Taika Waititi

Taika Waititi (also credited as Taika David Cohen) is a New Zealand director, actor, comedian, and producer born on August 16, 1975, in Wellington. Celebrated for offbeat humor paired with real emotional bite, he has steadily broadened his profile across film, television, and voice work, earning major industry recognition including an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Grammy. In 2022, Time named him among the world’s 100 most influential people.

Waititi first drew international attention with the Oscar-nominated short Two Cars, One Night (2003). He went on to shape modern New Zealand cinema with crowd-pleasers like Boy (2010) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), both of which became the country’s top-grossing local films. His creative range also includes co-writing, co-directing, and starring in What We Do in the Shadows (2014), later expanded into an Emmy-nominated TV series.

On the global stage, Waititi brought his signature wit to blockbuster filmmaking with Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). His satirical drama Jojo Rabbit (2019)—which he wrote, directed, and performed in—earned multiple Oscar nominations and won for Adapted Screenplay, alongside a Grammy for the soundtrack he produced.

Beyond directing, he appears in notable roles such as Green Lantern, The Suicide Squad, and The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, and lends his voice to projects like Lightyear. He has also helped shape acclaimed series including Reservation Dogs and Our Flag Means Death, and contributed to The Mandalorian as both director and the voice of IG-11.