Ray Woolf
Acting
Biography
Woolf and his family arrived in New Zealand in 1962 when he was 17. He had sung in rock bands in his native Dagenham in Essex since the age of 13, and after a few appearances at Auckland dance halls was signed to Zodiac Records and began recording. Throughout the 1970s he featured on a string of pop shows such as In the Groove, On the Beat Side, C'Mon and Happen Inn. Later, he had his own chat show, The Ray Woolf Show, which had its own live band and audience. Woolf also presented New Zealand children's show Playschool for 18 months, sticking by the philosophy of taking any opportunity that came his way. Hosting the show allowed Woolf more freedom than the structured pop shows he was used to. One of his favourite acting roles was when he played the helmsman of the steamship Venture in Peter Jackson's Кинг Конг (2005), released in 2005. He had the occasional line in the movie but his actual screen time was quite short. He liked the job due to the good company on it. Woolf is a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to entertainment and has also starred in shows like The Sound of Music (2004), West Side Story and The New Rocky Horror Show. He has collaborated with a range of musicians over the years, and some of his more ongoing gigs have been with the jazzy Rodger Fox Big Band. Woolf is on the pension these days but is still adamant that he will keep on entertaining and that nothing will change despite the regular pay cheques from the government.
Known For
Xena is an infamous warrior on a quest to seek redemption for her past sins against the innocent. Accompanied by her comrade-in-arms Gabrielle, the campy couple use their formidable fighting skills to help those who are unable to defend themselves.
Xena: Warrior Princess
The legendary son of Zeus journeys across the earth fighting monsters and helping people.
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with the leading lady.
King Kong
The adventures of the ancient hero in his youth.
Young Hercules
A firefighter pilot blames himself for the death of his previous colleagues and gets a new assignment with a raging forest fire in Portland, Oregon, that has the whole city in jeopardy.
Superfire
MOW about the life of Lucille Ball, focusing on the loving yet tumultuous relationship with Desi Arnaz.
Lucy
A former firefighter and Special Forces officer takes on a team of murderous terrorists when the oceanliner he's working on is hijacked shortly after leaving port. Hired to evaluate security on a luxury cruise ship, blaze battler and former military man Kyle Considine (Casper Van Dien) brings his young son Zach along for a week of fun at sea. The fun stops, however, when the ship sets sail and a highly organized team of terrorists threaten the lives of everyone onboard.
Maiden Voyage
An island paradise, big business, complex characters, love and betrayal set the scene for this light-hearted romantic action adventure film. Set in the stunning scenery of the South Pacific, with drama, action and comedy at every turn, it tells the story of a woman who learns that her life is half lived, and a man who has closed himself off from the world to hide from the pain of his past.
Stranded Pearl
On the 7th of May 2009, Senior Constables Len Snee, Grant Diver and Bruce Miller arrived at 41 Chaucer Rd in Napier to serve a search warrant on Jan Molenaar for the growing of cannabis. This was just a routine warrant, something they had done countless times. What was meant to be an ordinary procedure turned into three of New Zealand’s darkest days and ended with one police officer dead, two officers critically injured and a member of the public fighting for his life. In some fifty hours Jan Molenaar made a permanent and devastating imprint upon the national psyche of New Zealand as he changed the lives of individuals, families, a police community, and a city. The siege was one of the worst and unexpected cases of violence both Napier and New Zealand had witnessed and it was all the more shocking because of its ordinary suburban backdrop.
Siege
When Arthur, self-proclaimed son of God, sets off on a mission to find the Queen of Heaven, his world changes.
The Insatiable Moon
One of Them! was one of two dramas (alongside Niki Caro movie Memory and Desire) inspired by short stories collected in Peter Wells' 1991 book Dangerous Desires. It was made for TV One as a Montana Sunday drama. Set in Auckland, 1965, One of Them! follows Lemmy and Jamie, two teenage boys coming to terms with their sexuality. In the dark days before gay liberation, bullying and intimidation was rife, and while the boys flaunt their sissyness, their internalized homophobia wreaks havoc on their emotional lives — until they can admit to being "one of them".
One of Them!
A film about a single mum and her kids, its got love and teenage angst with a performance by Ray Woolf as a bumbling undercover cop trying to score.
Back River Road
50 years in the future, virtual reality is so real and addictive that it’s woven into the fabric of reality. People can have virtual relationships with their chosen partners at any time. This technology’s accessibility has led humans to lose touch with reality. Fed up with perfection and fantasies, a woman seeks the truth and unpredictability of reality.