Mario Gaoa (born 1971) is a New Zealand actor, writer and director, best known as a member of the

Naked Samoans The Naked Samoans is a New Zealand comedy group made up of Polynesian entertainers, most of whom are Samoan. The group performs social humour and satire that attracts a broad audience, especially among white New Zealanders, without sacrificing th ...

comedy group. He is of Samoan descent. As part of the group he has appeared in the film

Sione's Wedding ''Sione's Wedding'' (also marketed outside New Zealand as ''Samoan Wedding'') is a 2006 New Zealand comedic film directed by Chris Graham and written by James Griffin and Oscar Kightley, and produced by South Pacific Pictures. Plot Set in Au ...

; provided the voices of Sione Tapili and

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

in the animated series

Bro'Town ''bro'Town'' is a New Zealand adult animated comedy television series and sitcom that ran from 2004 to 2009. It starred David Fane, Mario Gaoa, Shimpal Lelisi and Oscar Kightley. Overview The main characters in the series are five 14 year o ...

, which he also co-writes; and acted in various Naked Samoans comedic theatre performances. He has also appeared in the film Nightmare Man and briefly in the television series

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 ...

. The youngest son of Sam and Tulua Gaoa, Gaoa grew up in the

Mount Roskill Mount Roskill is a suburban area in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is named for the volcanic peak Puketāpapa (commonly called "Mount Roskill" in English). Description The suburb, named after the Mount, is located seven kilometres to ...

suburb of

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 ...

, New Zealand. He attended Balmoral Intermediate School, where he met

Shimpal Lelisi Shimpal Lelisi (born ) is a New Zealand actor and TV presenter, best known as one of the members of the Naked Samoans. Biography Born in Niue, Shimpal came to New Zealand at the age of four. He began acting at an early age, taking part in scho ...

, later to become another Naked Samoans member. The two attended

Mt Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in ...

before joining the

Pacific Theatre group The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. This led them to meet

David Fane David Rodney Fane (born 28 December 1966) is a New Zealand actor of Samoan descent. Early life and education Fane was educated at St. Pauls College in Grey Lynn. Career Fane got into acting quite late and trained at the New Zealand Drama ...

and

Oscar Kightley Oscar Vai To'elau Kightley (born 14 September 1969) is a Samoan-born New Zealand actor, television presenter, writer, journalist, director, and comedian. He acted in and co-wrote the successful 2006 film ''Sione's Wedding''. Biography Kightley ...

, the other founding members of Naked Samoans. Gaoa continues to write for stage and television, delivering a dramatic piece ''Two Days in Dream'' in Auckland. The critics' reviews of his first work encouraged him to focus more on writing. Currently he is free lance directing for both Tagata Pasifika and

Mai Time Mai, or MAI, may refer to: Names * Mai (Chinese surname) * Mai (Vietnamese surname) * Mai (name) * Mai (singer), J-Pop singer * Iris Mai (born 1962), German chess master Places * Chiang Mai, largest city in northern Thailand * Ma-i, a pre-Hispa ...

. He also hosts a lunchtime show named the "Beat Box" on the New Zealand Pacific radio station

Niu Fm The Pacific Media Network is a New Zealand radio network and pan-Pasifika national broadcasting network, currently owned and operated by the National Pacific Radio Trust and partly funded by the Government. It includes the PMN 531 radio network, ...

. Alongside DJ Reminise He directed one of the segments of the anthology film '' We Are Still Here'', which premiered as the opening film of the 2022

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

.Sandy George
"Indigenous anthology feature ‘We Are Still Here’ to open Sydney Film Festival 2022"
''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'', 4 May 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaoa, Mario 1971 births New Zealand people of Samoan descent Actors of Samoan descent New Zealand male comedians New Zealand writers New Zealand male television actors New Zealand male voice actors New Zealand broadcasters People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School Living people Pacific Media Network