Jacinda Ardern Makes Unprecedented Film Cameo in “Pike River” Drama
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern appears as herself in the upcoming film “Pike River,” a dramatic retelling of the 2010 mining disaster that claimed the lives of 29 men. The cameo, lasting approximately 20 seconds and featuring three lines of dialogue, came about after the film’s director struggled to find an actor who could convincingly portray the former leader.
Ardern agreed to the role on a voluntary basis, and had not yet seen the finished film as of the latest reports. Director Robert Sarkies emphasized that the decision to approach Ardern was “wasn’t a political choice,” but rather a pragmatic one born of necessity. “We’d cast a lot of people,” Sarkies explained. “We’d even found someone to play John Key who I thought could be incredible, but we couldn’t find anyone to play Jacinda because she’s such a distinctive person.”
The scene featuring Ardern occurs as the families of the victims, represented in the film by Anna Osborne (played by Melanie Lynskey) and Sonya Rockhouse (played by Robyn Malcolm), lobby political parties for support in reopening the Pike River coal mine to recover the bodies of their loved ones. Ardern’s character responds to their plea with a simple, “Of course we’ll sign,” in a scene that also incorporates a visual reference to the iconic “We Can Do It!” poster.
The Pike River disaster, which occurred in November 2010, remains a deeply sensitive issue in New Zealand. Following the tragedy, a complex and often fraught recovery process unfolded. In 2017, the year depicted in the film, Ardern’s Labour Party came to power and established the Pike River Recovery Agency. However, the agency ultimately abandoned recovery plans in 2021, citing insurmountable technical challenges and prohibitive costs. More recently, police have resumed borehole drilling and imaging, and are currently considering potential criminal charges related to the disaster.
Sarkies initially hesitated to publicize Ardern’s involvement, fearing it would overshadow the film’s core narrative. He acknowledged the story is “inherently” political, despite his intention to avoid taking sides. “I think left versus right politics is often quite poisonous,” he stated, “and there’s a lot of grey. These families needed to ‘manipulate’ – in inverted commas – the politicians, because no one’s got the money to get into that mine.”
Interestingly, Ardern’s appearance isn’t listed in the film’s credits on the online movie database IMDb. The cast list does, however, confirm that former National Prime Minister John Key is portrayed by Daniel Cleary, and Stephen Bain plays former Environment Minister Nick Smith. Other actors appear in non-speaking roles as prominent political figures, including Gerry Brownlee, Judith Collins, and Winston Peters.
The scene with Ardern was filmed in New Zealand before her move to the United States in 2023 to take up a position at Harvard University. According to Sarkies, Ardern’s willingness to participate stemmed from her close relationship with Osborne and Rockhouse, having even visited Rockhouse at her home in Christchurch after leaving office. A charming anecdote shared by Rockhouse revealed that Ardern recognized a “We Can Do It!” poster in Rockhouse’s home, recalling having a similar one in her own office – a detail Sarkies subsequently included in the film and gifted to Rockhouse.
“Pike River” received significant financial backing from the New Zealand film industry, including $484,000 from NZ On Air in 2022 and nearly $5 million from the New Zealand Film Commission, comprising $2,498,760 in rebates, $1,922,100 in equity funding, $77,900 in development funding, and $20,000 for industry training.
This film marks Ardern’s second major screen appearance this year, following the successful documentary “Prime Minister,” which chronicled her time in office and achieved the strongest opening week for a local documentary in seven years, earning $417,000 in its first week. Ardern has also released her memoir, A Different Kind of Power, and a children’s book, Mum’s Busy Work, in 2023.
“Pike River” is scheduled for general release on October 30.
