Taika Waititi is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian. Waititi began his film career in the early 2000s by directing short films. His short film Two Cars, One Night (2003) got him an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. His first feature film, Eagle vs Shark , was released in 2007. Waititi's second film, Boy (2010) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.
He co-wrote and co-directed, and starred in the horror comedy film What We Do in the Shadows (2014) with Jemaine Clement, which was later adapted into a television series of the same name. In 2016, he wrote and directed the adventure comedy-drama film, Hunt for the Wilderpeople . [1] [2] The following year, he directed Marvel Studios's Thor: Ragnarok , and portrayed the alien Korg in the film. He wrote and directed the black comedy film, Jojo Rabbit (2019), in which he also starred in as an imaginary version of Adolf Hitler. Jojo Rabbit received six Academy Award nominations and won Best Adapted Screenplay. Waititi also earned a Grammy Award for producing the film's soundtrack.
In television, Waititi directed four episodes of the sitcom, Flight of the Conchords . He co-created and executive produced the dramedy series Reservation Dogs , and directed, executive produced, and starred in the comedy Our Flag Means Death . In addition to directing an episode of the series The Mandalorian in 2019, he also voiced the character IG-11, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance.
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Eagle vs Shark | Yes | Yes | No |
2010 | Boy | Yes | Yes | No |
2014 | What We Do in the Shadows | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2016 | Hunt for the Wilderpeople | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2017 | Thor: Ragnarok | Yes | No | No |
2019 | Jojo Rabbit | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2022 | Thor: Love and Thunder | Yes | Yes | No |
2023 | Next Goal Wins | Yes | Yes | Yes |
TBA | Klara and the Sun | Yes | No | Yes |
TBD | Akira | No | Yes | No |
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | John and Pogo | Yes | Yes | No |
2003 | Two Cars, One Night | Yes | Yes | No |
2004 | Heinous Crime [3] | Yes | Yes | No |
2005 | Tama Tū | Yes | Yes | No |
What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires | Yes | Yes | No | |
2013 | The Captain | No | Yes | No |
2016 | Team Thor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2017 | Team Thor: Part 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2018 | Team Darryl | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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 (US version) | Yes | No | No | 5 episodes |
2018–2022 | Wellington Paranormal | No | No | Yes | Co-creator |
2019–2024 | What We Do in the Shadows | Yes | Story | Yes | 3 episodes |
2019 | The Mandalorian | Yes | No | No | Episode: "Chapter 8: Redemption" |
2021–2023 | Reservation Dogs | No | Yes | Yes | Co-creator |
2022–2023 | Our Flag Means Death | Yes | No | Yes | 1 episode |
2024 | Time Bandits | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-creator |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Scarfies | Alex | |
2001 | Snakeskin | Nelson | |
A New Way Home | Max | Short film | |
2004 | Futile Attraction | Waiter | |
Heinous Crime [3] | Various | Short film | |
Toy Boy [4] | Jack Hammer | Short film | |
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 [5] | The Captain | Short film |
2013 | Coffee Town | Cosmetology Instructor | Uncredited |
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 | |
Shrimp | Bartender | Short film | |
2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Korg | |
Jojo Rabbit | Adolf Hitler | ||
2021 | Save Ralph | Ralph (voice) | Short film |
Deadpool and Korg React | Korg | Promotional short film | |
The Suicide Squad | Ratcatcher I | ||
Free Guy | Antwan Hovachelik | ||
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | Max Kase | ||
2022 | Lightyear | Mo Morrison | Voice role |
Thor: Love and Thunder | Korg, Ninny the Nonnie | [6] | |
2023 | Next Goal Wins | American Samoan Priest |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | The Strip | Mostin | 13 Episodes |
The Tribe | Virtual Reality Cowboy No.1 | Episode: "Episode #4.24" (uncredited) | |
2003 | Revelations | Ali | Episode: "Mended Sole" |
Freaky | Cleaner | Episode: "Fridge, Cleaner & Sister" | |
2007 | Flight of the Conchords | Gipsy Kings fan | Episode: "Drive By" (uncredited cameo) |
2009 | The Jaquie Brown Diaries | Friendly Gypsy | Episode: "Brownward Spiral" |
2010 | Radiradirah | Various | 8 episodes |
2019 | What We Do in the Shadows | Viago | 3 episodes |
2019–2023 | The Mandalorian | IG-11 [7] | Voice; 5 episodes |
IG-12 (Grogu) | Voice; 2 episodes | ||
2019 | Year of the Rabbit | Merrick's Performer | Cameo |
Rick and Morty | Glootie | Voice; episode: "The Old Man and the Seat" | |
2020 | Home Movie: The Princess Bride | Westley / The Man in Black | Episode: "Chapter Nine: Have Fun Storming the Castle!" [8] |
2021 | RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under | Guest star | 1 episode |
2021-2023 | What If...? | Korg [9] | Voice; 3 episodes: "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?", "What If... Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?", "What If... Iron Man Crashed Into the Grandmaster?" |
2022-2023 | Our Flag Means Death | Edward "Blackbeard" Teach | Main role [10] |
2023 | History of the World, Part II | Sigmund Freud | 1 episode |
2023 | The Simpsons | Himself | Voice; episode: "Murder She Boat" |
2024 | Time Bandits | Supreme Being | Main role |
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2016 | Doctor Strange | Directed mid-credit sequence |
Moana | Wrote the initial screenplay | |
Waititi has also been a prolific commercial director. He directed Air New Zealand's "The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made" featuring Peter Jackson and Elijah Wood as they go through where The Lord of the Rings films were shot. [11] [12] In 2013, Waititi directed Tesco's "Borg," which features a comical Thor-esque character shopping in the supermarket; [13] and he went on to direct Marvel Studios' Thor: Ragnarok a few years later.
