Cambridge’s Maioro Barton in action on the court. Photo: supplied
He’s known more for his prowess at wheelchair basketball than acting, but Cambridge’s Maioro Barton’s appearance in the new television comedy series, Educators, has him buzzing.
Cambridge’s Maioro Barton, left, with the comedy series director Jesse Griffin, who was in the 1993 movie Heavenly Creatures with Kate Winslet.
Barton appears in episode two of series four of the TVNZ comedy series, which hit the airways earlier this month. He plays the role of a school basketball coach who has an in-game tussle with the opposition coach and then does two media sessions.
The series also stars Taika Waititi.
“It’s pretty funny… I’ve absolutely no experience in acting and it was all improvised on the spot,” Barton told The News.
His debut TV appearance was a year in the making. He had been approached by South Pacific Pictures in November 2024 inviting him to audition and was then asked to record himself acting out some of the scenes.
“I asked my work colleague Kate Martin Booker for help with my auditions, because she has some acting experience,” he said.
After several days plus a zoom call with the director, Barton heard he had landed the role – with the caveat that he needed to keep the moustache he had grown for Movember. “I had been about to shave it off when they asked me to keep it.”
Barton and his mum went up to Auckland for filming, something he said incorporated a long day of filming. The experience hasn’t left Barton with ideas of a movie career, but he did enjoy his brief foray under the spotlight.
