Kat Hawkes: Actor, Director and Producer

Kat Hawkes is an actor, producer and director whose recent work shows just how many different directions a contemporary screen career can take. Represented by Collaborate Management, Kat is currently moving between feature film, television, short-form production, voice performance and her own creative development work.

On the acting front, Kat has a lead role as journalist Louise Martin in Faith Carolyn Ward’s feature The Top Left-Hand Corner, currently in post-production. Internationally, she also has an upcoming role as a Defense Attorney in the US screen production The Senseless Law.

Closer to home, Kat plays a Judge in the New Zealand short film This Side of the World. She has also recently appeared on Shortland Street as investigative journalist Rebecca Molloy, adding one of New Zealand television’s best-known screen credits to a body of work that already stretches well beyond Aotearoa.

That range also extends into games. Kat voices Lady Elswyth in the action role-playing video game Path of Exile II, another example of a career that moves comfortably between live-action performance and voice work. Kat is also SAG-AFTRA registered, supporting her ability to work across international screen markets.

Just as interesting is what Kat is doing behind the camera. She is Executive Producer on Handlebars, an independent New Zealand short film exploring bullying, friendship and bicycles, which has just completed its Northland shoot. She is also one of the directors of international short The 60 Year Detour, a collaborative film spanning multiple countries, with further production credits available on IMDb.

Kat has taken that interest in developing work and supporting other screen creatives a step further as founder of Tamaki Labs in Auckland. The initiative brings actors, writers and film professionals together to train, develop projects, test material and build creative connections, with Kat leading its Acting Lab.

There is more still to come. Kat has an upcoming campaign appearance involving Winston Peters, with broadcast timing yet to be confirmed. Taken together, the current run of projects paints a picture of a performer increasingly working across both sides of the camera: acting, voicing characters, producing work, directing stories and helping create the spaces where new screen projects can begin.

View Kat Hawkes’ full profile with Collaborate Management, or get in touch with Collaborate for casting and representation enquiries.