About Lee Tamahori
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 neo-noir Mulholland Falls (1996), 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 dramas Mahana (2016) and The Convert (2023). He won the New Zealand Film Award for Best Director for Once Were Warriors, with a second nomination for Mahana, and another win for The Convert. In 1986, Tamahori co-founded the production company Flying Fish, which specialised in making commercials. He made his name with a series of high-profile television commercials, including one for Instant Kiwi which was awarded Commercial of the Decade. In the early 1980s, Goodbye Pork Pie director Geoff Murphy promoted Tamahori to assistant director on Utu, and he then worked as first assistant director on The Silent One, Murphy's The Quiet Earth, Came a Hot Friday, and Merry Christmas, Mr.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.