William Griffith

Born in 1994, William Griffith was the third of 5 children raised by his parents, David and Lise. He was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and from 1995-1997 lived in Cambridge, England. His family the permanently relocated to Rotorua, New Zealand, where he was schooled, and subsequently befriended by (soon to be) director Richard Todd. In 2007, Todd and co-actor Carl Anderson founded Llama Studios and filmed their first film: Secret Agent Ninjas. A 15 minute, low-budget comedy, it attracted the eye of the 13 year old Griffith, and he was accepted into the ranks of the studio, primarily as an actor. His first film was released on November 11. The Mafia-comedy The Cappuchinos, was slightly longer than SAN, but on a similar budget. Nonetheless, it was enjoyed by all those who saw it, and Griffith performed admirably alongside Todd and Anderson in the part of the antagonist, Mikey Walowski. 2008 saw the release of the sequel to SAN, SAN2. This was the first Llama studios film to be filmed at locations other than Todd's house and back yard, filmed partially en location at the Redwoods of Rotorua, New Zealand. In this, Griffith again played the antagonist, this time Garrick E. (a tribute to a friend of the trio who passed away). This film also saw the introduction of several new actors, primarily Benjamin Williams, who then became a regular actor in subsequent films, and a distinguished member of Llama Studios. In 2008, Griffith played the role of Rear Admiral Scotty McGillicutty Kiltsman-Haggis in the epic war film, Zanzibar. This role required a consistent Scottish accent from Griffith, which was executed with moderate success. Released on the 18th of December, this film was met with mostly positive reviews. It also showed the cast and crew venturing further than they had before, with some filming taking place at Lake Rotoma, New Zealand. For his next project with Griffith, Anderson and Williams, Todd tried a somewhat different approach. In early 2009, after a notably short filming period, the 3-episode series Crimes and Punishments (a parody of Law and Order)was released. This series was particularly low-budget, but easily the wittiest and most slapstick of all movies at the time. In this series, Griffith played the role of the noble, but misguided and perpetually drunken (like pretty much all the rest of the characters) Shamrock O'Clover. A memorable quote from this character is: "you're an alco-hole". This series, and in particular this character are notable for their punnery. There was a relatively large gap in between this and the next film, which was released in May, 2010. This film, entitled Aussie: Bushwhacking Out Back, is a mockumentary, set in the barren desert and thick jungle of central Australia, although it should be noted that this film was filmed only in Rotorua. For the first time, Griffith played the undisputed primary role, playing the part of enthusiastic, David Attenborough-esque documentist Te Wiremu Jones (a parody on his actual name). This film was the first that used a camera that actually recorded sound for the bulk of filming. The previous films were mostly voiced over. The next film marked a significant step up for director Todd, in that this film had both a solid plot and a written script, something which previous films lacked. This film was the second sequel created by Llama Studios, The Cappuchinos 2: Vow of Silence and was released February 25th, 2011. Griffith was not the same character in this as he was in the last, as he had been killed off, instead he played the role of the right hand man to the main protagonist. But it was Todd's next film that was truly his, and Griffith's biggest triumph. Journey to Fuerte Valley, released February 25th 2012, was Todd's biggest film of all (in terms of both length, budget and success),and is a Indiana Jones style action/adventure, and the most impressive of all Llama Studios productions in terms of off-set activity. This film was partially filmed en location at Ohakune, Okere Falls, Mt Ruapehu, all New Zealand Perhaps most impressive was the filming from inside an aeroplane, which when compared to the fact that all of the early Llama Studios films were done in Todd's back yard, is rather impressive. In this film, Griffith played the part of the loyal, wisecracking sidekick, Stanley Baldwin. This is another of Griffith's characters who is particularly noted for quotations and puns, some of which can be seen in the information page for the film (the only Llama Studios film with an information page). Llama Studios have also filmed and released several mock-trailers of which Griffith is a part of. None of these trailers were actually turned into films or otherwise. They include, but are not limited to, Crimes and Punishments: LA edition, The Lincoln Park Homeboy, The Murderings of Count Murdula, Fryingman and more. Director Todd has also twice entered in the New Zealand Goethe Film Festival, in 2009 and 2010. In the first of these films, Die Mauer, Griffith played the part of Ted Grossanat, the main protagonist, faced with the challenge of rescuing his uncle from a tyrannous government. This film did not place in the competition. The second film, Die Not der Nachbarn, saw Griffith in a minor role as the General of the 'Blue City', an antagonist, attempting to stop his daughters Romeo and Juliet style love affair with the son of the 'Red City' General. This film placed second in the senior section of the competition.