Taika Waititi

Taika David Cohen ONZM (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi (/ˈtaɪkə ˈwaɪtiːti/ (listen) TY-kə WY-tee-tee), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards. His feature films Boy (2010) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) have each been the top-grossing New Zealand films. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world on its annual list in 2022.
Waititi's 2003 short film Two Cars, One Night earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. His early films which he co-wrote, and co-directed included Eagle vs Shark (2007), Boy (2010), What We Do in the Shadows (2014) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). He entered into the Marvel Cinematic Universe when he directed the superhero films Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).
Waititi gained award's attention for the black comedy film Jojo Rabbit (2019), which he also wrote and starred in as an imaginary version of Adolf Hitler. He received various awards including the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award and Writers Guild of America Award for his screenplay. Waititi also earned the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for producing the film's soundtrack.
He began his work on television as a frequent director of HBO's Flight of the Conchords (2007-2009). He then adapted What We Do in the Shadows into a television series of the same name (2019–present) which was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. He also co-created and executive produces the Hulu series Reservation Dogs (2019-present), and is a director and executive producer for the HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death (2022-present). In addition to directing an episode of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2019–present), he also voices the character IG-11, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance.
== Early life ==
Taika David Cohen was born on 16 August 1975 in Raukokore in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island, and grew up on both the East Coast and in the Aro Valley of Wellington. His father was an artist of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui descent, whilst his mother, Robin Cohen, was a schoolteacher. Waititi stated that his mother's family were Russian Jews "mixed with a bit of Irish" and other European ancestry, while his father's side was "Māori and a little bit of French Canadian". Waititi describes himself as a "Polynesian Jew". He was raised more connected to his Māori roots, in a household where Judaism was not "actively practis[ed]".
Waititi's parents split up when he was around five, and he was raised primarily by his mother. He attended Onslow College, then studied theatre at Victoria University of Wellington where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1997. He originally used his mother's surname, Cohen, for his work in film and writing, and his father's, Waititi, for visual arts endeavours. Following the success of his first short film, he continued to use Waititi professionally.
== Career ==
=== Early Career ===
While a student at Victoria University, Waititi was part of the five-member comedy ensemble So You're a Man, which toured New Zealand and Australia with some success. He was half of the comedy duo The Humourbeasts alongside Jemaine Clement, which received New Zealand's highest comedy accolade, the Billy T Award, in 1999. Among a variety of artistic interests, Waititi began making comical short films for New Zealand's annual 48-hour film contest. His short film Two Cars, One Night (2003) earned him an Academy Award nomination in 2005. At the awards ceremony, he famously feigned falling asleep as the nominations were being read. His first feature film, a romantic comedy called Eagle vs Shark, was released in U.S. theatres for limited distribution in 2007. Waititi co-wrote the film with Loren Horsley. That year, Waititi wrote and directed one episode of the TV show Flight of the Conchords and directed another.
In 2010, he acted in the New Zealand TV3 improv sketch comedy show Radiradirah, together with frequent collaborators Rhys Darby and Jemaine Clement.
His second feature, Boy, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2010, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Waititi also took one of the main roles, as the ex-con father who returns to his family. On its release in New Zealand, Boy received enthusiastic reviews and was successful at the local box office, eclipsing several records. Following the film's success, Waititi hoped its signature track, "Poi E", would get to #1 (for the second time) on the New Zealand charts. It reached #3, but became #1 on iTunes. In 2011, Waititi directed New Zealand TV series Super City starring Madeleine Sami, who plays five characters living in one city. That year, Waititi portrayed Thomas Kalmaku in the superhero film Green Lantern.
=== 2013-2019: Recognition ===
In 2013, Waititi co-wrote, co-directed and acted in the vampire comedy mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows with Clement. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2014. Waititi and Clement played members of a group of vampires who live in an appropriately gothic house in modern-day Wellington. A television adaptation of the film was commissioned in May 2018, with Waititi as an executive producer and director. The series of the same name premiered on FX in March 2019; its second season received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Waititi's fourth feature, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. When it was released in New Zealand, the comedy adventure broke Waititi's own record for a New Zealand film in its opening weekend. Based on a book by Barry Crump, it centres on a young boy (played by Julian Dennison) and a grumpy man (played by Sam Neill) on the run in the forest. Waititi wrote the initial screenplay for the 2016 Disney film Moana, which focused on gender and family. Those elements were passed over in favour of what became the final story.
