Temuera Morrison says the strong faces of 19th-century Māori leaders inspired his performance in the historic new film Ka Whawhai Tonu.
“Their eyes look so much deeper. They could connect to the cosmos a lot better than we can today… They knew about warfare, they knew how to run a tribe, an iwi, how to build a house, how to grow food… none of the things that I can do today. Sometimes a bit of acting comes in handy,” he tells Saturday Morning’s Susie Ferguson.
Ka Whawhai Tonu (Struggle Without End) tells the story of the 1864 battle of O-Rākau from the perspective of Māori survivors. It will be released in cinemas on Matariki Weekend - June 27, 2024.
Since his early roles in Shortland Street and the award-winning film Once Were Warriors, Morrison has become a familiar face in international blockbusters like Star Wars and Aquaman.
He was on a break from filming Jason Momoa’s upcoming historical drama Chief of War when he headed to the Waikato to shoot Ka Whawhai Tonu.
Although being part of the film was a “beautiful experience” Morrison says he doesn’t really enjoy taking acting gigs in his hometown of Rotorua.
“We have a number of Māori actors here that are very good and sometimes I feel a little guilty that I’m taking one of my brothers’ jobs … But there was no one else, really, because I whakapapa to Ngāti Maniapoto as well.”
Playing the role of Ngāti Maniapoto chief Rewi Maniapoto was a way for Morrison to honour not only his ancestors but also the film’s director - his “very, very close friend” Michael Jonathan (Tainui, Mātaatua, Te Arawa).
Jonathan - a former cameraman and director of photography - was one of the early supporters of Morrison’s Hollywood acting dreams.
“When I had the desire to go to Hollywood, he was always there recording my auditions, editing them. We’d box them together, and he’d send them off to Hollywood.”
In Ka Whawhai Tonu, Morrison stars alongside Cliff Curtis (Ngāti Rongomai, Ngāti Pikiao), Miriama Smith (Te Arawa, Tūwharetoa) and newcomers Paku Fernandez and Hinerangi Harawira-Nicholas.
On set, he was reunited with fellow Māori actors he’d started out with and also fed off emotional performances by some “cuzzie bros” who hadn’t been on camera before.
“The woman who said the final quote [in the film], she was just so powerful. There was pain in her voice … the mana we call it, was coming through her voice. She had spirit, wairua. Man, that soon woke me up to the fact that our tupuna passed away [in this battle], a lot of our people passed away.
“These people were powerful people back in the 1860s. They still had mana. When they spoke, everyone listened.
“The tears were flowing, and the pain in the voices from some of the other performers really ignited my performance energies, in a way.
“Powerful, powerful feelings, a warm feeling, a camaraderie. And everyone’s in the same waka .... of ‘let’s do the best we can and make a good film for our brother [Michael Jonathan].”
On the Ka Whawhai Tonu set, Morrison found it “beautiful” to hear crew members call out instructions like ‘Karawhiua!’ [Action!] in te reo Māori.
“One day not so long ago, I was the only Māori on either side of the camera so my heart was beating a good beat.”
Ka Whawhai Tonu is part of a recent “renaissance of Māori filmmaking”, he says.
“We’re just getting a bigger pool of talent, a bigger pool of actors and we also need people behind the camera.”
Cliff Curtis as Wi Toka and Te Wakaunua Te Kurapa as Te Whenuanui in Ka Whawhai Tonu
Pākehā crew members worked “side by side” with Māori, Morrison says, and were “right in there with the reo” while also lending their expertise.
“They can make [a film] look epic with a very intimate budget because of their technical ability. They bring their excellence, they bring their expertise, and they certainly give us a bigger look.”
Because it was “a little bit scary” stepping into the shoes of a Māori ancestor, Morrison says, so he tried not to think about the pressure too much.
While performing, his focus was mostly on the dialogue - some taken directly from the survivor’s accounts.
Morrison says being part of Ka Whawhai Tonu has woken him up to the “big fight” his tupuna had to put up to try to protect their land.
“People were standing on the Bombay Hill looking down the Waikato, saying ‘Gee, this is going to be great farming land for us. There’s just one problem. We’ve got to get rid of these natives. Oh, my God, how we’re going to do that?’
“Boy, we can’t ignore that. [War] was how we were settled. We didn’t turn up in Boston and then have a cup of tea party, that’s for sure.”
