Pana Hema Taylor | |
---|---|
Born |
Auckland, New Zealand |
14 September 1989
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2007 – present |
Spouse(s) | Danielle Cormack (2009 - ?) |
Children | 2 |
Pana Hema Taylor (born 1989) is a New Zealand television actor of Māori heritage, best known for his roles in Spartacus, The Brokenwood Mysteries and Westside.
Pana grew up in the town of Wairoa, where he became involved with the Mongrel Mob. In order to keep him from becoming a gang member, his parents, who had split up a while before, decided that he should live with his father in Christchurch, New Zealand where he attended Aranui High School. In 2007, he won best actor for his role as Mercutio in the school's production of Romeo & Juliet.
In 2009, 20-year-old Pana met 38-year-old actress Danielle Cormack when she was the costume/set designer on a play he was in. The two have a son, Te Ahi Ka, born 19 March 2010. In March 2015, Tiare Masina, his daughter with his current girlfriend Naomi, was born.
Pana was first seen on TV in 2007 on the Māori language educational series Whanau. He has since worked on various New Zealand feature films including Boy and Kawa. Pana is best known for his work in the Starz television series Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned, playing the role of the Syrian rebel Nasir. In 2014 he was cast as Mana in the New Zealand action film The Dead Lands.
He is currently starring as Jared in The Brokenwood Mysteries and as Bert in Westside.