Taika David Waititi (/ˈtaɪkə waɪˈtiːti/ (
listen);[1] born 16 August 1975), also known as Taika Cohen, is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2004 short film Two Cars, One Night. He is married to Chelsea Winstanley, who produced several of his films.
listen);[1] born 16 August 1975), also known as Taika Cohen, is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2004 short film Two Cars, One Night. He is married to Chelsea Winstanley, who produced several of his films.
His feature films Boy (2010) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) have each been the top-grossing New Zealand film, with the latter still holding that title as of 2018.[2][3][4] He co-directed and starred in the horror comedy film What We Do in the Shadows (2014) with Jemaine Clement. Waititi's most recent directing credits include the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and the satirical black comedy Jojo Rabbit (2019), the latter of which he also wrote.
Waititi is from the Raukokore area of the East Coast region of the North Island of New Zealand and grew up there and in Wellington,[5] and attended Onslow College for secondary school.[6] His father is Māori of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, whilst his maternal grandfather is of Russian Jewish heritage and his maternal grandmother is of Irish heritage.[7][8][9][10][11] Waititi has used his mother's surname, "Cohen", for
some of his work in film and writing.
