NZ warms ICE man Patrick Bergin

ICE is set 11 years in the future, when global warming has melted the Arctic polar ice cap.

Patrick Bergin in a scene from ICE.

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Irish actor Patrick Bergin came to New Zealand to star in a movie about global warming – and had his heart melted by the beauty of our "country of the future".

The award-winning actor – who has starred in Sleeping With the Enemy with Julia Roberts, Robin Hood, Patriot Games and Map of the Human Heart – spent five weeks working on the movie ICE. Based on a global meltdown, the movie also stars Frances O'Connor, Richard Roxburgh, Sam Neill and Stephen Moyer.

Bergin made the most of his stay – checking out New Zealand's natural beauty and a host of night-spots; with the keen musician joining several bands on stage.

And the movie veteran said New Zealand had been one of the most special filming locations he had experienced in his career.

"I have a theory why I have been unwinding down here," Bergin told Sunday News. "The water goes down the plug hole the other way around [in New Zealand]. We [humans] are 80% water and we spin the other way when we are down here – it helps us unwind. My message would be come to New Zealand and unwind. The scenery is absolutely fantastic. And the people are just gorgeous. New Zealand is the country of the future."

Bergin flew out of New Zealand last week, heading to Toronto, Canada, for his next film project.

The last two weeks of his stay were spent shooting in Auckland.

But he said the highlight of his first time to New Zealand had been the crew's initial stay in the southern wonderland of central Otago.

"I went down to Queenstown and did everything. I went up the rivers, went fishing and went panning for gold," he said. "I just had a great time – a really, really wonderful time. I had seen the Lord of the Rings movies that were shot down there and was very impressed.

"I own a bit of property in Ireland which is right beside the highest peak in Ireland [Carrauntoohil], I am very proud of it and very boastful about it. But when I saw the scenery down there I was deeply humbled."

But Bergin said he wasn't going to follow overseas stars – including singer Shania Twain – and buy his own slice of southern splendour.

"I can understand why people would buy land down there. And I certainly will, please God, come back – I know there is a lot more that I want to see," he said.

While Bergin had a blast, the film he was working on was anything but a laughing matter. ICE, like The Day After Tomorrow, is the latest in a number of productions aimed at the potentially catastrophic affects of global warming.

"It is a very important subject and one that will dominate world politics, as much as anything else, over the next period," he said. "It is important to all of us that we pay attention to what is going on. And there are many ways to do it – even if we only took one day off from our rushing around we would save 10 to 15% of world energy right there.

"It is very practical stuff. People are going to have to get out of their cars one day a week or stay at home one day a week and enjoy the beautiful things that surround us, like you have here in New Zealand."

ICE, based on James Follett's bestseller, is set 11 years in the future, when the effects of global warming are melting the Arctic polar ice cap and has turned southern Europe to desert.

Environmentalist Prof Thom Archer, played by Roxburgh, warns of a new ice age and points a finger at sinister energy giant Halo. The multi-national is drilling on the Greenland Glacier and causing it to melt. But his warnings are ignored.

Then, after a colleague is murdered, Thom realises he must put years of desk-bound theory behind him and fight for his survival and the survival of Earth itself.