Taika Waititi

Taika David Waititi is a New Zealand director and actor. Born in Wellington as the son of a Māori father and a Russian Jewish mother, he studied drama at Victoria University of Wellington. He gained recognition in his home country through his comedy duo The Humourbeasts with Jemaine Clement, and also appeared in several films in New Zealand and Australia during this period. In 2003, he wrote and directed the short film Two Cars, One Night, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. He both directed and starred in Eagle vs Shark (2007) and Boy (2010). His role as Thomas Kalmaku in the 2011 film The Green Hornet established him as an actor in Hollywood. Following that, he directed and starred in What We Do in the Shadows (2014) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). In 2017, he directed Thor: Ragnarok and also appeared as the character Korg. Waititi is married to Chelsea Winstanley and has a daughter named Te Hinekāhu, born in 2012.