Julian Dennison (born 26 October 2002) is a New Zealand actor. He starred in the 2013 film ''
Shopping
Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A Retail#Shopper profiles, typology of shopper types ha ...
'' for which he won the English Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. He is known for his roles as Ricky Baker in ''
Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' (2016), the highest-grossing New Zealand film in history,
Russell "Firefist" Collins in ''
Deadpool 2'' (2018), and Belsnickel in ''
The Christmas Chronicles 2''. He also played Josh Valentine in ''
Godzilla vs. Kong''
in 2021 and had a leading role in the film ''
Uproar'' (2023).
He also played Fishlegs in ''
How to Train Your Dragon'' (2025).
Life and career
Dennison was born and raised in
Lower Hutt,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. He is the third of a family of four children, and has a twin brother named Christian. Julian is of
Māori descent and is a member of the
Ngāti Hauā iwi (tribe), part of the
Tainui tribal confederation. Dennison's mother Mabelle Dennison is an actress.
He attended Naenae Primary School, where he first auditioned, and got his first part in the 2013 film ''
Shopping
Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A Retail#Shopper profiles, typology of shopper types ha ...
'', He was then cast in the Australian film ''
Paper Planes'' (2015). He later attended
Hutt International Boys' School in
Upper Hutt.
Dennison continued with acting and was given a role in an advertisement for the
NZ Transport Agency to discourage driving under the influence of drugs. The
public service announcement, which became an internet sensation in New Zealand and Australia, was directed by
Taika Waititi, who later asked Dennison to star in his film ''
Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' (2016) without the need to audition. The film went on to become New Zealand's highest-grossing film to date, and was critically acclaimed.
Dennison played
Russell Collins / Firefist in the 2018 film ''
Deadpool 2''. He was cast because of his ''Wilderpeople'' performance, and the friendship of Waititi with ''Deadpool''s filmmakers. In 2020, Dennison co-starred in ''
The Christmas Chronicles 2'', portraying
Belsnickel and also voicing his elf form, and in 2021, he had a large supporting role in the monster sequel ''
Godzilla vs. Kong''.
In 2023, he was cast in the
A24 film ''
Y2K''.
Dennison played the main role of Josh Waaka in the film ''
Uproar'' in 2023. His performance was praised by ''
The Age'', for its "admirable restraint".
In an interview for ''
The Post'', Dennison stated that his lead role in ''Uproar'' was when "I felt like I was finding my voice."
In January 2024, Dennison was announced to play Fishlegs Ingerman in the
live-action remake of ''
How to Train Your Dragon''.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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Julian Dennisonat
NZ on Screen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennison, Julian
2002 births
New Zealand male film actors
New Zealand male child actors
New Zealand male Māori actors
Ngāti Hauā people
Living people
People from Lower Hutt