Early roles included small parts in
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and
Duggan, before he landed a larger part as Scotty, one of the flatmates in 1999 comedy-drama film
Scarfies. Other noted roles include a semi-regular guest appearance in comedy-drama
Go Girls in 2011 and 2012, and a role in 2010 film ''
The Warrior's Way''. He plays a detective, Mike Shepherd, in the TV series
The Brokenwood Mysteries, which started airing in 2014 and is ongoing . Apart from acting, Rea also works as a casting director, and is the owner of Auckland-based casting agency Fly Casting. ==Awards and nominations==