Matariki Whatarau is a New Zealand actor and musician. Whatarau is also a founding member of Māori showband the

Modern Māori Quartet The Modern Māori Quartet (MMQ) is a showband musical group from New Zealand. The group comprises core members James Tito, Matariki Whatarau, Maaka Pohatu and Francis Kora, with occasional rotation of the lineup depending on availability of the pe ...

. He co-wrote and performed songs, with the other band members, for the Modern Māori Quartet's debut album ''That's Us!'' (2017). Whatarau appeared on the television programmes, ''

Go Girls ''Go Girls'' is a New Zealand comedy-drama television series that centers on four adult friends, three female and one male, living on Auckland's North Shore. In the fifth season it was the same premise, but this time centered on five adult fr ...

'' and ''Find me a Māori Bride''. Whatarau also had a feature role in the film ''The Pā Boys'' (2014).''MatarikiWhatarau'', Whatarau co-hosted

Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

's ''My Party Song'' as part of the ''Modern Māori Quartet''. In 2018, Matariki, along with other members of the ''Modern Māori Quartet'', began touring their cabaret show ''Modern Māori Quartet: Two Worlds.''

Early life

Whatarau 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 ...

Tāmaki Makaurau Tāmaki Makaurau is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was first formed for the . The electorate covers the Auckland area and was first held by Labour ...

, New Zealand and is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

(

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative di ...

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupo and Manawatu/Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti Raukawa reco ...

Ngāti Whanaunga Ngāti Whanaunga is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand, descended from Whanaunga, the third son of Marutūāhu. It is one of the tribes of the Marutūāhu confederation, the others being Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Ron ...

) descent. Matariki attended high school in Beijing, China and in Lilongwe, Malawi. Whatarau is a graduate of Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School (Te Kura Toi Whakaari ō Aotearoa) earning a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Acting) in 2009.

Career

Theatre

Whatarau performed in the theatre shows, ''Awhi Tapu'' and ''Party with the Aunties''. In January 2020, Whatarau performed in, ''Modern Māori Quartet: Two Worlds'', at the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

theatre,

SoHo Playhouse The SoHo Playhouse is an Off-Broadway theatre at 15 Vandam Street in the Hudson Square area of Manhattan. The theatre opened in 1962 as the Village South Theatre with the original production of Jean Erdman's musical play ''The Coach with the Six ...

Film and Television

Whatarau had a leading role as 'Tau', in the NZ film ''The Pā Boys'', alongside fellow ''Modern Māori Quartet'' band member

Francis Kora Francis Kora is a New Zealand musician and actor. He currently performs with the groups Kora and the Modern Māori Quartet. He co-wrote and performed songs, with the other band members, for the Modern Māori Quartet's debut album ''That's Us!' ...

. Whatarau also had supporting roles in the films

The Dead Lands ''The Dead Lands'' is a 2014 New Zealand action film directed by Toa Fraser. It was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival where it had its world premier on 4 September 2014. It was selected ...

(2014) and Mahana (2016). For 2 seasons, Matariki played, George Alpert, in the

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

series, ''Find Me a Māori Bride'' (2015-2017). Matariki, and the other members of the ''Modern Māori Quartet'', served as the in-house band on Māori Television’s variety show, ''Happy Hour'' (2014). He also acted in some of the shows comedy sketches.

Music

Whatarau is a member of Māori showband the

, alongside

Maaka Pohatu Maaka Pohatu is a New Zealand actor and musician. Pohatu is also a founding member of Māori showband the Modern Māori Quartet. He co-wrote and performed songs, with the other band members, for the Modern Māori Quartet's debut album ''That's U ...

and James Tito.

Personal life

Matariki is a fluent speaker of Mandarin.

Discography

* ''Happy Hour'' (2014) * ''That's Us!'' (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whatarau, Matariki Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century New Zealand male actors New Zealand male Māori actors New Zealand male television actors New Zealand male film actors Ngāti Kahungunu people Ngāti Raukawa people Ngāti Whanaunga people People from Auckland 21st-century guitarists 21st-century New Zealand male singers New Zealand Māori male singers New Zealand male singer-songwriters Toi Whakaari alumni