Lee Tamahori, Māori Director of “Die Another Day” and “Once Were Warriors,” Dies at 75

The film industry lost one of its best directors late last week, as Lee Tamahori passed away in his native New Zealand at the age of 75. His family issued an announcement over the weekend stating that Tamahori died peacefully in his home after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. The director got his start in the film industry in the early 1970s and went on to helm big projects like the James Bond spy film “Die Another Day” and the Alex Cross crime drama “Along Came a Spider.”

Lee Tamahori’s Small Beginnings

Tamahori grew up in the suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand. After graduating from Tawa College, he began a career as a commercial artist and photographer. He got his start in the film industry working for free as a boom operator for television shows and movies. Director Geoff Murphy gave Tamahori his first break in the early 1980s, promoting him to assistant director and later first assistant director.

In 1986, Tamahori co-founded a production company called Flying Fish and began specializing in commercials. By the 1990s, he had moved up to short television dramas. In 1994, though, Tamahori would break through with his feature film debut, “Once Were Warriors.”

The movie, based on a best-selling novel by Alan Duff, depicted the troubled Māori (indigenous) family struggling to survive after the colonization of New Zealand. Despite struggling to find funding for the movie, it broke box office records and won awards in New Zealand.

Tamahori’s Move To Hollywood

Following the success of “Once Were Warriors,” Tamahori moved to the United States and began a career in Hollywood. While his first major film in the U.S., the gangster crime drama “Mulholland Falls,” was not a big success, it became a stepping stone to bigger things. Tamahori scored a hit with his next film, the Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin-led action thriller “The Edge.”

After doing an episode of “The Sopranos,” Tamahori directed his two biggest hits. First, in 2001, he worked with Morgan Freeman on the award-winning Alex Cross movie “Along Came a Spider.” Then came his biggest success, “Die Another Day,” starring Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry. At the time, the movie was the most successful James Bond flick ever made.

Tamahori continued making films throughout the 2000s and 2010s. He scored hits with “Next” (starring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, and Jessica Biel) and “The Devil’s Double” (starring Dominic Cooper), before returning to New Zealand to film 2016’s “The Patriarch.”

The Final Years

Tamahori directed an episode of the Showtime original “Billions” in 2020. His most recent film was the 2023 historical drama “The Convert,” starring Guy Pierce. The project again touched on his Māori heritage. Tamahori made one last film, but it is unclear if it will be released. In 2012, he started work on a film entitled “Emperor” starring Adrien Brody, Paz Vega, Oliver Platt, Sophie Cookson, Rutger Hauer, and Bill Skarsgård. The movie has battled legal issues for years and is still in post-production. It is currently scheduled for a 2026 release.

Lee Tamahori’s Legacy

Tamahori was not just a brilliant and influential director, but he was a champion of the New Zealand film industry and the Māori culture and its actors. From historical dramas to a Bond classic, his films have had worldwide success. Colleagues and fans of his work will sorely miss his unique talents on both the small and silver screens.