Olivia Tennet

Olivia Tennet (b. January 4, 1991) is a New Zealand actress, mostly known in her home country for her role as Tuesday Warner on the nightly medical drama Shortland Street between 2007 and 2008. Outside of her homeland, she is best known for playing the role of Teen Genius Dr. K on Power Rangers RPM, the seventeenth season of the long-running Power Rangers franchise which premiered in 2009.

Before her two most notable roles, Tennet gained exposure at a young age, first appearing on an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess during its fourth season (1999) as a runaway princess named Alesia. Since then, she gained roles in movies like Kids World and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. She would make her first major television appearance on the post-apocalyptic circus fantasy Maddigan's Quest in 2006, playing the role of Lilith. A year later, she would gain the role of Tuesday Warner on Shortland Street which would give her the most exposure in her home country. She would appear on the soap opera in 2007 and in 2008. Her stint on Power Rangers RPM soon followed.

Outside of television and movie appearances, Tennet is also an up-and-coming stage performer, having participated in school plays in Auckland, as well as in major productions like Stepping Out with the Auckland Theatre Company. She is also a dancer and has her own YouTube channel which has videos of her choreographed jazz, tap, hip hop, and lyrical dance performances.

Her most recent on-screen appearances have been on the Kiwi television comedy The Almighty Johnsons as the character Delphine, and in Underbelly NZ: Land of the Long Green Cloud as Julie Theilman.

Notable On-Screen Roles:

Kids World--Nicole Mitchell (2000). (Winner, Best Juvenile Performer, 2000 Nokia New Zealand Film and Television Awards.)
Watermark--Megan (2001). (Winner, Best Actress, 2003 New Zealand Drifting Clouds International Short Film Festival.)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers--Freda (2002)
Maddigan's Quest--Lilith (2006).
Shortland Street--Tuesday Warner (2007, 2008).
Power Rangers RPM--Dr. K (2009).

Notable Stage Roles:

Stepping Out--Lynne. Production with the Auckland Theatre Company (2010).
Othello--Emilia. Production with the Peach Theatre Company (2011).
The Wizard of Oz--Dorothy Gale. Production with the Peach Theatre Company (2011).

Tropes Associated with Olivia Tennet:

The Cast Showoff: Olivia demonstrates her dancing and singing talents while playing Lilith on Maddigan's Quest. One episode in particular ("Tunnellers") has her perform her character's two songs to a grateful audience of underground creatures.
Daddy's Girl: Some of her characters, namely Lilith, Tuesday Warner, and Delphine.
Dance Battler: Averted. In a case of What Could Have Been, Olivia's dance talents could have been used to choreograph more fight scenes on RPM.
The Danza: Averted twice:
- Shortland Street had a character named Olivia Jeffries (though everyone called her Libby), played by Fleur Saville, who had shared a few scenes with Olivia Tennet's character Tuesday Warner.
- Although she participated in a production of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which has a character named Olivia, she plays the lead role of Viola.
Dawson Casting: And how. Just take a look through these examples.
- Olivia was 14 when she played 11-year-old Lilith on Maddigan's Quest.
- She was 17 years old when production began on Power Rangers RPM, but she portrayed her character at ages 14, 15, and 18 during flashbacks in the episode "Doctor K". It can be safely assumed that Dr. K turns 20 during the episode "If Venjix Won" as her character is 19 before then.
- She was 19 years old when she filmed scenes for The Almighty Johnsons. Her character Delphine turned 21 six weeks prior to her meeting Axl Johnson.
- She played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, who is typically around eleven years old or so in most productions--even though Olivia is 20 years old as of 2011. It's justified as she looks a lot younger.
Fake American: Some of her roles, most notably Dr. K and especially Dorothy. (She is from Kansas, after all.)
Genki Girl: When she's not on stage or filming on set. Can exhibit some Cloudcuckoolander tendencies.
Hollywood Homely: Invoked during her time on RPM as Dr. K and even more so during her guest appearance on The Almighty Johnsons as Delphine.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Especially prevalent in ensemble scenes during RPM as everyone else was taller than her.
Meaningful Name: William Shakespeare is credited with coining the name Olivia in the play Twelfth Night. Fitting, as Olivia (the actress) loves performing Shakespearean plays, competed (and won several awards) in a national Shakespeare competition, and even performed at the Globe Theatre. And she has even been in a production of Twelfth Night.
Nerds Are Sexy: Aside from playing a nerd on TV, Olivia admits to having enjoyed her studies in school and to being a "bit of a nerd."
Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Although she could hold down a Fake American accent on RPM quite nicely, it slips from time to time, as with the most of the rest of the cast as they are from either New Zealand or Australia, as with many past Disney-produced Power Rangers seasons. It becomes particularly hilarious during the behind-the-scenes episode "And . . . Action!" in which the cast must remain in character. During the episode's blooper reel, she flubs some lines for her character, muttering "So close!" when she flubs the line again--in her ridiculously thick Kiwi accent.
Older Than They Look: Her birthday's in 1991.
Shakespearean Actress: Olivia and a classmate competed in a national Shakespeare competition in 2008, winning several awards, and also earning them a trip to the Globe Theatre in London to participate in workshops with the Young Shakespeare Company in 2009 after production on RPM ended, being trained by tutors from both the Globe Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has also participated in productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, and Othello.
She's Got Legs: She might be short, but she's got knockout legs. It helps as she's been a dancer most of her life.
Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: Her character on Shortland Street, Tuesday Warner, was born in 1995. She comes back at age 14 in 2007.
Spell My Name with an "S": Her last name is TENNET (hey, it's a palindrome!), but misspellings occur quite frequently (Tennett, Tennent, Tennant). She was credited as "Olivia Tennent as Dr. K" during her first on-screen credits appearance in the RPM episode "Ranger Green". Oops.
Stylistic Suck: Although Olivia sings pretty well as Lilith on Maddigan's Quest, the other members of Maddigan's Fantasia would rather not hear her sing. Also, in the play Stepping Out, she plays a young nurse named Lynne who takes tap-dancing lessons--even though Olivia has been tap-dancing since she was four years old, and has won several awards for her dancing talents.
Teen Idol: Her time on Shortland Street as Tuesday Warner, arguably.
Teens Are Short: She is 5' 3.75" (162 cm).
What Beautiful Eyes!: She has a pair of very striking green eyes. It adds to her Moe-ness.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She has a phobia of berries. Anything berries. Ironic, given that she's very sweet.
Youngest Child Wins: Olivia isn't the only member of her family to be a performer. Her older sister Emma is also a dancer, and her older brother Anton is also an actor. She just happens to be the one who has had the most exposure amongst the three.