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.
Fi1m perspective
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.
