A year ago Wayne Hapi was on film screens across the country playing Ariki, the gangster brother of bipolar Gisborne chess maestro Genesis Potini, in Kiwi film The Dark Horse.
Just last week, The Dark Horse won two awards at the Seattle International Film Festival, bringing the award total to six here and nine – so far – overseas.
Hapi has already returned to a less glamorous side of showbiz, and this week 3 News discovered him busking in central Auckland.
Originally from Murapara in the Bay of Plenty, Hapi had grown up around gangs, which helped as he had never done any serious acting before The Dark Horse and back then didn't even have an agent.
"I saw the ad on the [Work and Income] job website, and then they picked me," Hapi says.
The movie is out on DVD now, meaning he gets recognised a bit more.
After a whirlwind stint in the life of a movie star, Hapi is back where he started and where he is happy – busking on the streets of Auckland.
But if Hollywood does want to contact him, he can often be found just off Wellesley St, in behind the movie theatres.
3 News
source: newshub archive
