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Kieran Mitchell is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who was portrayed by British actor Adam Rickitt through numerous high profile storylines from early 2007 to mid-2010. The character arrived to the soap as a mysterious love interest for Claire Solomon (Emily Robins), only to go through a storyline that saw Kieran discover he has a brain tumour, memory losses and is really a pimp from Thailand. His criminal past sends Kieran to the forefront of the show during a storyline which saw Claire and 4 other characters murdered by a psychopathic serial killer who later turned out to be Kieran's flat mate. Kieran's story arc's would often see him portrayed as an antagonist but the character also had numerous romances and light storylines, including two engagements to Libby Jeffries (Fleur Saville) and a short lived marriage to schoolgirl Sophie McKay (Kimberley Crossman). Becoming the owner of the hospital's local bar The I.V, Kieran found himself performing numerous criminal deeds, culmilating in 2009 when he accidentally hit and killed good friend Morgan Braithwaite (Bonnie Soper) in his car. The character's criminal past finally caught up with him in 2010 and he was killed, falling off a cliff while fighting with an ex-enemy in the show's first ever 90-minute episode. ==Creation and casting== The character of Kieran Mitchell had been planned for years but producers were struggling to find a suitable casting choice and subsequently the character was pushed back several times. Adam Rickitt was set to visit New Zealand to work on a film and after talking with a friend who worked in casting at ''Shortland Street'', Rickitt was offered the role. Producer Jason Daniel stated, "It just so happened that we were introducing a new character who was a perfect fit for Adam, and after reading the character profile he was very keen to play the role". Rickitt was given opportunity of creative freedom as the characters story lines were not fully formed.〔 After learning about the character and his upcoming storylines, Rickitt decided, "I’ve got to do this". He signed a 3-month recurring contract.〔 In February 2007 the casting was made public and the character was announced to be a "mysterious English traveler". The character was promised to have a dark past and several romance story lines. Rickitt stated, "The character I'm playing has so much potential and I am really excited about getting to know him".〔 Kieran made his debut on screen on 15 March 2007. In June, Rickitt extended his stay on the show when he signed a further 1-year contract. In 2008 Rickitt decided to stay as a regular fixture on the soap due to storylines involving romance with Libby Jeffries (Fleur Saville) and the reemergence of Kieran's 'dark side'. In 2009 Steven Zanoski replaced Jason Daniel as producer and decided to significantly change the character of Kieran. However within a year the character had "hit a brick wall" and producers decided to write the character out.〔 In December 2009, Rickitt was informed he would be getting written out of the soap. Zanoski commented on the departure: "I think for that character we would always have had to do something big. He has been larger than life, and has taken the stories on different directions to other characters on Shortland Street. I think part of that was because Kieran didn't have a medical qualification, he wasn't part of the hospital, he formed some of the extended world of Shortland Street as the manager of the bar and he came in with quite a deep, dark back story and that kept playing out on screen in the things he was doing, choices he was making,".〔 A 90-minute episode had been planned for 2010 and it was decided Kieran's departure would suit the time frame.〔 Zanoski explained, stating; "Being able to tell () story within the context of 90 minutes was a different thing for us. Rather than extending it over a couple of weeks we were able to make quite a satisfying beginning, middle and end within one episode."〔 It was announced in March 2010 that Kieran would be departing the show later in the year and that it would be an 'explosive event' and 'the biggest storyline since Joey'. It was soon confirmed that Kieran would depart on the shows first ever 90-minute episode in August. Kieran made his last appearance on 2 August 2010, where the character was seen falling from a cliff. The scene was the first in the soap to utilize green screen technology and Rickitt was pleased to be a part of it, "The best and saddest of days, best because it was a chance to be a part of Shorty's biggest ever production to date, and saddest because I knew it was the closing curtain on the journey of Kieran." Producers ensured that the body of Kieran was not viewed on screen so as to leave an ambiguity over whether he had really died. Zanoski commented on Kieran's final scene, "The important thing about this episode is that even though it's saying goodbye to the character of Kieran, it's certainly not an ending."〔 Rickitt also expressed his interest to reprise the role, "I don't think it's the end. I love the place too much."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kieran Mitchell」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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