Actor, writer, and director Taika Waititi has been in the industry for a while but has only recently become a popular name amongst the Hollywood set. This native New Zealander burst onto the scene as a surprising choice of director for Thor: Ragnarok, and has continued to captivate and entertain international audiences.
Taika the person, is an interesting one. From his upbringing in New Zealand to his collaborations with inventors and historic award wins, Taika is someone everyone wants to learn more about. Luckily, here we will share some facts we've found regarding this high-spirited director, which we hope will give some more insight into his character. With more high-profile projects on the way, Taika Waititi is proving that he is here to stay.
15 His Father Was A Gang Member
Recently on Visitation, a podcast run by actor Elijah Wood and producer Daniel Noah, Waititi revealed that his father was in a biker gang. "He was one of the founding members of Satan's Slaves," he shared in the interview covered by Stuff.nz. Although he admitted that he wasn't close with his father, he says that his father was still "very proud of all the stuff I did."
14 He's Got A Queer Eye
A lot of us run into cases of mistaken identity from time to time, but it seems like for Waititi and a favorite from the Fab 5 run into it more often. According to the New Zealand Herald, Queer Eye star Tan France told Jimmy Fallon on his late-night show that he is constantly getting pegged as the Oscar-winning writer, but he cheekily blames it on all of us. "America, I love you very much, but you clearly don't know how to distinguish accents. Because he's from New Zealand and I'm from England," Tan rebuked.
13 He Was In A Couple Comedy Troupes
In a Monty Python-esque way, Taika Waititi met and performed with the guys that would make up a core part of his current entertainment partnerships back in college. His first group, So You're A Man was made up of Bret McKenzie, Jemaine Clement, Cary Smith and David Lawrence. Then he moved on to The Humourbeasts with constant collaborator Jemaine Clement.
Of their first meeting, Clement commented in an interview with The Dissolve, "...[W]e were auditioning for the same thing, like a revue, a university show where people write and put on sketches. Taika was one of the people who made me laugh."
12 He's Actually Jewish
Taika Waititi was actually born Taika Cohen, the grandson of a Russian Jewish grandfather. During his Oscar campaign, IndieWire reported that Waititi lamented that it might have been easier for people to accept Jojo Rabbit if they knew he was of Jewish ancestry. "They did a press screening with a lot of Jewish press, and a lot of the comments were 'I wish we would've know he was Jewish before we'd watched the movie.'"
11 He's A Nap-A-Holic
Making cinema gold is a tough business that can drain a normal person. Taika is no exception as he's been caught snoozing everywhere, from film sets to gatherings. In a story run by The Guardian, Waititi seems to embrace @mcuwaitit, a Twitter handle that would highlight his constant napping. In a Twitter post, Waititi quipped, "...People with Taika sleeping photos must come forward. This is a safe space." #TaikaNaptiti forever.
10 He Could Have Been An Artist
In a Ted Talk, Taika revealed the his background was actually in painting and the visual arts. He could be serious but he also used a tongue and cheek style to express his sillier point of view. Later he tried out animation, fashion and stand-up.
"My job is to express myself and to share my ideas and my point of view. It happens to be that I am using filmmaking right now." Hopefully he'll stick to it a little longer.
9 He Has Very Strong Opinions About MAC's Keyboards
After accepting his Academy Award, Waititi was asked about what he thought writers needed. He answered (either jokingly or seriously) that he thought Apple really needed to change up their keyboard situation. "They are impossible to write on. They've gotten worse...Makes me want to go back to PCs," he quipped while speaking to the press. His strongly-worded tirade continued for about a minute. "The WGA needs to step in and actually do something."
8 He Doesn't Plan Ahead
According to the bonus feature commentary on the Jojo Rabbit DVD, which was covered by FilmSchoolRejects, Waititi admitted that he doesn't always storyboard before shooting a scene. "It really depends. If there's quite a few actors then I will start boarding everything and figuring it out beforehand, and then if not, if it's something relatively simple I'll make it up in one day." Now that's talent!
7 He Used To Direct Commercials
Before (and ever after) directing a slew of critically acclaimed films, Waititi was in the commercial biz. But, it doesn't sound like he was advertising's biggest fan. In an interview with The Verge he made his feelings pretty clear. "I've made commercials, so I've worked with the worst people in the world. Nothing could be more restrictive than working with people in advertising." But, he was able to show off his true Taika style in Air New Zealand's The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made.
6 He's Made History
The 92nd Academy Awards season saw lots of historic moments, but the one we're focusing on is Waititi's win in the adapted screenwriting category for Jojo Rabbit. According to a story by Vanity Fair, it was his first Oscar, but also the first Oscar for an indigenous person in the adapted screenwriting category. May it be the first of many for this talented man!
5 Growing Up His Favorites Were The X-Men
In an interview with Tipsy Talk on Youtube, Taika opened up about who his favorite super heroes were when he was a child. "I liked the New Mutants...I liked the Brazilian character, Sunspot." Maybe he'd be open to directing a film in the X-men franchise someday?
4 He Helped Showcase A New Filming Technique
Waititi is not one to shy away from new ideas. If you've seen his film What We Do In The Shadows, you may remember the character of Stu. The man behind the character, Stu Rutherford, is a longtime friend and collaborator of Taika's and most recently let the director use his latest film invention in Thor: Ragnarok, covered by NZ Stuff.
Rutherford has found a way to manipulate lighting techniques to mimic the effect of stopping time. His company, Satellite Lab, has not only collaborated with Waititi, but other big names like Nike and Louboutin.
3 He Hides Scripts From His Actors
In case it hasn't become apparent, Waititi is more of a "free-spirit" when it comes to actually shooting the films he writes. Case in point, with his film What We Do In The Shadows, he says that he simply hid the script. During an interview with Vice, Jemaine Clement (co-director) quipped ,"We had a script, but we wouldn't show the actors the script. Only Taika and I knew where it was going...We tried to surprise the actors to get their reactions and to get their natural...cadences."
2 He Likes To Appear In His Movies
Waititi loves making cameos in his movies. A well-known actor and comedian in his native New Zealand, the world is finally getting a chance to see what Waititi is all about. So far he's played a vampire in What We Do in The Shadows (which he co-directed), an imaginary Hitler in Jojo Rabbit (which he directed) and he voiced Korg in Thor: Ragnarok (which he also directed) a part which was entirely ad-libbed according to an interview he did while promoting the film.
His performances have become memorable and leave fans wanting to see more from this multi-talented man.
1 He's Getting More Animated
Streaming giant Netflix announced that they have tapped Taika to direct two animated features for their studio. The films will follow the Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with one focusing on the original story and the other following the tale of the Oompa-Loompas Variety reports. The Netflix Vice President of Original Animation fell in love with the idea of Waititi taking the helm stating, "If Dahl had created a character of a filmmaker to adapt his work, I'm sure he would have created Taika."