TĀNE RORE

Joseph Rehu-Hahunga is a Bay of Plenty-based Māori actor, proudly Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Ngāti Ranginui, whose journey as a performer stretches back more than two decades.

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After training and performing in the early 2000s, including appearances in Coming Home and Whakairo, Joseph returned to acting with renewed energy and has spent the past few years sharpening his craft across both stage and screen.

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Recent mahi has seen Joseph tackle one of theatre’s biggest roles, playing Macbeth in 2024, alongside performances in Waiting for the Pākehā and Te Ahunga. His screen work has included the short films Bound and Kidnapped, while in 2025 he took on the lead role of Tom in a live presentation of Skin Tight.

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There’s a beautiful symmetry to Joseph joining this particular production. TĀNE RORE is built around generations of Māori men standing together, exchanging stories, challenging perceptions and passing knowledge from one to another. Joseph brings another generation, another life experience and another voice into that conversation.

Born and raised in Tauranga Moana, Poroaki Merritt-McDonald is one of Aotearoa’s exciting young Māori actors, with a growing career spanning film, television and theatre.

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A product of kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa Māori and wharekura, Poroaki grew up immersed in te reo Māori, mahi toi, kapa haka and performance. You may recognise Poroaki from Muru, Savage, The Gone, Shortland Street, Kairākau or as the reo Māori voice of Bruno in Disney’s Encanto. More recently, he has been keeping VERY busy, appearing in Kōkā, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Baddies and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

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But Poroaki isn’t just a screen actor. He’s a storyteller and artist with a genuine connection to his culture and community. In 2024, he represented Aotearoa as a Youth Ambassador at FestPAC in Hawaiʻi, sharing and celebrating Indigenous culture alongside artists from across the Pacific.

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Poroaki has also been part of the Tuatara Collective whānau since 2020, when he performed the lead role of Rangi in Little Black Bitch. He also frequently teaches in our rangatahi wānanga programmes, inspiring the next generation of performers.

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Poroaki has grown from a talented young Tauranga performer into an increasingly accomplished professional artist, while still bringing the same cheeky humour, warmth and unmistakable Poroaki energy into the room.

Proudly Ngāi Tahu, Luke is an emerging Māori artist with a passion for telling stories that reflect his queer and Indigenous identities, and for creating space for voices and experiences that haven't always been given centre stage.

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After graduating from Unitec's Acting programme in 2023, Luke has been busy carving out his own pathway within the arts, acting, writing, directing, producing and developing his own creative projects, including a short film he plans to write, direct and produce.

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In 2025, Luke joined the original cast of TĀNE RORE, sharing the stage with legendary Māori actor George Henare. It was a pretty special collision of generations, with mātauranga, lived experience and storytelling passing between performers at very different stages of their lives and careers. Luke brings something uniquely his own to that mix, humour, vulnerability, confidence and an unapologetic willingness to explore what it means to be Māori, takatāpui and a young man in Aotearoa today.

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Alongside performing, Luke continues to develop his own voice as a writer and filmmaker, building towards a creative career where he doesn't simply perform other people's stories, he gets to create and tell his own.

Proudly Ngāpuhi, Whakatōhea and Ngāti Porou, Tohu is a talented young Tauranga Moana actor who is quickly building an impressive reputation across theatre and screen.

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Recently graduated from Te Wharekura o Mauao, Tohu has already appeared on screen in the television series Not Even, taken on the role of Sonny in In the Heights, and performed with Tuatara Collective in FOR THE FALLEN and the original season of TĀNE RORE.

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And then there’s Shakespeare! Selected for the prestigious SGCNZ Young Shakespeare Company Schools Production, Tohu traveled to London and performed on the Globe Theatre stage. He has tackled everything from Romeo & Juliet and Othello to As You Like It, earning himself a Best Actor Under 16 award along the way. He also stepped up as a young cultural leader, teaching waiata and haka to the full company.

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Shakespeare one minute. Haka the next. Musical theatre, screen acting, contemporary Māori storytelling - chuck it at him and he’ll give it a go. He has grown from strength to strength through Tuatara Collective's iconic performing arts and wellbeing programmes, including FOR THE FALLEN, and will continue to develop his craft and secure his place amongst an exciting new generation of Māori performers.

Don’t let his age fool you - Nātana Mika is already building one seriously impressive acting CV.

Hailing from Tauranga and proudly Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Ranginui, Nātana is a talented young actor with a natural charisma, wicked sense of humour and comic timing that can absolutely steal a scene.

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His screen credits include Jason Momoa's Wrecking Crew, Rapido and the feature film Ka Whawhai Tonu, where he played Puku, the chief’s cheeky and unforgettable grandson. More recently, Nātana has continued adding to his screen work with credits including Dead Ahead, Bust Up, and This Is Home.

Despite being the youngest member of the cast by quite some distance, Nātana more than holds his own, earning praise from reviewers in 2025 and proving that big talent can come in small packages.

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Whether he’s in front of a camera, commanding a theatre stage, cracking up the rehearsal room or telling a story about being attacked by some particularly “ugly-as” seagulls, Nātana brings an infectious energy and fearlessness to his mahi.

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And he’s only just getting started.