 March 1974 in Auckland) is a former actress best most known for her roles as Kirsty Knight in '' Shortland Street'', and as Emilia Rothschild in ''Jack of All Trades'' and for starring as Kora on '' Young Hercules ...
) but shocked all when he attempted to rape her when she rejected his advances for sex. He was disowned by his father Tom
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
(Adrian Keeling) and fled Ferndale after being dumped by his wife. He returned the following year when he began to work in the clinic distributing pharmaceuticals. He grew fixated with his colleague Alison Raynor
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'' in 1992, by order of first appearance.
Marj Neilson
Marj Neilson was the clinic's first receptionist and was portrayed by Elizabet ...
(Danielle Cormack
Danielle Cormack (born 26 December 1970) is a New Zealand stage and screen actress. She was one of the original cast members of the long-running soap opera ''Shortland Street'', though she is also known for her role as the Amazon Ephiny in th ...
) and used his mysterious illness to gain her attention. When she reconciled with Chris Warner
Christopher Alexander Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who has been portrayed by Michael Galvin since the show's first episode, making him the longest running original character. Galvin quit the ...
(Michael Galvin
Michael Galvin (born 27 March 1967) is a New Zealand actor, singer and playwright, well known for his role as Chris Warner on the soap opera Shortland Street, a character he has played almost since the show's debut in 1992 until 1996 and agai ...
), Darryl drugged Chris and locked him in a barn; preventing him from attending his wedding and causing Alison to flee the country. Darryl sacrificed his kidney for his dying father and desperately tried to separate his mother Marj
Marj ( ar, المرج, Al Marǧ, The Meadows), also spelt ''El Merj'', generally believed to be on the site of the ancient city of Barca or Barce, is a city in northeastern Libya and the administrative seat of the Marj District. It lies in an ...
(Elizabeth McRae
Elizabeth Helen McRae (née Kersley; born 1 August 1936) is a New Zealand actress, best known for her portrayal of Marjorie Brasch (née Neilson) in the television soap opera '' Shortland Street'', and, in the last decade, as Jean Marlowe, ...
) from her lover Laurie (Chic Littlewood
Cecil "Chic" Littlewood (17 November 1930 – 11 January 2015) was a New Zealand television entertainer and actor.
Biography
Born on 17 November 1930 in southeast London, England, Littlewood originally worked as a baker. He had a gift for mimicry ...
) through blackmail. He later covered up the death of Jean-Luc Mafart (Pierre Foret).
He returned to Ferndale again several months later and began to flirt with Waverley Wilson (Claire Chitham
Claire Chitham (born 12 July 1978, in Auckland) is a New Zealand television actress. Claire rose to fame as Waverley Harrison (née Wilson) in the New Zealand TV show '' Shortland Street'', from 1994–1995 and 1997–2005 and Aurora Bay in '' ...
). After an argument with his ex-wife Diane
Diane may refer to:
People
*Diane (given name)
Film
* ''Diane'' (1929 film), a German silent film
* ''Diane'' (1956 film), a historical drama film starring Lana Turner
* ''Diane'' (2017 film), a mystery film directed by Michael Mongillo
* ''D ...
(Susannah Devereux), Darryl faked the abduction of his children and let Waverley take the blame, much to the disgust of Marj. Marj disowned her son when he began to use her house for storage of illegal pharmaceuticals. Darryl's dodgy drugs caused the death of a patient and the near death of Lionel Skeggins
Lionel Skeggins is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who was portrayed by John Leigh. His casting on the show began in late 1993 as a guest role and ended in early 1999 as a fan favourite regular. Lionel ret ...
( John Leigh). Kirsty took out another personal vendetta against Darryl for nearly killing her fiancé and as a result, Darryl manipulated Stuart
Stuart may refer to:
Names
* Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile
*Stuart (automobile)
Places
Australia Generally
*Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory
Northe ...
(Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson (born 8 October 1974) is a New Zealand actor. He is known for his roles on the American medical drama series '' Off the Map'' as Dr. Ben Keeton (2011), the medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Nathan Riggs (2015–201 ...
) into disrupting the wedding. Darryl began to date Grace Kwan
Dr. Grace Kwan is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'', portrayed by Lynette Forday from 1994 to 1997. Forday reprised the role 16 years later in 2013.
Creation and casting
At a time when producers were structur ...
