We're seated for the next #tnuc panel with con first-timers David Fane and Ruibo Qian! #ofmd Q: How are you finding your first convention experience? RQ: It's delightful! DF: It's somewhat caught me off guard. I've been blown away by the spirit of it. It's really unusual but in a good way. Like when you get a treat and you're like "I've done nothing to deserve this treat!" Q: What was your favorite moment and most challenging moment of filming #OFMD? DF: In S2, remember the big battle when we were all running on the beach. It was so much fun that day - we did take after take after take. By the 6th time of action, no one was running anywhere. I laughed so much. RQ: The battle scenes with the Brits, shooting in the dunes, all of the stunt work. Most challenging was all of it. Being shot out of cannon into S2 of this show! DF: You had a lot to do physically and I really felt for you. You just arrived in New Zealand, you're getting your head around the show and you just did everything being thrown at you. Q: If you had to bury 5 DVDs on a desert island, which would they be? DF: Breakfast Club, Taika Waititi's Boy, Tinā (Anapela's new movie!), Rocky I and Rocky II. RQ: My Neighbor Totoro, The Matrix, True Stories, American Psycho, In the Mood for Love Q: How did David feel being sketched in #OFMD? DF: There's a funny story to that. Originally, it wasn't supposed to be me. But then they asked me and I said, ok. I was taken care of by Nathan so well. I felt valued, I felt seen. Q: How would Zheng poach Fang from Blackbeard? RQ: Soup? DF: I think you'd have played the Auntie card as matchmaker. Auntie is fearsome and Samoan. There's an ep where she's doing her deduction and it was then I knew I loved her. If Zheng had played the Auntie card, I'd have followed my heart. Q: If you could give your character advice what would it be? RQ: Relax and embrace her vulnerability and embrace her love for Olu and her prospective polycule. Relax! DF: Carry on doing what you're doing. Anything more than that would be too complex and would go against the nature of him. Q for Ruibo: Are there any other skills you'd love to learn? RQ: Martial arts properly, skydive, surfing is on my bucket list. DF: I like surfing. I'm useless at it but I know how to carry a board along a beach and say "yeah, the waves are looking pretty good." Q: We know Zheng is a real person, what was your approach to playing a historical figure? RQ: It was important to me from an ancestral standpoint to do justice. But I didn't want to do too much research. When David and I were first talking, we agreed she was going to be the Don Draper of the sea. Q: Was there any backstory between Zheng and Auntie? RQ: We decided that Auntie had taken over and was the brains behind the operation and Zheng was her child. DF: That scene when you're all released from prison and she says thank you. It's so wonderful! Sometimes I watch that scene and I cry. RQ: Anapela has become one of my closest friends. Q: Were there any scenes filmed for the show that didn't make it into the final cut that you wish had? RQ: There was a scene after the soup stand where Zheng and Olu had their first meeting and flirtation that didn't make it in. DF: There are a few scenes that I was involved with and didn't make it and it was become some actor was very bad in it. There are a few between Samba and I that didn't make the cut. Samba has such energy and when they say action, you see this pure whirlwind of energy around you and it's wonderful. Q: In the show, you have storylines around wellness, health, wellbeing. How do you two find moments of stillness and regeneration? DF: I listen. RQ: It's about presence. Q: Do you have a favorite place in AoNZ? DF: Cooper's Beach which is all the way up North and Maitai Bay. It can be the hottest day and there will be no one there. If you get the chance, you should go and just veg. Find the stillness. RQ: I loved Chemist's Warehouse. I collect perfumes and they just have them all out. In my downtime, I'd just go and sniff all the perfumes. Q: Did you take anything from set? DF: YES AND YES AND YES. I like shiny and I will take it. For Fang's costume, the hair braids. When we finished filming, I handed them over and when they turned around, I took them. I still have them to this day. The jackets I would have never gotten away with. RQ: I took home my practice sword. I whip that girl out, we have a good time in my Brooklyn apartment. Q: In a hypothetical S3, what instrument would Zheng play? What aspect of your heritage would you want to bring to Fang in hypothetical S3? RQ: I have a Chinese mandolin, I expect it would be something along those lines. DF: If I could bring anything more Samoan to Fang, it would be wearing a lavalava instead of wearing pants. Maybe a leather one! Q: Any special memories that stood out to you? RQ: I did a live w/ Kristian last year. It was the first time someone addressed me with a "they" pronoun and it moved me to tears. I didn't know I was allowed to have that experience as an older cis-gendered straight woman to access that pronoun. Q: If you were going to enter the cosplay competition, it there a character or moment you'd dress as? RQ: I'd want to be Totoro! DF: Id' want to be the marshmallow man from Ghostbusters. Q: Was the goat well behaved? DF: I loved that goat! Q: Fave scene from the show that you weren't in? DF: Con and Taika when they're bitching at each other on the boat in S2. That beautiful tension that was being held. DF: When Con would work with Taika, they create some magical stuff. And Rhys and Taika did as well. But we've seen them together - there are only 5 actors in NZ. But to see someone else work with Taika. Wow! #ofmd RQ: My favorite moment was the Fang and Roach spa day scene. You're both so tender and vulnerable and innocent and happy. DF: The eel bit me! Q: How much did you know about the show before being cast? RQ: I had seen an episode or two before auditioning. My friends were talking about how much they loved they show. Once I was cast, I binged the whole first season. DF: You were fearless! It was beautiful. Q: Why do you think Fang wears fangs? DF: We thought he wears a fang because he was bullied and wore it to look cool. Q: Who was the one who was originally meant to be sketched? DF: That will stay in the pirate treasure chest. Q: What was your worst date? DF: Any date I've been on. Q: One piece of advice you'd give to prospective actors? RQ: Don't take yourself too seriously. DF: You can only react to what you hear. That's something that Anapela does so well. She only reacts to what she hears so it's fresh. She is the best. One day I want to grow up to be like her. And that's it for now! We'll be back in a bit for the next two panels - a group panel with Con, Nathan, and David Fane and then a solo panel with DJenks!