Temuera Derek Morrison (born 26 December 1960) is a New Zealand actor and Singer who first gained recognition for his role as Dr. Hone Ropata on the soap opera ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

''. He gained critical acclaim for his starring role as Jake "The Muss" Heke in the 1994 film '' Once Were Warriors'' and its 1999 sequel '' What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?'' Outside New Zealand, Morrison is best known for his work in the '' Star Wars'' multimedia franchise, playing the roles of Jango Fett as well as his many genetic clones, including the clone troopers and Jango's clone son Boba. He originated the role of Jango in the 2002 film '' Attack of the Clones''. Morrison would go on to provide the voice of Boba Fett in the 2004 re-release of ''

The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a stor ...

'', and then portray Boba fully in the second season of ''

The Mandalorian ''The Mandalorian'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is the first live-action series in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, beginning five years after the events of '' Retur ...

'' (2019–present) and the spin-off show ''

The Book of Boba Fett ''The Book of Boba Fett'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the ''Star Wars'' franchise and a spin-off from the series ''The Mandalorian'', taking place in th ...

'' (2021–present). Morrison is also known for voicing Chief Tui, the father of the title character in

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''Moana'' (2016), and for playing Arthur Curry's father Thomas Curry in the

DCEU The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that ap ...

films ''Aquaman'' (2018), and ''

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Aquaman. Produced by DC Studios, the Safran Company, and Atomic Monster Productions, and set for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures, ...

'' (2023). Additionally he will also portray an undisclosed character in '' The Flash'' (2023).

Early life

Morrison was born on 26 December 1960 in the town of Rotorua, on the North Island of New Zealand. He is the son of Hana Morrison (née Stafford), and musician Laurie Morrison. He is Māori, of

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Ngāti Whakaue) and

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are ...

(

Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on th ...

, Ngāti Rarua)

whakapapa Whakapapa (, ), or genealogy, is a fundamental principle in Māori culture. Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and the mana of those. Exp ...

, and also has Scottish and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

ancestry. His sister was performer Taini Morrison and his uncle was musician Sir Howard Morrison. His secondary education took place at

Wesley College, Auckland Wesley College is a secondary school in Paerata, at the northern edge of Pukekohe, Auckland Region, New Zealand. The school provides education from year 9 to 13. The school was founded by members of the Methodist Church in 1844, making it one ...

, and Western Heights High School, Rotorua.

Career

His first role was Rangi in the 1973 film ''

Rangi's Catch ''Rangi's Catch'' is a 1972 children's adventure film directed by Michael Forlong. It was based on a book by Margaret Ford. The eponymous role is played by a young Temuera Morrison in his first role. Originally made as eight episodes for televi ...

''. He trained in drama under the New Zealand Special Performing Arts Training Scheme. One of his earliest starring roles was in the 1988 film '' Never Say Die'', opposite

Lisa Eilbacher Lisa Marie Eilbacher (born May 5, 1956) is a retired American actress. Early life Lisa Marie Eilbacher was born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the daughter of an American oil company executive. She was raised in France. Her two siblings are also act ...

. After this he played Dr. Hone Ropata on the television soap opera ''

'' from 1992 to 1995; he was immortalised when another character rebuked him with the line "You're not in Guatemala now, Dr. Ropata!" In 1994, he received attention for his role as the violent and abusive Māori husband Jake "The Muss" Heke in '' Once Were Warriors'', a film adaptation of Alan Duff's novel of the same name. The film became the most successful local title released in New Zealand, and sold to many countries overseas. The role won him international acclaim and he received the award for best male performance in a dramatic role at the 1994

New Zealand Film and Television Awards New Zealand film and television awards have gone by many different names and have been organised by different industry groups. As of 2017, New Zealand has relaunched a standalone New Zealand Television Awards after a five-year hiatus. The film awar ...

. He reprised the role in the sequel, '' What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?'', for which he received the Best Actor award from the New Zealand Film Awards. Despite the acclaim he received for his performance, Morrison said in 2010 that he felt typecast by the role, to the point that it was "a millstone round my neck". He has appeared in supporting roles in '' Speed 2: Cruise Control'' (1997) and '' The Beautiful Country'' (2004). In 2005, Morrison became the host of the talk show ''The Tem Show'' on New Zealand television. In the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours, Morrison was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to drama. He started writing an autobiography in 2009, which he hoped would inspire others to "reach for the stars''"''. He released his debut album, ''Tem'', through Sony Music Entertainment NZ in late November 2014. The album consists of covers of songs that his father, and uncle Sir Howard Morrison, used to perform at local venues when he was growing up.

