--- name: "Julian Arahanga" canonical: "https://film.one/person/julian-arahanga" fi1m_id: "julian-arahanga" imdb_id: "nm0032810" tmdb_id: 7244 wikidata_id: "Q6306950" roles: ["Actor"] born: "18 December 1972" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 85 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-17T17:51:34.378049+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Julian Arahanga ## Identity Julian Arahanga - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/julian-arahanga - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** julian-arahanga - **IMDb ID:** nm0032810 - **TMDB ID:** 7244 - **Wikidata ID:** Q6306950 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Arahanga, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6306950, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0032810/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7244 Actor. Born 18 December 1972 in Raetihi, New Zealand. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 18 December 1972, Raetihi, New Zealand - **Active:** 1994–1999 - **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as actor, over 2 titles - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Arahanga, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6306950, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0032810/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7244 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Matrix*](https://film.one/film/the-matrix.md) (88), [*Once Were Warriors*](https://film.one/film/once-were-warriors.md) (82) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Julian Arahanga > We value Julian Arahanga for helping make the children count in *Once Were Warriors*, where Nig Heke’s toughness cannot separate him from his family’s troubles. It is the place to begin with his acting. In *Once Were Warriors* (1994), Julian Arahanga’s Nig Heke is a tough young man still caught in his parents’ conflict. His hardness does not make him any less their child, and that is what makes the part worth watching. We rate Arahanga’s contribution to this family drama because he helps keep its attention on those with least say in what happens at home. Lee Tamahori gives the adults plenty of space: Temuera Morrison’s Jake is frighteningly physical, while Rena Owen prevents him from monopolising the film. Alongside Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell’s Grace and Taungaroa Emile’s Boogie, Arahanga keeps the children from becoming incidental to a contest between the leads. We found the film painful because their presence keeps the cost of the adults’ behaviour in view. It sometimes piles on more misery than it needs, and our admiration for the cast does not cancel that reservation. Nig was Arahanga’s breakthrough role, and he reprised it in *What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?* (1999). *Broken English* (1996) gave him Eddie in a cross-cultural romance, while *The Matrix* (1999) brought international exposure as Apoc. We recommend the latter warmly, with a caveat about its heavy explanations. But the work we most admire there belongs to the Wachowskis, who make those questions physical, and to Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, who give the spectacle its human centre. For a closer look at Arahanga, we would return to Nig. His subsequent move behind the camera makes the acting credits an incomplete guide to his work. From the early 2000s, he increasingly concentrated on directing and producing; he founded Awa Films in 2001 and went on to direct *Turangarere: The John Pohe Story* (2008). His documentary and series work, including *Songs from the Inside*, focuses on Māori history, culture and experience. Begin with *Once Were Warriors*, but take the warning about domestic violence seriously. ## 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*. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nzonscreen.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *The Matrix* (1999), Fi1m 88, as Apoc — [page](https://film.one/film/the-matrix.md) - *Once Were Warriors* (1994), Fi1m 82, as Nig Heke — [page](https://film.one/film/once-were-warriors.md) ## Complete filmography (18) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Mana Moana Mana Tangata* (2025), Director, Producer - *Kōkā* (2025), Executive Producer - *The Stolen Children of Aotearoa* (2025), Director - *Misimpressions* (2017), Producer - *Laundry* (2017), Producer - *Once Were Warriors: Where Are They Now?* (2014), as Interviewer - Self · Director - *The Ferryman* (2007), as Zane - *Eagle vs Shark* (2007), as Fight Extra - *Fracture* (2004), as Detective Harawira - *Toy Boy* (2004), as Angelo - *Two Cars, One Night* (2004), Musical, Other - *What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?* (1999), as Nig Heke - *The Lost World* (1999), series, as Pintario - *The Matrix* (1999), as Apoc — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-matrix.md) - *Broken English* (1996), as Eddie - *Hercules: The Legendary Journeys* (1995), series, as Lead Bounty Hunter, Cassius - *Once Were Warriors* (1994), as Nig Heke — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/once-were-warriors.md) - *The Makutu on Mrs Jones* (1983), as Tawhai --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/julian-arahanga