New Zealand humour bears some similarities to the body of humour of many other English-speaking countries. There are, however, several regional differences.
Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's comedy and music became the basis of the self-titled BBC radio series (2005) and, subsequently, the HBO American television series (2007–2009). Most recently, they released the HBO comedy special Live in London in 2018. The special was concurrently released by Sub Pop as their fifth album.
Rhys Montague Darby is a New Zealand actor and comedian, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime, and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. He was nominated for the Billy T Award in 2001 and 2002. He also won the 2012 Fred (Dagg) award at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, for best NZ show.
Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of the same name for both the BBC and HBO, for which he received six Primetime Emmy nominations.
Taika David Cohen, known professionally as Taika Waititi, is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian. He is known for directing quirky comedy films and has expanded his career as a voice actor and producer on numerous projects. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Grammy Award, as well as two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.
Rachel Jessica Te Ao Maarama House is a New Zealand actress and director. She has received numerous accolades including an Arts Laureate, NZ Order of Merit, 'Mana Wahine' from WIFT NZ and Te Waipuna a Rangi for her contributions as an actor and director.
What We Do in the Shadows is a 2014 New Zealand mockumentary horror comedy film written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi and the first installment in the What We Do in the Shadows franchise. The film also stars Clement and Waititi, along with Jonathan Brugh, Ben Fransham, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, and Jackie van Beek. The film's plot concerns several vampires who live together in a flat in Wellington.
Thor: Ragnarok is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to Thor (2011) and Thor: The Dark World (2013), and is the 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and the writing team of Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins. In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor must escape the alien planet Sakaar in time to save Asgard from Hela (Blanchett) and the impending Ragnarök.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a 2016 New Zealand adventure comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, whose screenplay was based on the book Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump. Sam Neill and Julian Dennison play "Uncle" Hector and Ricky Baker; a father figure and foster son who become the targets of a manhunt after fleeing into the New Zealand bush. Carthew Neal, Leanne Saunders, Matt Noonan, and Waititi produced the film.
Chelsea Jane Winstanley is a New Zealand film producer. She produces short films and documentaries which celebrate Indigenous peoples. She also produced the films What We Do in the Shadows and Jojo Rabbit.
Thor: Ragnarok is the film score to the Marvel Studios film Thor: Ragnarok composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. Hollywood Records released the album digitally on October 20, 2017, with a physical release on November 10, 2017.
Jojo Rabbit is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, adapted from Christine Leunens's 2008 book Caging Skies. Roman Griffin Davis portrays the title character, Johannes "Jojo" Betzler, a ten-year-old Hitler Youth member who finds out that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. He must then question his beliefs while dealing with the intervention of his imaginary friend, a fanciful version of Adolf Hitler with a comedic stance on the politics of the war. The film also stars Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, and Alfie Allen.
Wellington Paranormal is a New Zealand mockumentary comedy horror television series which first aired on 11 July 2018 on TVNZ 2. The series is a spin-off of the 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows and first television series in the franchise, and its lead characters—Officers Minogue and O'Leary—first appeared in the film as a pair of incurious police officers.
Akira is a proposed American cyberpunk action film based on the Japanese manga of the same name by Katsuhiro Otomo, and was set to be the second film adaptation following the 1988 anime version. The film was written by Taika Waititi and Michael Golamco.
Thor: Love and Thunder is a 2022 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Thor. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and the 29th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Taika Waititi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Waititi, Russell Crowe, and Natalie Portman. In the film, Thor tries to find inner peace, but must return to action and recruit Valkyrie (Thompson), Korg (Waititi), and Jane Foster (Portman)—who is now the Mighty Thor—to stop Gorr the God Butcher (Bale) from eliminating all gods.
Akira is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on Katsuhiro Otomo's seminal manga, Akira, published from 1982 to 1990. It was adapted into a 1988 anime film and two video games. A live-action feature film has also been in development since 2000, and a new anime television series by Otomo was also announced in 2019.
Team Thor is a series of American direct-to-video mockumentary short films produced by Marvel Studios, featuring characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Initially released from 2016 to 2018, they were included as special features in the MCU films' Blu-ray and digital distribution releases and are the sixth through eighth Marvel One-Shot short films. The series consists of Team Thor, Team Thor: Part 2, and Team Darryl, all written and directed by Taika Waititi.
Deadpool and Korg React is a 2021 American superhero promotional short film featuring the Marvel Comics characters Deadpool and Korg. The film was written and directed by Ryan Reynolds, with him and Taika Waititi respectively starring as Deadpool and Korg. In Deadpool and Korg React, Wade Wilson and Korg react to the trailer of Free Guy (2021) before discussing the possibility of joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Reynolds reprises his role from the X-Men film series, while Waititi reprises his role from the MCU films Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Time Bandits is an upcoming fantasy adventure television series created by Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Waititi, based on the 1981 film of the same name directed by Terry Gilliam.
Mateheke "Tweedie" Waititi is a New Zealand film director and producer. The whāngai sister of Taika Waititi, she is best known for her work co-directing production company Matewa Media, which since 2016 has produced Māori language versions of Disney animated films.