Oscar Kightley And Sam Neill to Co-Star in ‘Harry’

Oscar Kightley And Sam Neill to Co-Star in ‘Harry’ - New Drama Series From Desert Road And TV3

International leading man Sam Neill is joining one of New Zealand’s best-loved performers, Oscar Kightley in HARRY, a six-part crime drama series produced by Desert Road for TV3, which begins filming today.

Set in Auckland, HARRY follows Detective Harry Anglesea (Kightley), a solo father struggling with his personal demons as he investigates a major murder case. Neill will play Detective Jim “Stocks” Stockton, Harry’s boss and mentor.

Oscar Kightley says: "I’m already pretty excited about the opportunity to do HARRY. ?Having Sam Neill in it lifts that excitement to another stratosphere. It is a massive honour for us that he’s chosen this project.”

Sam Neill says: “I’m very much looking forward to coming home to work on what I think should be a ground-breaking series from New Zealand - with my friend Oscar Kightley!”

Producer Steven O'Meagher says the draft scripts for HARRY, co-written by Kightley, piqued the interest of Neill, who has never acted in a New Zealand drama series. Negotiations took place over a month, while the actor worked on productions in the UK and USA.

“Sam O’Neill is one of our greatest-ever actors, and his agreeing to play Detective Jim "Stocks" Stockton is a huge endorsement on the quality of the series,” O’Meagher says.

"Sam and Oscar have a personal friendship which will translate into great on-screen chemistry. Stocks is a mentor, a boss and a mate to Harry, and is one of the two most important people in Harry’s life. Their scenes together will crackle. Viewers are in for a treat."

TV3 Head of Comedy and Drama, Rachel Jean says HARRY is shaping up to be an outstanding series, raw, emotional and compelling.

“HARRY is a high quality drama event, driven by a compelling central character, played by a performer our audience can’t resist,” she says. “Oscar has a track record with TV3’s viewers and they love him. Sam Neill joining the cast is the icing on the cake”.

“Through the development process it has become clear this series is special. It sticks to the truth of life, of police, family, crime, drugs, overwork and underpay that everyone will recognise. In the scripting process the team has accessed true stories and advice from both affected families and frontline policing. It is this truth that will make this series “must watch” television.”

HARRY is produced by Desert Road for TV3 with funding from New Zealand On Air’s Platinum fund, which is reserved for high quality programs of historical and cultural importance with a significant relevance to New Zealand and New Zealanders.

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