In 2017, Waititi won the award for New Zealander of the Year, but was unable to receive it in person due to work commitments. That year, he directed his first major studio film, Marvel Studios's Thor: Ragnarok, which was released in October. He also portrayed Korg, a Kronan, via motion capture in the film. He had previously directed a short film series for Marvel called Team Thor, chronicling the lives of Thor and his roommate, Darryl Jacobson. Thor: Ragnarok earned critical praise and was successful at the box office. Waititi was later consulted by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely on Thor's storylines for Avengers: Infinity War, to maintain the character's consistency in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In 2019, Waititi wrote and directed Jojo Rabbit, based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, the 1940s-set story of a child in the Hitler Youth whose mother is secretly hiding a Jewish girl in their home. Waititi plays Adolf Hitler as the boy's imaginary friend. Waititi received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. He won the latter, making him the first person of Māori descent to win an Academy Award in a screenplay category, and the first indigenous person to be nominated for and win Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2021 he won the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media as a producer of the Jojo Rabbit soundtrack.
In October 2018, Lucasfilm announced that Waititi would be one of the directors of the Star Wars live-action streaming series The Mandalorian, which tells the story of a lone Mandalorian gunfighter in the period between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The series premiered on 12 November 2019; Waititi also voices a droid bounty hunter named IG-11 in the series. He directed the series' first-season finale, "Chapter 8: Redemption". His voiceover work earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance in 2020.
=== 2020-present: Recent career ===
In 2020, Waititi narrated a charity reading of James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. He portrayed Ratcatcher in the DC superhero film The Suicide Squad, released in August 2021 to positive reviews. Also in August, Waititi portrayed Antwan Hovachelik, the antagonist of the action comedy film Free Guy. With Sterlin Harjo, Waititi co-created the comedy series Reservation Dogs, which chronicles the lives of a group of indigenous Oklahoma teens, and comprises a main cast, directors, producers, and writers of indigenous peoples. It premiered on FX and received positive reviews.
Waititi executive produced, directed and starred as Blackbeard in the HBO Max comedy series Our Flag Means Death. The first season was released in March 2022. That same year, Time magazine placed him on its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Waititi wrote and directed the superhero film Thor: Love and Thunder, a sequel to Thor: Ragnarok. Principal photography finished in June 2021; it is scheduled for a July 2022 release.
Waititi also directed a feature film adaptation of the documentary Next Goal Wins prior to directing Thor: Love and Thunder. The film, which had been delayed, is set to be released in late 2022 after Armie Hammer's scenes were re-shot with Will Arnett taking over the role. He is set to direct a live-action film adaptation of Akira. He is slated to co-write a sequel to What We Do in the Shadows, titled We're Wolves, and direct and co-write a live-action Star Wars film. Waititi is attached to write, direct and executive produce two animated series for Netflix based on Roald Dahl's children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and its sequel, one adapting the novels and the other focused on the novel's Oompa Loompa characters. He is set to executive produce and direct the Showtime limited series The Auteur. He is slated to write and direct a film based on Flash Gordon for 20th Century Studios. In November 2021, it was announced that Waititi would adapt The Incal into a feature film.
== Personal life ==
Waititi was in a relationship with New Zealand actress and writer Loren Horsley for ten years. Waititi married New Zealand film producer Chelsea Winstanley in 2011. They have two daughters. He and Winstanley separated in 2018. Since 2021, Waititi has been in a relationship with British singer Rita Ora.
Waititi incorporates his Māori and Indigenous heritage into his projects, such as by including "Indigenous attachments" and conducting a Welcome to Country ceremony during the start of filming on set in Australia. He is an executive producer of the New Zealand films The Breaker Upperers (2018), Baby Done (2020), and Night Raiders (2021), all directed by Māori or Indigenous filmmakers.
== Filmography ==
=== Feature film ===
Year	Title 	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
2007	Eagle vs. Shark 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Co-written with Loren Horsley. Also casting director.
2010	Boy 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	
2014	What We Do in The Shadows	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Co-directed and co-written with Jemaine Clement.
2016	Hunt for the Wilderpeople	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	
2017	Thor: Ragnarok 	Yes 	No 	No 	
2019	Jojo Rabbit 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Adapted from the book 'Caging Skies' by Christine Leunens.
