Adored honorary Kiwi Elijah Woods is excited. His second film with Kiwi director (and husband of Ensemble’s co-founder Rebecca Wadey) Ant Timpson is about to be released and he’s fantasising about the meals he ate in Aotearoa while shooting here last year. 

Unlike the first film they made together (Come to Daddy, an R18 dark, comedy horror filmed on Vancouver Island in 2018), Bookworm brought Elijah back to the filming location he’ll be long associated with.

Co-starring Evil Dead Rise star and Stranger Things newcomer Nell Fisher, Bookworm is the story of a good ol’ bookish Kiwi girl (Nell’s Mildred) with a sense of adventure. When her mother (played by The White Lotus’ Morgana O’Reilly) is injured in an accident, her estranged American father, a washed-up illusionist with few life skills, is forced to come to New Zealand to take care of her. Mildred harrasses her father to take her into the wild in search of the mythical Canterbury panther. 

Part Bigfoot genre movie and part a touching examination of parenthood, it’s a film that combines subject matter close to both Ant’s and Elijah’s heart, this time wrapped up in a wholesome PG rating.

A man of impeccable taste, Elijah has in the past worked with friend, photographer and filmmaker Autumn de Wilde on a Prada campaign, DJs with his friend Zach Cowie under the moniker Wooden Wisdom, and is friends with Kate and Laura Mulleavy of LA fashion brand Rodarte. He’s regarded by many – except perhaps Jared Leto – as one of the nicest people in show business.

Another example of his incredible taste? Early next year Elijah will marry long-term partner Mette-Marie Kongsved, one of the most beautiful (in every sense of the word) human beings we’ve ever met – and the person who named Ensemble.

Elijah and Mette-Marie were friends for several years, before falling in love while making the Sundance award-winning film I Don’t Feel At Home in This World Anymore, which Mette-Marie produced, starring Elijah and Melanie Lynskey. When asked the best thing about the Danish producer, who also worked on Come to Daddy and Bookworm, Elijah brightens. “There's too many to name. She speaks seven languages. She is a bright shining light that makes a huge impression on everyone that she meets. She's very funny. She loves adventure. She loves food as much as I do. We share a lot of the same interests. She loves the Danish hotdog.”

Elijah is a self-proclaimed foodie, devoted to pizza, sandwiches and travelling the world in pursuit of delicious food – and that extended to his time in NZ. “Previously [to filming Bookworm], I've not really spent any time in Auckland. The lion’s share of my experience of NZ was in Wellington, or based in Wellington and popping off to various places throughout the duration of shooting [Lord of the] Rings,” recalls Elijah. “The closest we got to Auckland was Hamilton. I'd been to Auckland once previously, for the America's Cup; I think I was there for all of three days. It feels to me that the food scene in NZ has really exploded in the last 10 years.

“I have really fond memories of restaurants from 20 years ago in Wellington, but I didn't know Auckland at all. So on this recent trip, being taken to different restaurants, going to Ponsonby for the first time and getting a lay of the land of Auckland culturally and through its food, was so wonderful and really eye-opening. I didn't know the city at all. I didn't know what the vibe was. I'm so grateful, because I really fell in love with Auckland.”

What’s the best meal you've ever eaten?

It's a hard question to answer, but I would probably say it was at Fäviken in Sweden. Mette-Marie and I went there for New Year’s when we’d just started dating. We built our entire trip around eating there; we’d seen a profile on it and the chef, Magnus Nilsson, on Chef's Table. It’s remained one of my favourite meals, both in terms of an experience and the food. It was just totally all encompassing. 

There were a few guest rooms so we opted to stay there and it  was just magical. It was snowing, we drove up, there were these fire pits outside and a gentleman in a beautiful suit came to our car and he's like, ‘Elijah, Mette-Marie welcome.’ We were in the experience from that moment and the meal hadn't even started. 

The meal itself was incredible. And the environment, it was like two tiered. You started the meal downstairs in this one area by a fireplace, and then moved up to this main dining room, in this old rustic, almost barn-like building. It was just magical. 

The meal ended with cigars and cognac in a teepee outside. It was unbelievable. Oh my god. Then there was breakfast the next morning. It was totally magical and insane. That’s hard to top. The restaurant doesn't exist anymore. Magnus stepped down. He has an apple orchard now.

What were the best things you ate in Aotearoa?

Sheffield pies

When I got down to Christchurch to film, we had a little less than a week of rehearsal with Nell, myself and Ant. I’d had Covid, which prevented me from leaving Auckland to get down there early. There were a couple of days travelling around and seeing some of the locations with Ant and Katz [Dan Katz, director of photography] and it was really lovely. It was lovely to get this on the ground experience, familiarising ourselves with specific locations and then ultimately rehearsing those scenes in those places.

And meat pies were a very big part of our experience down there. Look, the New Zealand meat pie is all over NZ, of course. But there are quite a few pie shops in and around Canterbury. I wasn't in pre-production long enough to have taken a full tour of all the meat pies but I did try a couple from different places and the Sheffield pies were in my top spot. 

They became a kind of North Star of the experience, because Sheffield was in between many of our locations, between Methven and Castle Hill. And once you have a Sheffield pie, you’re kind of required to go back. Mette-Marie and the kids loved them too. Then we were like, ‘well we’ve gotta get more and put 'em in the freezer.’ So we had a bunch in the freezer at one stage, and I remember a couple of nights coming home from work and saying, ‘it's going to be a pie night tonight.’ 

They played an important role in our experience of making Bookworm and their pies are absolutely legendary.

Tasting menu at Omni

That was incredible. Absolutely loved that place. [Editor’s note: Omni is now closed, with Parro taking over the space]

Pizza and blood orange margaritas at Lilian 

The last night we were in Auckland, we went to Lilian and their pizza is awesome. I’m looking at photos from that night now, it was absolutely stellar. And those cocktails - I think we had like three or four that night. My God, it was so good.

Daily Bread Pt Chevalier

We can't not talk about Daily Bread. The cafe and bakery that I still dream about in Los Angeles – and we have no shortage of great bakeries and incredible coffee shops. But there is just something about that combination. Their breads are amazing. Their prepared foods are incredible. Their hot cross buns as well. There’s just something about the combination of elements that makes them extremely special.

Toasted sandwich from Let Them Swing

The Korean toasted sandwiches, so good.

Baby G Burger

I'd heard about Baby G through our friend group chat with Ant and Rebecca before arriving in NZ but we didn't know if it would pop up during the window we were in Auckland. Luckily, on our first night out in Ponsonby Rd we stumbled across it. It absolutely lived up to the hype! [Ed note: Baby G now has a permanent location, conveniently near the Hollywood Cinema at 1879 Great North Rd, Avondale]

Primo E Secundo

Primo was essentially the film’s home base in Methven, if we weren't shooting it's where you'd most commonly find cast and crew. Maria, the owner and purveyor, had been a part of the catering team on Rings as well!

MORE AOTEAROA HIGHLIGHTS

Bookworm is in cinemas nationwide from August 8.