FILM DIRECTOR

Lee Tamahori

1950 - 2025

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Warren Lee Tamahori (; 22 April 1950 – 7 November 2025) was a New Zealand film director. His feature directorial debut, Once Were Warriors (1994), was a widespread critical and commercial success. It is considered one of the greatest New Zealand films ever made. Subsequently, he directed a variety of works both in his native country and in Hollywood, including the survival drama The Edge (1997), the Alex Cross thriller Along Came a Spider (2001), the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002), the political biopic The Devil's Double (2011), and the period drama Mahana (2016). Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 25 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 24 in 2024). Lee Tamahori is the 1,211th most popular film director (down from 1,189th in 2024), the 76th most popular biography from New Zealand (down from 59th in 2019) and the 7th most popular New Zealander Film Director.

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Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, Lee Tamahori ranks 1,211 out of 2,041. Before him are Raymond Depardon, Rafael Azcona, Fernando Birri, Basil Dearden, Freddie Francis, and Nelly Kaplan. After him are Buddy Van Horn, John Grierson, Jaume Collet-Serra, Busby Berkeley, Colin Higgins, and Luciano Emmer.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1950, Lee Tamahori ranks 470. Before him are Fran Lebowitz, Erich Kühnhackl, Debra Hill, Jhala Nath Khanal, Gianfranco Brancatelli, and Loyola de Palacio. After him are Luis Donaldo Colosio, Gil, Paola del Medico, Carlos Roberto Flores, Bernard Le Coq, and Zdravka Yordanova. Among people deceased in 2025, Lee Tamahori ranks 387. Before him are Andrija Delibašić, Frank Mill, Rudolf Belin, Levan Gachechiladze, Xabier Azkargorta, and Peter Yarrow. After him are Rinchen Barsbold, Robert Jay Lifton, Sam Rivers, Marina Lewycka, Preta Gil, and Nicholas Grimshaw.

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In New Zealand

Among people born in New Zealand, Lee Tamahori ranks 76 out of 303. Before him are Martin Henderson (1974), Wallace Fard Muhammad (1893), Winston Reid (1988), Jacinda Ardern (1980), Hugh Walpole (1884), and Walter Buller (1838). After him are Jonah Lomu (1975), Jenny Shipley (1952), John Gorton (1911), Keri Hulme (1947), Andrew Adamson (1966), and Peter O'Leary (1972).

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Among FILM DIRECTORS In New Zealand

Among film directors born in New Zealand, Lee Tamahori ranks 7. Before him are Peter Jackson (1961), Jane Campion (1954), Martin Campbell (1943), Andrew Niccol (1964), Fran Walsh (1959), and Rupert Julian (1879). After him are Andrew Adamson (1966), Geoff Murphy (1938), Niki Caro (1967), and Andrew Dominik (1967).

New Zealander born Film Directors

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