Julian Arahanga’s strength is a grounded presence within an ensemble. In Once Were Warriors, his Nig helps make the children matter alongside the forceful leads; that is a better reason to seek him out than the familiarity of The Matrix.
Fi1m perspective
The children in Once Were Warriors (1994) stop the adults from taking up the whole film. Temuera Morrison’s Jake has a frightening physical force, but Arahanga’s Nig Heke helps director Lee Tamahori show what that force costs the family. Alongside Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell’s Grace and Taungaroa Emile’s Boogie, he keeps the cost to the younger generation in view. We were upset by their presence because they make the violence something a family has to endure, rather than merely a confrontation between two powerful performers.
This is solid ensemble acting, and it should not be inflated into a claim that Arahanga carries the film: Owen remains our principal reason to see it. Tamahori sometimes adds more misery than the drama needs, but the children keep our attention on who has to bear it. Nig was Arahanga’s breakthrough, followed by a lead as Eddie in the cross-cultural romance Broken English (1996). His early parts often concerned young Māori men facing family violence or cultural dislocation; the grounded quality of his work made sense in that setting.
The Matrix (1999) gives him a different place in an ensemble, as Apoc, a member of Morpheus’s crew. Lana and Lilly Wachowski make speculative science fiction work as action, with Keanu Reeves guiding us through the confusion. We recommend the film readily, though its explanations can be heavy and its supporting characters thin. Apoc offers less to discuss than Nig, and would be an odd place to begin an appreciation of Arahanga’s acting.
His work subsequently moved towards directing and producing, with the founding of Awa Films in 2001 and an increasing focus on Māori stories. Turangaarere: The John Pohe Story (2008) concerns a Māori pilot in the Second World War; the series Songs from the Inside (2012–2015) brings musicians into prisons to make songs with inmates. That move has kept Māori lives central to his work, while allowing him to do more than appear in someone else’s cast. For the actor, begin with Once Were Warriors, with a firm warning about the domestic violence and no promise of a comfortable evening.
Biography
Julian Arahanga is a New Zealand actor and filmmaker. Born in Raetihi in 1972, he made his screen debut at the age of 11 in the short film The Makutu on Mrs Jones (1983).
Arahanga played Nig Heke in Once Were Warriors (1994) and reprised the role in the 1999 sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?. His other film credits include Apoc in The Matrix (1999) and appearances in Broken English (1996) and Eagle vs Shark (2007). He has also worked in television, including episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–1996) and The Lost World (1999).
Arahanga has directed and produced documentaries and series, including work for Māori Television such as Songs from the Inside.
