Jay Laga'aia (born 10 September 1963) is a New Zealand-Australian actor and singer. He is known internationally for his role as Captain Typho in the films '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' and '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith''. Laga'aia is noted for his television roles, including Senior Constable Tommy Tavita in the Australian police drama '' Water Rats'', lawyer David Silesi in the New Zealand legal drama '' Street Legal'' and Elijah Johnson in the long running Australian soap opera ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

''. He currently appears in an Australian Children's TV Series called '' Jay's Jungle'', which has been broadcast since 2015. He is a regular feature on Australian kids program '' Play School''.

Career

Laga'aia debuted as a musician in 1982 as a member of the Consorts, who released the

Dalvanius Prime Maui Dalvanius Prime (16 January 1948 – 3 October 2002) was a New Zealand entertainer and songwriter. His career spanned 30 years. He mentored many of New Zealand's Māori performers, and was a vocal and forthright supporter of Māori culture ...

-produced single " Maoris on 45", which was one of the top selling singles in New Zealand in 1982. Laga'aia is known for his part on Australian children's TV show ''Playschool'', and also for his role as Captain Typho in the films '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' and '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith''. He played the recurring role of Draco in three episodes of the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

'' Xena: Warrior Princess''. Laga'aia was a regular in Australian television shows '' Water Rats'', '' Play School'', '' Surprise Surprise'', and a contestant on ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...

'' in 2002 and had a guest role as

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

in ''

McLeod's Daughters ''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting eight seasons. It stars Lisa Chappell and Bri ...

''. He is also known for his stage productions such as ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...

''. Laga'aia played the role of

Judas Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betr ...

in a 1994 production of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' in New Zealand. On 9 October 2007, Laga'aia released a children's album, ''Come Dance and Sing''. On 24 December 2008, Laga'aia performed on '' Carols by Candlelight''. Laga'aia narrated each of the characters on the children's show ''

Larry the Lawnmower ''Larry the Lawnmower'' is an Australian pre-schoolers program broadcast that airs on Seven Network in Australia. created by Tim Faircloth. The series follows Larry the Lawnmower and his four friends Wheelie the Wheelbarrow, Rosie the Rake, Tang ...

'', which ran for 2 seasons starting in 2008. In November 2009, it was confirmed that Laga'aia had joined the cast of Australian soap opera ''

'', as Reverend Elijah Johnson, until his sacking in February 2012. Laga'aia released his second CD for children, ''I Can Play Anything'', in August 2010. In 2008 Laga'aia took on the role as Ambassador for the Touch By Olivia Foundation Charity. In 2012 he was appointed as the new Ambassador for the Queensland Kindergartens. In 2012 Laga'aia two albums, a Christmas album entitled ''Christmas at Jays Place'' and a nursery rhyme album called ''10 in the Bed''. He also provided the music for Scholastic's picture book 'Baby Elephant Walk'. He returned to the stage to play the role of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the 2013-14 New Zealand and Australia national tour of the acclaimed Broadway musical, ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

''. In 2019, he was part of the Australian tour cast of Peter Pan Goes Wrong.

Personal life

Laga'aia was born and raised in Mangere,

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

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 is now a dual (New Zealand) and

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

citizen. He is of Samoan descent. He has six brothers and sisters and two half-brothers. One of his younger brothers, Frank Laga'aia, was a member of the

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

award-winning band

Ilanda Ilanda were an Australian-based vocal harmony and dance group which formed in 1991 as Past to Present. Initially a four-piece, with Leighton Hema, Frank Laga'aia, Lennie Keller and his brother, Norman Keller. They are all New Zealand-born, thou ...

. Jay is also a member of the International Costuming group th
501st Legion
as a member of the Terror Australis Garrison (Australia). Since 1990, Laga'ia has been married to Sandra Jane Laga'aia, the head of maths at Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus, whom he has eight children with.

Filmography

Film

Television

As himself

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lagaaia, Jay 1963 births Australian male film actors Australian people of Samoan descent Australian male television actors Living people New Zealand male film actors New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand male television actors Naturalised citizens of Australia New Zealand emigrants to Australia Actors of Samoan descent Australian children's television presenters New Zealand children's television presenters I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australian TV series) participants People from Māngere