(Lynette Forday) but caused controversy when it turned out he was stealing her egg cells. Nonetheless the two planned to flee Ferndale but when Kirsty confronted Darryl on a houseboat about his illegal drug trafficking, he attacked her and fell overboard. His body was found several days later floating in Auckland Harbour.
Character development
Characterisation
Throughout Darryl's run on Shortland Street, he was identified as cunning, evil and nasty. Ferguson described the character as dynamic, saying; "I really like playing the part, because whenever he's there, he makes things happen. He's a very dynamic character. He really gets people involved with the show."[ He also stated that Darryl was cunning, but not smart; "I try and put some of my own sense of humour in Darryl. I like to give him lots of different sides. He's very ambitious, like he can control situations around him. But he's not that bright, really. If he was just a bit smarter he'd be worth an absolute fortune. ... If Darryl was just a bit smarter, if he heightened his sights, then he could come back and try for Prime Minister".][ Darryl's one redeeming factor was named as his love for his mother.][
]
Antagonism
The character of Darryl was written as a "villain" archetype. The character is remembered heavily for his antagonistic characteristics. His most prominent storyline was when he locked major character Chris Warner
Christopher Alexander Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who has been portrayed by Michael Galvin since the show's first episode, making him the longest running original character. Galvin quit the ...
in a barn, so as he would miss his wedding day, a storyline often recollected on by actors and producers. However the character also went through numerous other storylines, including the very first episode where Darryl fathered a child, only to push responsibility onto his teenage brother.[ The character of Darryl was said to be introduced to further develop the character of ]Marj
Marj ( ar, المرج, Al Marǧ, The Meadows), also spelt ''El Merj'', generally believed to be on the site of the ancient city of Barca or Barce, is a city in northeastern Libya and the administrative seat of the Marj District. It lies in an ...
and make her less comic relief.[ The character's evil nature was so great, producer Steven Zanoski thought it was a great precedent for villains to follow.][ Darryl's character also helped the audience sympathize with Marj, having her stuck with a "no-good" son.][ Darryl's character was truly explored within his first year, when Darryl cruely attempted to rape ]Kirsty
Kirsty or Kirstie is a feminine given name and nickname.
It is a Scottish diminutive of Christine in English-speaking countries and is also linked to Kirsten — the Scandinavian version of Christine.
People
* Kirstie Alley (1951–2022), Am ...
and forced his wife to provide him with an alibi so no charges would be laid.[ The rape storyline pitch was at the time so controversial, international executives worried it would "sully" the character of Kirsty.] The character reached his peak villainy when he stole girlfriend Grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...
's eggs and started to use Marj's house as storage for illegal drugs.[ The character finally reached his end when he fell off a boat and drowned,] while trying to murder Kirsty.[ It has been suggested that it was always obvious Darryl was to get his comeuppance as this was part of fulfilling the "villain" archetype.][
]
Reception
Darryl has been described as the soap's "original badboy" and Ferguson described him as a character fans "loved to hate".[ Darryl has since become an iconic character, being awarded the third best character alongside brother Damien, to ever feature on the soap.][ The storylines that saw Darryl lock ]Chris Warner
Christopher Alexander Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who has been portrayed by Michael Galvin since the show's first episode, making him the longest running original character. Galvin quit the ...
in a barn before his wedding and the characters death, have been voted by fans as two of the shows most iconic moments. Michael Galvin
Michael Galvin (born 27 March 1967) is a New Zealand actor, singer and playwright, well known for his role as Chris Warner on the soap opera Shortland Street, a character he has played almost since the show's debut in 1992 until 1996 and agai ...
(Chris Warner
Christopher Alexander Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who has been portrayed by Michael Galvin since the show's first episode, making him the longest running original character. Galvin quit the ...
) praised Ferguson and the spiking storyline, stating; "Darryl was the show's first great villain and Mark Ferguson did a great job channelling his inner Satan. I remember shooting the scene where he drugs Chris pre locking him up and Chris collapses on the table. He was just supposed to glare down at me villainously as I slumped, but when it came to the take he looked down at me as per rehearsal then disdainfully pushed me off the table with his boot. I fell out of shot and on to the floor and managed not to start laughing until they called cut." Ferguson enjoyed the character of Darryl and his sporadic nature, stating, "Darryl wasn't the sort of character you would sit down for tea with."[
]
See also
* List of soap opera villains
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. In soap operas, the villain, sometimes called a "bad guy", is an antagonist, tending to have a negative effect on other characters. A ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neilson, Darryl
Shortland Street characters
Television characters introduced in 1992
Male characters in television