Who is Taika Waititi?
Taika Waititi has been involved in the film industry for several years, initially as an actor, and now focusing on writing and directing.
Two Cars, One Night is Taika's first professional film-making effort and since its completion in 2003 he has finished another short "Tama Tu" about a group of Maori Soldiers in Italy during World War 2. As a performer and comedian, Taika has been involved in some of the most innovative and successful original productions seen in New Zealand. He regularly does stand-up gigs in and around the country and in 2004 launched his solo production, "Taika's Incredible Show". In 2005 he staged the sequel, "Taika's Incrediblerer Show". As an actor, Taika has been critically acclaimed for both his Comedic and Dramatic abilities. In 2000 he was nominated for Best Actor at the Nokia Film Awards for his role in the Sarkies Brother's film "Scarfies".
Taika is also an experienced painter and photographer, having exhibited both mediums in Wellington and Berlin, and a fashion designer. He attended the Sundance Writers Lab with "Choice", a feature loosely based on "Two Cars, One Night".
Taika became a blockbuster director with his film Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and received critical acclaim, and a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, for his film Jojo Rabbit (2019).
Overview
- Nicknames
- T. Cohen, Taika Cohen, Count Viago
Trivia
- 'What We Do in the Shadows' actors hadn't seen the script before and during the making of the film; they had only some directions from Jemaine and Taika and the script was largely improvised.
- His portrait as Viago, the character from 'What We Do in the Shadows' painted by Freeman White is in the NZ Portrait Gallery in Wellington together with Jemaine Clement's character Vladislav's and Jonathan Brugh's as Deacon.
- Taika in Maori means 'Tiger'.
- One of his inventions was a tie with a hole to button it to the shirt.
- He met Jemaine Clement at Victoria University of Wellington, later forming the comedy duo, 'The Humourbeasts'.