The 18-year-old Central Southland College student has been selected with 47 other secondary students from across New Zealand to perform at the National Shakespeare Schools Production (NSSP) in Wellington tonight.
He said finding roles had its challenges coming from Winton.
However, he was determined to make a pathway for himself.
"As long as you're committed to it, it doesn't really matter where you're from. It just takes a bit extra effort for those who live in very rural places."
His mother encouraged him to get into acting when he was younger.
He knew performing arts was his calling straight away when he was on stage during Invercargill Music Theatre’s production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 2018.
He played Sweeney Todd in his school’s production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street earlier this month and loved it.
Going to Wellington, he felt like a "fish out of water" being the most southern actor there. However, he felt really welcomed by his peers and received much support.
The teenager has spent this week rehearsing and doing workshops before tonight and tomorrow’s performances.
He is playing the role of Ferdinand in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Shakespeare was "pretty foreign" to Kynan-Wilde who has done only a couple of scenes from different plays in the past.
He found it difficult to relate to the language of the 16th-century playwright.
"I think, with Shakespeare, it's very difficult to understand because it's very broad."
He was hoping to portray Ferdinand as a symbol of hope and lift the energy of the performance with a lighter mood.
Kynan-Wilde plans to study for a bachelor of performing arts and music at the University of Otago.
Trinity Catholic College’s Meadow Stewart and King’s High School’s Ethan Shaw-Wood have also been selected for NSSP.
