Fern Sutherland

Fern Sutherland (born 17 October 1987) is a New Zealand actress, best known for her roles as Dawn in The Almighty Johnsons, and Detective Sims in The Brokenwood Mysteries.

Early life and education Sutherland spent her first three years in Mangakino, where her parents worked as shearing contractors. Her family then moved to New Plymouth where her father worked as a landscape laborer and her mother became a waitress.

She attended Sacred Heart Girls College in New Plymouth, and then at age 18 she moved to Auckland to attend Unitec Institute of Technology for drama school. Since 2014, Sutherland has shared top billing in the series The Brokenwood Mysteries.

She has said of herself, "I get extreme stage fright and really bad anxiety, so by rights acting is probably the worst career choice for me, but the truth is I really love being able to create and bring characters to life."

Sutherland received a nomination for best supporting actress at the 2011 Aotearoa Film and Television Awards (AFTAs) for her role in The Almighty Johnsons. After the end of her relationship with Kilner, she has split her time between New Zealand and Thailand, where she spends months at a time practicing Muay Thai in Phuket.

Film Year Title Role Notes 2006 A Book By Its Cover Lead Dir: Campbell Rousselle 2007 Trash Poppy Dir: John Callen 2010 Thud Nurse Dir: Nick Graham 2024 The Mountain Wendy Dir: Rachel House 2024 A Mistake Jessica Dir: Christine Jeffs

Television