Peter Vere-Jones. Photo: RNZ/Supplied? He had been a professional actor since the 1960s and his career included parts in several Peter Jackson films, such as Bad Taste and the second Hobbit film. He also was a member of the Shortland Street cast. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and golden jubilee honours, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In 1989, he made a television documentary about his own battle with bowel cancer, called Crisis.