''Star Wars''

Morrison appeared as the bounty hunter Jango Fett in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' (2002). Part of the film's plot involves an army of clones created with Jango's DNA; Morrison also provided the voice acting for the clones. He reappeared as a number of clones in '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'', and re-recorded the lines of the character Boba Fett (Jango's clone "son") in the 2004 DVD re-releases of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, replacing the voice of

Jason Wingreen Jason Wingreen (October 9, 1920 – December 25, 2015) was an American actor. He portrayed bartender Harry Snowden on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1977–1979), a role he reprised on the continuation series ''Archie Bunker's Place'' ( ...

. He has since portrayed Jango Fett and his clones in a number of ''Star Wars'' video games, all produced by

LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as part of a large ...

. He played the clone commando " Boss" in '' Star Wars: Republic Commando'' (2005), voiced all the troopers in '' Star Wars: Battlefront'' (2004), and voiced both Jango and Boba Fett in its sequel, '' Battlefront II'' (2005). Morrison reprised his role as Jango in '' Star Wars: Bounty Hunter'' (2002), a game centered around the character, and '' LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game'' (2005), along with his clones, but was uncredited in the latter. He also voiced Boba in the 2006 game '' Star Wars: Empire at War'', and DICE's '' Star Wars Battlefront'' (2015) and '' Battlefront II'' (2017), the latter of which were produced by EA. Morrison physically portrayed Boba Fett for the first time in the second season of ''

'' (2020). In the show, Morrison portrays an aged, weathered version of the character. Morrison's Fett has heavy scars on his face, and wears dark robes before reclaiming and restoring his armor. Morrison says that with the physically worn appearance, he adjusted his voice to be more gravelly, as if Boba's vocal cords were affected by his past traumas. With the role, Morrison was also able to bring a bit of his own Māori culture to Fett's portrayal. In an interview with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', he said that he "wanted to bring that kind of spirit and energy, which we call wairua, o the role and used that influence in his on-screen fight scenes, both in the hand-to-hand combat and while wielding weapons. In 2020, a spinoff of the hit series ''The Mandalorian'' was announced, titled ''

''. Morrison reprises his role as Boba Fett, following Fett's life after the events of the 1983 film ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...

''. The series premiered on December 29, 2021. In 2022, Morrison made a cameo appearance as a homeless veteran clone trooper in the ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' TV series.

Other roles

Morrison returned to ''Shortland Street'' for six weeks in June/July 2008 to reprise the role of Dr. Hone Ropata. In 2008, Morrison also appeared on New Zealand skit comedy television show '' Pulp Sport'', where he appeared in a sketch that made fun of him being cloned. Morrison has appeared in two separate DC Comics related films. The first, portraying

Abin Sur Abin Sur is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was a member of the Green Lantern Corps and is best known as the predecessor of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, whom Abin Sur's power ring chose as his replacement. Aft ...

in the 2011 film ''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

''. In 2018 he played lighthouse keeper and Arthur‘s father Tom Curry in ''Aquaman''. He will reprise the role in ''The Flash'' set for release on November 4, 2022 and, ''

'', also scheduled to be released in 2022 the following month in December.

Personal life

Morrison lives in New Zealand, and divides his time between filming there, Australia, and the United States. He has an adult son from a relationship in the late-1980s with singer Kim Willoughby from the all-girl group When the Cat's Away; and a daughter with Peata Melbourne. Morrison's partner is Ashlee Howden-Sadlier, who is of Māori descent (specifically Tūhoe and Ngāti Porou descent).

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * * * Betros, Chris (17 July 2006)
"Once a warrior, Temuera Morrison now New Zealand's best known film star"
''Japan Today''. Retrieved 20 February 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Temuera 1960 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand male actors 21st-century New Zealand male actors Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand male child actors New Zealand male film actors New Zealand male Māori actors New Zealand male soap opera actors New Zealand male television actors New Zealand male video game actors New Zealand male voice actors New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand people of Scottish descent People educated at Wesley College, Auckland People educated at Western Heights High School People from Rotorua Te Arawa people