An Interview with Isaac Te Reina: Avatar’s Sea Dragon First Mate
When we interviewed New Zealand actor Isaac Te Reina on his recent speaking role in Avatar’s The Way of Water, lessons on leadership, creativity, and presence abounded. Why? Because Te Reina landed the role as the Sea Dragon First Mate within a day of auditioning, and with James Cameron himself vs. the usual screening director. From our interview it’s clear: Te Reina harnessed his acting, directing, and production skills along with creativity, courage, and presence.
In this week’s Medium post, we’ve transcribed and compressed our interview via my Sage Sayers podcast (which you can enjoy here). We hope that in this Chinese Year of the Rabbit, you’ll find Te Reina’s courage and cognitive agility as inspiring as we have. This week’s Medium post is a two-part series.
Show host, D G McCullough:
My guest this week is Isaac Te Reina. He's a filmmaker, actor and writer from New Zealand, based in Otaki, a small town with a big heart and proud filmmaking community.
Isaac has directed multiple award-winning films and he's a graduate of the New Zealand Film School and the Actor’s Program. Isaac recently appeared in a feature role in James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water, now breaking box office records all over the world. At the time of this interview, the sci-fi epic just overtook Top Gun Maverick to become 2022's highest grossing international release and sailed past the $1.1 billion mark. Isaac is also my nephew and joins me on the Sage Sayers to share the many gifts, opportunities, and the knowledge gathered from starring in Avatar. Isaac, welcome to the Sage Sayers.
Guest, Isaac Te Reina:
Thank you so much. Pleasure to be here with you, auntie.
McCullough:
Very nice to have you here. And starting with some questions around the filming and the shooting itself. When you look back at your decade-long film career which has included directing, producing, and acting, what elements of this work paved the way to your role with Avatar?
Te Reina:
By infusing directing, writing, and acting, I’ve developed this multi-dimensional understanding of what happens on sets between directors and actors. I get how a writer wants others to present their work. That I can think like a director, act like an actor, and speak like a writer excites me. That’s why I love doing what I do and why I've invested so much time and energy into diversifying my skills: I get how creativity works on sets between those three key pivotal roles.
McCullough:
What was it like to audition with James Cameron? Tell us how it felt and what you learned about yourself and your situation, even high-stakes communications from this pivotal experience?
Te Reina:
Yeah, it was very high stakes, unusual, and not at typical. Normally you’d audition with a casting director, be filmed, and chosen or not chosen, based off of that filming. In this case, my agent invited me to join 25 actors and we all stepped into the the whole Avatar production set of the Sea Dragon. With full costume and makeup, we walked onto the biggest adult playground I’d ever seen.
McCullough:
How did that look and feel?
Te Reina:
It felt surreal with holographic tables, buttons and levers, and places for people to take up positions on deck within this spaceship. It felt incredible being on a huge production and audition — in that space, and in the moment.
I immediately knew: This is different to your usual way of getting onto a film.
And this unique setting actually played to my strengths, because of my training. When James stepped on set (as the admirable man he is) and as commander of the whole production, he introduced himself to everyone on board, which felt impressive, nice, but also a moment for me to make an impression.
I introduced myself in Maori and, and greeted him in Maori — a stand out moment from feeling on top of the world, really feeling the moment, and wanting to put my best foot forward. And it seemed to help. As James started placing people into positions on the brig, he teed off for me a scene I’d read within the script.
I knew what we were getting into and didn’t want to be left out or in a minor role. I wanted to really take command and be amongst the best there.
I stepped in line and started trailing James as he patrolled the flight deck. I trailed as best as I could and just assumed, you know, some kind of behavior that might represent what he's looking for.
McCullough:
Literally Isaac? So you literally started to trail James Cameron and follow him?
Te Reina:
Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Not like stalker or anything…
McCullough:
No, no. But mirroring him.
Te Reina:
Yeah, mirroring him. That's a great way to look at it. And because he was having to work so fast himself, we had no time for dilly-dallying around. You had to get into the scene quick. That's again where my practical training kicked in. Playing in the space and the excitement of being there kicked me into gear.
He (James Cameron) started clicking and calling for a line from a script advisor or someone to get the scene going. I'd read the script enough to memorize some lines. And without thinking, I spoke out a line in American to him. He noticed it straight away and he said, “Yeah, that's right. Cool. What's next?”
I felt on the same wavelength as the man. And it just kept going like that. It was beautiful. It was an experience to audition with such a legend in a real set in real time. We got the good news I’d landed the part within 24 hours. Two days later, I was on set fulfilling the position that I wanted.
McCullough:
Beautiful, Isaac. And remind us what that position was.
Te Reina:
I am second-in-command on board the ship first mate of the Sea Dragon ship. So yes, it was such a huge outcome for me. I really seized my opportunity and I'm really proud of myself and happy with the work that I did inside of that space.
McCullough:
I see a huge smile here as you recall the moment. What does that feel like in your body in that moment where watch then mirror James Cameron, this huge film legend? And then afterwards?
Te Reina:
It felt like I was onto something. I've watched probably all of his films. I love anything in space. I love anything in war. So I was just trying to mimic behavior that I'd seen two years ago now. I knew we were in a playful space — no one knew what was going on. I tried strategizing, reading the script and, and my training, using my strengths and skills to make an impression obviously worked, which is a good payoff.
McCullough:
It did obviously work and it's a huge payoff. And that in-the-moment feeling which then kicked you into action resembles what coaches and many leaders strive for: Maintaining presence.
Te Reina:
Yes, yes, definitely. And not being afraid to fail. Also knowing: Failing signals to everyone that you’re playing. You don’t have all the answers; but you’re willing to give it a go, to trust your instincts, and without regret. That playful, fearless approach resonates with people in the film industry where great moments are made by people with happy accidents. The director or someone then sees the potential and they run with it. Yeah.
McCullough:
So they ran with it and saw the potential and you heard within 24 hours that you got the role. What feedback, if any, did you receive and how did that feedback align with how you felt you did?
Te Reina:
I remember the casting director said they were really impressed with how I took command of the space, the people, and being a strong presence for a very serious few scenes in the film. Embodying those qualities were felt. Now, I still feel like I'm riding that wave.
I’ve learned that when thrust into a vulnerable position fast, you think less and work more on your feet.
This feeling and idea can apply to anyone leading a business team, a film crew, or presenting publicly. I’m happy that life experience guided me in that moment. I’ll hold onto those feelings for the rest of my life — for whatever I do.
Next up: Isaac shares his training, how acting can train us all to find leadership presence, even in the most stressful situations — and how finding play in acting (and presentations) yields powerful, memorable results for the actor and audience.
You can follow Isaac Te Reina on Instagram here. Contact his agent for acting and other creative opportunities here and find his IMDB page by clicking here.
Debbi Gardiner McCullough coaches and trains immigrant leaders to become more confident, concise, and mentally fit communicators. From Wisconsin, she owns and runs Hanging Rock Coaching and coaches worldwide with BetterUp.