---
name: "Tom Poata"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/tom-poata"
fi1m_id: "tom-poata"
tmdb_id: 1357892
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "3 April 1936"
died: "9 November 2005"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-26T01:12:33.254743+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."
---

# Tom Poata

## Identity

Tom Poata

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/tom-poata
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** tom-poata
- **TMDB ID:** 1357892
- **Same entity:** https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1357892

Actor. Born 3 April 1936 in East Coast, North Island, New Zealand. Died 9 November 2005.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 3 April 1936, East Coast, North Island, New Zealand
- **Died:** 9 November 2005
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1357892

## Biography

Tom Poata, also known as Tama Te Kapua Poata, was a New Zealand actor, writer and activist of Ngāti Porou descent. He appeared in a number of films and television productions from the early 1970s onwards.

His screen credits include the role of Angus in the television series *Pukemanu* (1971–1972), Puni in the feature film *Utu* (1983), Sam in *Wild Horses* (1983) and Ahu in *Among the Cinders* (1984). He wrote the screenplay for the 1987 feature *Ngati*, the first film written and directed by Māori.

Poata was also active in Māori rights campaigns, including the 1975 Land March, and helped coin the name of the anti-apartheid group Halt All Racist Tours (HART). He died in November 2005.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nzonscreen.com, keywiki.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Utu* (1983), Fi1m 74, as Puni — [page](https://film.one/film/utu.md)

## Complete filmography (2)

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

- *Wild Horses* (1984), as Sam
- *Utu* (1983), as Puni — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/utu.md)

---
© 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/tom-poata