'The Rookie' star Melissa O’Neil tells Jono, Ben & Megan about her NZ bucket list

The Rookie star Melissa O’Neil has officially ticked New Zealand off her bucket list - and it sounds like she didn’t waste a second making the most of it.

Chatting with Jono, Ben and Megan while in the country for Armageddon, Melissa shared that visiting Aotearoa had been on her wish list for years, and she finally made it happen in the best way possible - by hitting the road.

After landing in Auckland, she wasted no time setting off on a road trip, exploring Rotorua and Waitomo along the way. And while the scenery lived up to the hype, it was something else that stood out to her straight away.

As a Canadian, Melissa said New Zealand instantly felt familiar - describing it as another “smaller country” with a similar kind of energy and way of life.

Of course, she also gave fans a peek behind the scenes of The Rookie, which has continued to grow in popularity around the world. Melissa credited social media and younger audiences for helping introduce the show to new fans in recent seasons.

When it comes to playing Lucy Chen, there’s a lot more that goes into it than what you see on screen. Melissa revealed she’s done technical police training for the role - and was even planning her very first real-life police ride-along while here in New Zealand.

Before acting, Melissa’s path looked completely different. She played competitive rugby in Canada as a Number 8, a role that demands strength, grit, and teamwork - all things she says have carried through into her career today.

And if that wasn’t surprising enough, her journey into acting wasn’t exactly traditional either. At just 17, Melissa won Canadian Idol, launching her into the music industry - but she quickly realised that being a solo pop artist wasn’t the right long-term fit for her.

Safe to say, things worked out pretty well in the end.

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