Life after Shorty BEN'S ON THE TOOLS!

House that! The soap favourite's set on building a new dream

- Elisabeth Easther 

Former Shortland Street star Ben Mitchell is a man with incredibleenergy. For nearly 20 years, the lively actor took that dynamism to Ferndale, where he won legions of fans playing Dr TK Samuels. During that time, Ben's character navigated medical emergencies, multiple marriages and a car bomb. He even got away with murder!

"It's hard to believe I was there for 17 years," the actor says with a shake of his head, clearly astonished to have enjoyed such a good innings on the show. "I am supergrateful too because playing TK for so long gave me a really strong sense of purpose and direction. Although frankly, I've no idea how I lasted so long."

But all good things come to an end and in May, the popular actor walked off set for the last time. But rather than wait around for his next big break, Ben re-routed his energy into the world of construction.

Ben’s new project is NZ Concrete Homes, the company he runs with his best mate Dougie Tuhoro. He hasn’t had time to shed any tears over leaving the long-running soap.

“Having watched lots of people depart over the years, I always wondered what I’d feel like when my time came to leave Shorty. I always imagined it would be this monumental emotional departure, but when I left, I was surprised I didn’t feel any sadness. If anything, I felt numb and then a bit weirded out about not feeling very much.”

Ben admits to feeling some grief when he watched TK’s final scene on TV.

“It wasn’t until I actually saw it onscreen that it hit me emotionally. Seeing the story play out through the audience’s eyes, not as an actor, I felt much more, which is the incredible power of storytelling.”