Danielle Cormack may be one of New Zealand's most respected actresses, but she doesn't have the same esteem for some of her roles. 

The Kiwi actress had been waiting for a homegrown role to bring her back to New Zealand, and she found it in new black comedy Fresh Eggs.

In the new TVNZ show, she plays Lulu, a career criminal, psychopath, and a tough overstretched mother determined to protect her patch.

She’s no stranger to a strong female role having earned international awards and acclaim as prisoner Queen Bea in Wentworth.

Cormack told Francesca Rudkin that she could not turn down this character when it was offered to her. 

"The level of theatricality that I felt the role could carry, that excited me, as I do a lot of very naturalistic work, and I thought this could be more art and elevated."

She says that it felt different from what has been on New Zealand screens before.

Cormack would know, having starred in everything from Shortland Street to The Cult to Maddigan's Quest.

However, despite having a big back catalogue, she says that there are some roles she wished she hadn't taken on.

"I think they've been roles I've taken on that were mindless, like High Tide." 

Cormack says it can be a "gamble" how the projects turn out.

"I've read some scripts that I felt would just jump off the screen and then they've been realised very differently through the process of how they've been directed or how the other creatives have pulled together their department."

However, even when a project does not turn out great, Cormack says she still learns something from each role. 

She says that she always looks for scripts that tell stories that haven't been told before, and that's what gets her attention. 

Cormack says that Fresh Eggs is far removed from those projects. With heightened production values, such as the cinematography, that give

"It invites people to view the show in a different way. You're still gunning for the characters, you're still following the story, but I think it allows the audience to go along on a journey with a different approach to view it."