Fijian born New Zealand based actor, David Tiko has made his debut on the silver screen in the renowned long-running TV series, Shortland Street.
Tiko, who is also a Gospel High School ex-scholar, played a guest character on the show. An i-Taukei man named Filipe who brings in his daughter, played by his niece Sala, to the world-famous hospital. Not only was it a dream come true to feature on the show he aimed at for the longest time but to play a character that reflected his culture was the highest honor of all.
To make his onscreen debut even more memorable was the fact that he got to perform alongside one of his role models Marianne Infante who also presented him with his acting certificate at The Actors Program in New Zealand.
The episode on Monday night which followed by praise from family and fans.
He attributed his performance to his “biggest fan and biggest critic”, his mother who unfortunately passed on.
Tiko is not new to acting in major roles. He’s most notably recognized for playing roles in short films such as Dead In The Water and In The Depths. These films earned him Gold awards at the Los Angeles Independent Shorts Award. He’s a star on the rising and has his sights set on the big leagues like Hollywood and the Academy Awards.
