Antonio Te Maioha (born 1 February 1970) is a television and film

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He came to international prominence playing a

gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

Barca, the Beast of Carthage, in the television drama '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'' and its prequel '' Spartacus: Gods of the Arena''.

Background

Te Maioha was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

on 1 February 1970, and was raised in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

in the

Hawke's Bay Region Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. His father was of Maori descent through both the Ngapuhi tribe, the largest in New Zealand, and the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

tribe, also known as the "Tainui" or "Waikato-Tainui."

Career

Antonio Te Maioha started his career as a street performer before gaining a place at the Toi Whakaari Drama School in 1992. He graduated with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Acting) in 2005. He went on to work with a Maori theatre project run by actor

Jim Moriarty James Moriarty (born 20 June 1953) is a New Zealand actor and theatre director, who began acting professionally in 1967. He came to national attention and is probably best known for his role as the school teacher Riki Winiata in the 1970s soap ...

and was in the cast of ''

Waiora Waiora is a trio of indigenous Māori musicians from New Zealand. The three members of Waiora are Horomona Horo, Korey Atama, and Joshua Henare Rogers. The musical performances of Waiora are centred upon the ancient cultural practices of the M ...

'', touring New Zealand,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. One of Antonio Te Maioha's first significant television roles was in 1998 playing Boraxis in ''

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is an American television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as ...

'' followed by guest roles in '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and ''

Legend of the Seeker ''Legend of the Seeker'' is an American television series created by Sam Raimi, based on the fantasy novel series ''The Sword of Truth'' by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series ...

'', a weekly television series based on ''

The Sword of Truth ''The Sword of Truth'' is a series of twenty-one epic fantasy novels and 6 novellas written by Terry Goodkind. The books follow the protagonists Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell, Nicci, Cara, and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander on their quest to defeat oppr ...

'' novels by

Terry Goodkind Terry Lee Goodkind (January 11, 1948September 17, 2020) was an American writer. He was known for the epic fantasy series ''The Sword of Truth'' as well as the contemporary suspense novel ''The Law of Nines'' (2009), which has ties to his fantasy ...

." He has also appeared in other New Zealand-based television productions, including ''

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 ...

'' and ''

The Lost World The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late- Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century. The g ...

''. Te Maioha has also had roles in several films, including ''Te Tangata Whai Rawa O Weneti'' and a short film called ''

Taua A taua is a war party in the tradition of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Contemporary knowledge of taua is gleaned from missionary observations and writings during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century and the later New Zeal ...

'' (War Party)" and the 2000 film ''Feathers of Peace'' (Ngati Tama Warrior) directed by

Barry Barclay Barry Ronald Barclay, New Zealand Order of Merit, MNZM (12 May 1944 – 19 February 2008) was a New Zealand filmmaker and writer of Māori people, Māori (Ngāti Apa) and Pākehā (European) descent. Background Barclay was born in Masterton and ra ...

. Te Maioha has come to international attention through his supporting role as the

Barca in the television drama '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'' and its prequel '' Spartacus: Gods of the Arena''. Nicknamed the "Beast of Carthage", Barca is the bodyguard and hitman of a dominus owner named Batiatus.Spartacus: Gods of the Arena website
/ref> Several episodes into the show, he is shown to be in a

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

relationship with a slave boy named Pietros.Antonio Te Maioha - The Gay Gladiator.
Spartacus website. He is eventually murdered when Pietros is tricked into revealing damning evidence about Barca. In 2016 he was cast in a minor role of a Maori Warrior in ''

Zoolander 2 ''Zoolander 2'' (promoted as ''Zoolander No. 2'') is a 2016 American action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller and written by John Hamburg, Justin Theroux, Stiller, and Nicholas Stoller. It is the sequel to the 2001 film ''Zoolander''. It stars S ...

''.

Personal life

Antonio Te Maioha is married and lives in the town of Raglan on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. Active in local

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

, he has hosted a Sustainable Futures Forum in Waikato that brought around 80 people to discuss a variety of environmental issues.TV star to host Waikato sustainability workshop.
Environment Waikato, 30 August 2007. He has also publicly discussed his personal involvement and Raglan's leadership in

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

, citing the accomplishments of a local organization called Xtreme Waste. Te Maioha is uncomfortable with being labeled as a "greenie," saying that he is just doing "stuff everybody could" and that being given such a label means that other people will "write you off...instead of actually listening to what’s being said or applying changes in their own lives."

References

External links

Listings of Film and TV roles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Te Maioha, Antonio Living people 1970 births Ngāpuhi people Waikato Tainui people People from Raglan, New Zealand New Zealand male Māori actors New Zealand male television actors New Zealand male film actors New Zealand male soap opera actors 20th-century New Zealand male actors 21st-century New Zealand male actors Toi Whakaari alumni