Neill Rea is a New Zealand actor and

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 ...

, best known for playing the lead role of detective Mike Shepherd in television

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

The Brokenwood Mysteries ''The Brokenwood Mysteries'' is a New Zealand television detective drama series that premiered on Prime (now Sky Open) in 2014. Each of the first six series comprises four episodes. From Series 7, seasons were extended to six episodes. The progr ...

''.

Career

Early roles included small parts in '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and '' Duggan'', before he landed a larger part as Scotty, one of the flatmates in 1999 comedy-drama film ''

Scarfies ''Scarfies'' (released as ''Crime 101'' in the United States) is a 1999 New Zealand black comedy film set in the southern university city of Dunedin. The film's original title comes from the local nickname for university students, scarfie, s ...

''. Other noted roles include a semi-regular guest appearance in comedy-drama ''

Go Girls Go, GO, G.O., or Go! may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games and sport * Go (game), a board game for two players * '' Travel Go'' (formerly ''Go – The International Travel Game''), a game based on world travel * Go, the starting position ...

'' in 2011 and 2012, and a role in 2010 film ''

The Warrior's Way ''The Warrior's Way'' is a 2010 New Zealand-South Korean fantasy action film written and directed by Sngmoo Lee and starring Jang Dong-gun, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston and Tony Cox. The film was released on 3 December 2010. Its ...

''.Neill Rea
" ''nzonscreen.com''. Retrieved 14 August 2021. He plays a detective, Mike Shepherd, in the TV series ''

'', which started airing in 2014 and is ongoing . Apart from acting, Rea also works as a casting director, and is the owner of Auckland-based casting agency Fly Casting.

Awards and nominations

*2023: Nominated, Best Actor, New Zealand Television Awards/Ngā Taonga Whakaata O Aotearoa, for ''The Brokenwood Mysteries''

Personal life

His long-term partner is actress

Alison Bruce Alison Bruce is a New Zealand television and film actress, who starred in the 2001 feature film ''Magik and Rose''. She also appeared in the teen series ''Being Eve'' and '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', and had a recurring role as Simula in '' Yo ...

. 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 ...

References

External links

* New Zealand actors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{NewZealand-actor-stub