You might be familiar with Rachel House as Topaz from Thor Ragnarok and also from Taika Waititi’s acclaimed fourth feature, Hunt for the Wilderpeople. And perhaps if you’re really well-versed in Waititi's films, you’ve seen her in Eagle vs Shark and Boy as well. And who knows? Maybe you took a cue from the Collider Ladies Night episode with Yvonne Strahovski and saw House’s work in the award-winning mini-series Stateless, too. However, I’m still willing to bet you have more to learn about House’s immense contribution to this industry.

While on Collider Ladies Night to celebrate her upcoming animated release, Soul, House took us from the very beginning of her journey when her focus was largely on stage work to enjoying a flourishing on-screen acting career and gearing up to direct her very first feature film. A pivotal part of that journey was moving past the assumption that she wasn’t “suitable for screen.” Why exactly was that the case? Because she didn’t see anyone who looked like her on screen when she was younger. What contributed to changing that and being able to move forward with a sense of confidence? Taika Waititi. Here’s how House put it:

“I would say actually working on Taika’s films because, talk about bringing people who looked like us to the screen. You know, Taika did it. He very much placed our people, our culture in the front and center. I think, for me, working on those stories that he told, it was a big deal. It felt great to be a part of.”

Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider
Image via Newmarket Films

House also took a moment to highlight the on-set environment of Niki Caro’s Whale Rider, which tells the story of a young Māori girl (Keisha Castle-Hughes) eager to become the leader of her tribe.

“Whale Rider was quite an extraordinary shoot. We were in that community on the east coast and so much of what you see in that film was very present. We’d sit there and Niki would be filming and there’d be scenes filming all around the [wharenui], the big meeting house there, and there’d be these beautiful kuia, elderly women, and they’d all be weaving. So they’d be sitting behind the monitor with Niki just quietly weaving and it was so great to be part of that community. And I suppose, again, you feel comfortable because you’re part of this culture. It was my culture so I felt really at home. It’s just grown and grown. I think Taika’s played a really big part in that and us being very present.”

On a more personal level, Waititi also was the one who nudged House into an additional role on set, acting coach. Early on in his directing career, Waititi often brought in Loren Taylor to fill that role but when the time came to shoot Boy, she wasn’t available.

“Loren is a really great acting coach. She’s a director as well so doesn’t do coaching as much, like myself. I try not to do it as much. I’ll only do it for Taika. She was unable to do the job and I had already got the role of Aunty Gracey in that film. I was just sort of a logical person because I had done teaching. I taught young kids quite a lot over the years in terms of theater and drama, so I guess I seemed like an obvious choice. I felt like I was way over my comfort zone. I was also the chaperone. We all stayed together. We’ve got these really big meeting houses over here in our culture where our tribes and sub-tribes are sort of focused. Me and the kids all stayed in this big meeting house, which is Taika’s tribe’s meeting house so, yeah, it was a really intense job. I was playing my character and coaching the kids and then spending the night with them as well.”

Rachel House in Eagle vs Shark
Image via Miramax Films

House further emphasized the importance of weaving culture into filmmaking in New Zealand:

“It’s very much in keeping with our culture. So these big meeting houses, we all sleep together. We’ve all got our single mattress and we sleep with the photos of our ancestors and the carved ancestors as well. It’s very special and very much in keeping with our culture that that was the way it was done with the kids on Boy. But man, I was so exhausted!”

That’s where we’re leaving it for now, but House had loads more to say about her collaborations with Waititi and also the value of embracing culture while making films. If you’d like to hear more about that, House’s deleted scene from Jojo Rabbit, and about her experiencing voice Terry in Pixar’s Soul, be sure to keep an eye out for House’s full Ladies Night episode hitting Collider on Wednesday!