The lad from Raukokore on the East Cape has worked with the likes of Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Ryan Reynolds…the list goes on. It is impressive, and he relishes every day on set.
Words Shaun Summerfield Photos Vinesh Kumaran
“It's amazing. I still pinch myself, and I still think I'm really lucky to be able to work with all these people because part of what I have always wanted to do is work with people who are at the top of their game,” he says.
Waititi describes himself as a creative, with film merely the vehicle which brings together his passion for visual arts, painting, fashion, performance and comedy. Regardless, the rest of the world considers him an Oscar, Grammy, and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker.
Prodigious doesn't do justice to Waititi's near frantic level of output. He has acted in 24 films, directed eight feature films, nine television shows, and was behind the two most successful New Zealand films of all time: Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
“I started late, and I haven't burnt out yet. I've been doing this for 20 years now, which is a long time, and I've only really started getting super busy in the last six or seven years.
“You know, you're shooting a film every three years, so it's not like wall-to-wall work. It's just, you're playing this long game, and now there's a lot of stuff happening, and I feel good about it; I've got the energy for it, and it's something I've been waiting for.”
The Hollywood press went into overdrive in March with news that Waititi won't just be co-writing and directing the next Star Wars blockbuster, but he would also be starring in it.
The hype is nothing new; Waititi joined the Force in 2020. He also provided the voice for bounty hunting droid IG-11 in The Mandalorian and directed the season one finale of the record-breaking series. But here Waititi remains tight-lipped about his debut with the ten-billion-dollar Star Wars cinematic franchise.
"It's really early days at the moment. I'm just trying to come up with ideas. I'm really excited to even just be having the conversations,” he smiles.
Time is on his side, with the next Star Wars movie not scheduled for release until 2025.
He says the six-year gap since The Rise of Skywalker reminds him of the Star Wars films he fell in love with as a child.
“It's a different world now because sequels get made so fast and they announce a sequel being made the day the first one comes out now. But when [the original] Star Wars films were coming out, I just had no idea. You never expected the sequel; you thought that must be it.
And then five years later, another one would come out and, 'Oh, damn, this is something really exciting!'”
What is certain is that whatever role Waititi takes on, it’s sure to be one of the funniest things to happen within the Star Wars universe since the advent of Jar Jar Binks… but in a good way.
Whether it's the offbeat romance of Eagle vs Shark, the blockbusting action of Marvel's Thor, or the drama of Jojo Rabbit, there remains a ‘Taika trademark’: humour.
At times Waititi seems on a near-fearless quest to take the piss out of everything he can.
“I think my comedy is kind of changing slowly,” he says. “It's still the same style, but I think the things that I would want to comment on, or the things that I might have thought were funny 10 years ago, might not be as funny anymore.
“We should be keeping ourselves in check and making sure that what we're saying isn't actually doing damage to people. We also need to be careful that we're not just censoring everything.”
No matter the genre or tone, Waititi's Kiwi style or accent has never waned; whether it's playing Korg in Thor or Hitler in Jojo Rabbit, his vowels have remained as dark as his sense of humour.
“The Flight of the Conchords did a lot of work for the Kiwi accent. I think they really laid the foundations for us. Before that, I remember friends of mine who were actors going over to the States and having to speak all day long in American accents so that it would feel more natural to them. I've never done that, and it's great that shows like Conchords and some of my early stuff managed to normalise our accent a bit more.”
At 47, Waititi credits much of his refusal to change to being a relative late comer to Hollywood.
“I'm just too lazy to change who I am. I just stay the same guy; I have to stay myself because I'm still surrounded by a lot of the people that I grew up with and people that I've known for years to keep me honest.”
In some cases, he has forged decades-long creative relationships with fellow Kiwis. He first performed with Conchord Jemaine Clement at Victoria University in the five-person stand-up comedy troupe, So You're a Man.
The pair and Rhys Darby co-starred in cult favourite What We Do in the Shadows. And last summer Darby and Waititi were filming pirate comedy show Our Flag Means Death in Auckland.
“It's a very Kiwi thing; that's all we do and New Zealand. You just end up putting your friends in things, and then you keep using them because you're used to working with them. Then you develop a sort of shorthand and this way of communicating and getting things done that makes things faster.
“You don't have to deal with egos. I can say to my friends, you know, that was awful, do it again and do it better!” he laughs.
Behind the belly laughs, there is also a tremendous amount of aroha in Waititi's work. He makes no secret of loving the underdog and outsiders. In turn, usually through humour, he wraps the audience into this embrace of his characters.
“I think I use a bit of myself from my past and everything in all of my stories. You know, there are little bits of me, of things I've seen or experienced in my life. There are little bits in Thor and little bits in Jojo Rabbit. And those two films are pretty far removed from the New Zealand experience. You can't help but put everything of yourself into your work because it's you who’s doing it.”
Later this year, Waititi's biggest underdog story yet will hit theatres.
Next Goal Wins is the story of the American Samoa Football team, who, after losing 31-0 to Australia in 2001, tried to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
“It's awesome. And it's great because it's a true story and a Polynesian story. It's a chance for me to make a film about that, and Polynesians making a brown film through the Hollywood system. So, it's a really great, uplifting, feel-good film at a time when people need to feel good because let’s face it, the whole world's on f-----g fire right now."
Sporting Cinderella's, Pirates, Jedis and Superheroes. It's the sort of job description an eight-year-old would write, and that fact isn’t lost on Waititi.
“I think it's pretty amazing that I get to do this as a job. I like to make sure that I remind myself of that, you know, that I'm one of the lucky people who get to go and pretend stuff all day long for a job and find a big toy box and a big sandpit with all the toys.
“I think if you take it too seriously, then it's sort of like spitting in the face of the point of the job, which is to have fun."
