---
name: "Lee Tamahori"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/lee-tamahori"
fi1m_id: "lee-tamahori"
imdb_id: "nm0848414"
tmdb_id: 7256
wikidata_id: "Q449104"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "17 June 1950"
died: "7 November 2025"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 75
average_as: "director"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-26T01:11:08.036211+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."
---

# Lee Tamahori

## Identity

Lee Tamahori

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/lee-tamahori
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** lee-tamahori
- **IMDb ID:** nm0848414
- **TMDB ID:** 7256
- **Wikidata ID:** Q449104
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Tamahori, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q449104, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0848414/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7256

Director. Born 17 June 1950 in Wellington, New Zealand. Died 7 November 2025.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 17 June 1950, Wellington, New Zealand
- **Died:** 7 November 2025
- **Active:** 1983–2002
- **Also known as:** Warren Lee Tamahori
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 5: 3 directing, 2 crew
- **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as director, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 76 (2), 1990s 88 (2), 2000s 50 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 73 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Crime 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $439m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Tamahori, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q449104, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0848414/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7256

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Sopranos*](https://film.one/tv/the-sopranos.md) (94)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Once Were Warriors*](https://film.one/film/once-were-warriors.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Lee Tamahori was a New Zealand film director. His feature directorial debut, *Once Were Warriors* (1994), was a critical and commercial success and is regarded as one of the country's most significant films.

He went on to direct Hollywood productions including *Mulholland Falls* (1996), *The Edge* (1997), *Along Came a Spider* (2001), *Die Another Day* (2002) and *Next* (2007), as well as an episode of the series *The Sopranos* (2000) and later films such as *The Devil's Double* (2011) and *The Convert* (2023).

Tamahori was born in Wellington and died on 7 November 2025.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, sopranos.fandom.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

### Directed (3) — the average rests on these

- *Die Another Day* (2002), Fi1m 50, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/die-another-day.md)
- *The Sopranos* (1999), Fi1m 94, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sopranos.md)
- *Once Were Warriors* (1994), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/once-were-warriors.md)

### Crew (2)

- *The Quiet Earth* (1985), Fi1m 78, First Assistant Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-quiet-earth.md)
- *Utu* (1983), Fi1m 74, First Assistant Director — [page](https://film.one/film/utu.md)

## Complete filmography (23)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Convert* (2024), Director, Screenplay
- *Mahana* (2016), Director
- *Billions* (2016), series, Director
- *The Devil's Double* (2011), Director
- *While She Was Out* (2008), Thanks
- *Next* (2007), Director
- *The British Touch: Bond Arrives in London* (2006), Actor
- *xXx: State of the Union* (2005), Director
- *Die Another Day* (2002), Director — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/die-another-day.md)
- *Along Came a Spider* (2001), Director
- *The Sopranos* (1999), series, Director — Fi1m 94, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sopranos.md)
- *The Edge* (1997), Director
- *Mulholland Falls* (1996), Director
- *Once Were Warriors* (1994), Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/once-were-warriors.md)
- *Thunderbox* (1989), Director
- *The Quiet Earth* (1985), First Assistant Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/the-quiet-earth.md)
- *The Ray Bradbury Theater* (1985), series, Director
- *Among the Cinders* (1984), First Assistant Director
- *Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence* (1983), First Assistant Director
- *Utu* (1983), First Assistant Director — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/utu.md)
- *Race for the Yankee Zephyr* (1981), Boom Operator
- *Wildcat: The Struggle for Democracy in the New Zealand Timberworkers' Union* (1981), Additional Sound Re-Recordist
- *Beyond Reasonable Doubt* (1980), Boom Operator

---
© 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/lee-tamahori