2022	Thor: Love and Thunder 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	
TBA 	Next Goal Wins 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Based on the 2014 British documentary of the same name.
=== Television ===
Year 	Title 	Director	Writer	Executive Producer	Notes
2007-2009 	Flight of the Conchords 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	4 episodes
2011 	Super City 	Yes 	No 	No 	6 episodes
2012 	The Inbetweeners 	Yes 	No 	No 	5 episodes
2018-2022 	Wellington Paranormal 	No 	No 	Yes 	Co-creator
2019-present	What We Do in the Shadows	Yes 	No 	Yes 	3 episodes
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series (2020)
2019-present	The Mandalorian 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Episode: "Chapter 8: Redemption"
2021 	Reservation Dogs 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Co-creator
2022 	Our Flag Means Death 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	1 episode
=== Short films ===
Year	Title 	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
2002	John and Pogo 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	
2004	Two Cars, One Night 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Nominated – Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film
2005	Tama Tū 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	
2005	What We Do In The Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires	Yes 	Yes 	No 	
2016	Team Thor 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	
2017	Team Thor: Part 2 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	
2018	Team Daryl 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	
=== Acting ===
==== Film acting ====
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1999	Scarfies 	Alex 	
2001	Snakeskin 	Nelson 	
2001	A New Way Home 	Max 	Short film
2004	Futile Attraction 	Waiter 	
2005	What We Do in The Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires	Viago 	Short film
2007	Eagle vs. Shark 	Gordon 	
2010	Boy 	Alamein 	
2011	Green Lantern 	Thomas Kalmaku 	
2013	The Captain 	The Captain 	Short film
2014	What We Do in The Shadows 	Viago 	
2016	Hunt for The Wilderpeople 	Minister 	
2017	Thor: Ragnarok 	Korg
Surtur (motion capture)	
2018	Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss 	Holy Storsh 	
2018	Shrimp 	Bartender 	Short film
2019	Avengers: Endgame 	Korg 	
2019	Jojo Rabbit 	Adolf Hitler 	
2021	Save Ralph 	Ralph (voice) 	Short film
2021	Deadpool and Korg React 	Korg 	Promotional short film
2021	The Suicide Squad 	Ratcatcher 1 	
2021	Free Guy 	Antwan 	
2021	The Electrical Life of Louis Wain 	Max Kase 	
2022	Lightyear 	Mo Morrison 	Voice role
2022	Thor: Love and Thunder 	Korg 	
2023	PJ Masks: The Movie 	Slekunato 	Voice role
2024	De Blob 	Comrade Black 	Voice role
2025	My Little Pony: Across the Multiverse 	Craiko 	Voice role
2030	War of the Toons 	Terrence 	Voice role
2033	Dell and Gary: The Movie 	Djarrin Andruca	Voice role
==== Television acting ====
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
2002 	The Strip 	Mostin 	13 episodes
2002 	The Tribe 	Virtual Reality Cowboy No.1 (uncredited)	Episode: "Episode #4.24"
2003 	Revelations 	Ali 	Episode: "Mended Sole"
2003 	Freaky 	Cleaner 	Episode: "Fridge, Cleaner & Sister"
2007 	Flight of the Conchords 	Gipsy Kings fan (uncredited) 	Episode: "Drive by"
Cameo; also directed
2009 	The Jaquie Brown Diaries 	Friendly Gypsy 	Episode: "Brownward Spiral"
2010 	Radiradirah 	Various 	8 episodes
2019 	What We Do In The Shadows 	Viago 	Episode: "The Trial"
2019 	The Mandalorian 	IG-11 	Voice; 3 episodes
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (2020)
2019 	Year of the Rabbit 	Merrick's Performer 	Cameo
2019 	Rick and Morty 	Glootie 	Voice
Episode: "The Old Man and The Seat"
2020 	Home Movie: The Princess Bride	Westley/The Man in Black 	
2021 	What If. . . 	Korg 	Voice
Episode: "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?"
2022 	Our Flag Means Death 	Blackbeard 	Main role; also executive producer
2028-2030	Pixelia 	Djarrin Andruca 	Voice
2030-2033	The Last Pixelian 	Djarrin Andruca 	Voice
=== Other works ===
Year	Title 	Role
2016	Doctor Strange	Wrote and directed the mid-credits scene (uncredited)
2016	Moana 	Wrote the initial screenplay (uncredited)
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