Taika Waititi
| Taika Waititi | |
|---|---|
Taika Waititi speaking at 2015 Sundance Film Festival
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| Born |
Taika David Waititi 16 August 1975 Wellington, New Zealand |
| Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter and comedian |
| Years active | 1999 - present |
| Known for | Eagle vs Shark, Boy, What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople |
| Spouse(s) | Chelsea Winstanley (1 child) |
Taika David Waititi (born 16 August 1975), also known as Taika Cohen, is a New Zealand film director, writer, actor, painter and comedian.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2004 short film Two Cars, One Night. His feature films Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople became the top grossing New Zealand films. His horror comedy film What We Do in the Shadows also received critical acclaim.
Waititi hails from the Raukokore area of the East Coast region of the North Island of New Zealand, and grew up there and in Wellington. His father is Māori of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and his mother is of Russian Jewish heritage. Waititi has used his mother's surname, "Cohen", for some of his work in film and writing.
While a drama student at Victoria University of Wellington, Waititi was part of the five-member ensemble, So You're a Man, which toured New Zealand and Australia with some success.
He was one half of the comedy duo The Humourbeasts alongside Jemaine Clement – recipients of New Zealand's highest comedy accolade, the Billy T Award, in 1999.
In the same period Waititi began acting on screen. He won a local film award for his work as one of the students in successful low-budget Dunedin film Scarfies, and had smaller roles in road movie Snakeskin and TV series The Strip.
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