Taika Waititi filmography

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Taika Waititi at San Diego Comic-Con in 2017 Taika Waititi by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Taika Waititi at San Diego Comic-Con in 2017

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.

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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.

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
2007 Eagle vs Shark YesYesNo
2010 Boy YesYesNo
2014 What We Do in the Shadows YesYesYes
2016 Hunt for the Wilderpeople YesYesYes
2017 Thor: Ragnarok YesNoNo
2019 Jojo Rabbit YesYesYes
2022 Thor: Love and Thunder YesYesNo
2023 Next Goal Wins YesYesYes
TBA Klara and the Sun YesNoYes

Short film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
2002John and PogoYesYesNo
2003 Two Cars, One Night YesYesNo
2004Heinous Crime [3] YesYesNo
2005Tama TūYesYesNo
What We Do in the Shadows:
Interviews with Some Vampires
YesYesNo
2013The CaptainNoYesNo
2016 Team Thor YesYesYes
2017 Team Thor: Part 2 YesYesYes
2018 Team Darryl YesYesYes
2024 The Boy & The Octopus YesNoYes

Television

YearTitleDirectorWriterExecutive
Producer
Notes
2007–2009 Flight of the Conchords YesYesNo4 episodes
2011 Super City YesNoNo6 episodes
2012 The Inbetweeners
(US version)
YesNoNo5 episodes
2018–2022 Wellington Paranormal NoNoYesCo-creator
2019–2024 What We Do in the Shadows YesStoryYes3 episodes
2019 The Mandalorian YesNoNoEpisode: "Chapter 8: Redemption"
2021–2023 Reservation Dogs NoYesYesCo-creator
2022–2023 Our Flag Means Death YesNoYesEpisode: "Pilot"
2024 Time Bandits YesYesYesCo-creator
Interior Chinatown YesNoYesEpisode: "Generic Asian Man"

Acting appearances

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1999 Scarfies Alex
2001 Snakeskin Nelson
A New Way HomeMaxShort film
2004 Futile Attraction Waiter
Heinous Crime [3] VariousShort film
Toy Boy [4] Jack Hammer
2005What We Do in the Shadows:
Interviews with Some Vampires
Viago
2007 Eagle vs Shark Gordon
2010 Boy Alamein
2011 Green Lantern Thomas Kalmaku
2013The Captain [5] The CaptainShort film
2013 Coffee Town Cosmetology InstructorUncredited
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 BartenderShort 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 MorrisonVoice role
Thor: Love and Thunder Korg, Ninny the Nonnie [6]
2023 Next Goal Wins American Samoan Priest
TBA Fing TBAFilming
Place to Be Nelson

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002 The Strip Mostin13 Episodes
The Tribe Virtual Reality
Cowboy No.1
Episode: "Episode #4.24" (uncredited)
2003 Revelations AliEpisode: "Mended Sole"
Freaky CleanerEpisode: "Fridge, Cleaner & Sister"
2007 Flight of the Conchords Gipsy Kings fanEpisode: "Drive By" (uncredited cameo)
2009 The Jaquie Brown Diaries Friendly GypsyEpisode: "Brownward Spiral"
2010 Radiradirah Various8 episodes
2019 What We Do in the Shadows Viago3 episodes
2019–2023 The Mandalorian IG-11 [7] Voice; 5 episodes
IG-12 (Grogu)Voice; 2 episodes
2019 Year of the Rabbit Merrick's PerformerCameo
Rick and Morty GlootieVoice; 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 star1 episode
2021-2024 What If...? Korg [9] Voice; 4 episodes: "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?", "What If... Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?", "What If... Iron Man Crashed Into the Grandmaster?"", "What If... the Watcher Disappeared?"
2022-2023 Our Flag Means Death Edward "Blackbeard" Teach Main role [10]
2023 History of the World, Part II Sigmund Freud 1 episode
The Simpsons HimselfVoice; episode: "Murder She Boat"
2024 Time Bandits Supreme BeingMain role
2025 The Masked Singer Himself/Detective Lucky Duck Season 13; 8 episodes
2025 Conan O'Brien Must Go HimselfSeason 2, Episode 2 ("New Zealand")

Uncredited work

YearTitleRole
2016 Doctor Strange Directed mid-credit sequence
Moana Wrote the initial screenplay

Music videos

Commercials

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.

References

  1. Churchouse, Nick (24 April 2010). "Home Boy hit helps keep local cameras rolling". The Dominion Post . Archived from the original on 26 April 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  2. Gardiner, Irene (9 June 2016). "What are New Zealand's top five grossing local films of all time?". The New Zealand Herald . Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Heinous Crime". NZOnScreen. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  4. "Toy Boy". 48Hours. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  5. Horton, Perry (7 December 2016). "The Captain is a Hilarious and Harrowing Hangover". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  6. Hiatt, Brian (5 July 2022). "I Wish 'Ragnarok' Wasn't So Good': Taika Waititi on 'Thor: Love and Thunder,' 'Star Wars'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  7. "'The Mandalorian' is described as Clint Eastwood in 'Star Wars'". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  8. Breznican, Anthony (26 June 2020). "Watch the Celebrity-Filled Fan-Film Version of The Princess Bride". Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  9. Sciretta, Peter (12 March 2019). "Exclusive: Marvel Studios Producing 'What If' TV Series For Disney+". /Film . Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  10. "HBO Max Orders Period Comedy 'Our Flag Means Death' From Taika Waititi & David Jenkins". 15 September 2020. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  11. "The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made takes flight". media.newzealand.com. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  12. New Zealand, Air (22 October 2014). "The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made #AirNZSafetyVideo". Air New Zealand . Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  13. "Tesco - Dot Com". themill.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  14. Sky Ireland - Sky Broadband Has Arrived on YouTube by Sky, 16 April 2013
  15. The Gas Bill - Nimble TV Commercial on YouTube
  16. Gillespie, Daniel (12 November 2020). "Taika Waititi's Latest Movie Is A Christmas-Themed Coke Commercial". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  17. "Daniel Craig unleashes his inner disco diva in Taika Waititi-directed vodka commercial". CNN. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  18. "Joy Is Made As Amazon Releases New Holiday Ad Campaign". Forbes. 13 November 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  19. "Seal Sings to Becky G". 5 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  20. "Lay's 2025 Super Bowl Ad Was Made By This Oscar-Winning Director". 4 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  21. "Morgan Freeman Stars in Homes.com Super Bowl Spot". 10 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.