An aspiring actor, who community magistrate Sally O’Brien said appeared to have no other skills to fall back on, escaped being convicted for drink-driving when he appeared in the Queenstown District Court on Friday.
Nikolai George Solakof (29), of Wanaka, had earlier admitted driving with a blood alcohol level of 184mg on June 26 last year at Wanaka’s Eely Point recreation reserve car park.
Ms O’Brien said police stopped him after watching him walk to a vehicle, get in the driver’s seat, start the car and reverse out.
His lawyer, Ben Alexander, said Solakof had plans to take alternative transport home, but had left his jacket in the vehicle.
He went to retrieve it and then realised if he left his car where it was overnight, he would receive an infringement notice.
"He intended to move his vehicle a short distance — he moved it within the car park, a matter of a few metres, and was stopped by police."
He had no prior convictions, had entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and had "self-imposed as much punishment as he can" since.
That included making a $1000 donation to the Red Cross for Cyclone Gabrielle relief, stepping away from "self-identified areas of risk" and completing a defensive driving course.
Mr Alexander said Solakof had spent the past decade working towards his chosen career as an actor, and a conviction would "spell the end of his career".
That was because actors with convictions essentially faced blanket bans for TV commercial work, which was the stepping stone to the more lucrative TV series and film industries.
"The consequences [of a conviction] can’t be rated as anything less than serious," Mr Alexander said.
While police were opposed to the discharge, Ms O’Brien referred to an affidavit from Solakof’s agent, Tracy Patel, who confirmed the effective blanket ban.
"This is because actors are, by their nature ... identified with various commercial brands.
"Were there to be a conviction ... that may reflect badly on the brand."
Ms O’Brien said while there might not be such a ban for TV series or film work, any actor with a conviction would "certainly" be put at the bottom of the pile.
"There is no evidence before me that would indicate you have other skills that would enable you to obtain alternative employment."
By a "very narrow margin" she was convinced to grant the discharge. However, Solakof was disqualified from driving for 28 days and ordered to apply for an alcohol interlock licence and, later, a zero alcohol licence.
Court reporter
