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'' (''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 to Kangaroo Point, N ...

''. He appeared in an Australian Children's TV Series called '' Jay's Jungle'', which aired from 2015–2018. He was 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 ''Play School'', 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, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

'' 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 ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''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, t ...

'' in 2002 and had a guest role as

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

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 ...

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

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

''. Laga'aia played the role of

Judas Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of ...

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 Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'' 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 Carols by Candlelight is an annual Australian Christmas tradition that was popularised in Melbourne in 1938. The tradition has since spread around the world. It involves people gathering, usually outdoors in a park, to sing carols by candlel ...

''. Laga'aia narrated each of the characters on the children's show ''

Larry the Lawnmower Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer * Larry Bo ...

'', 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 February 2012. Laga'aia released his second CD for children, ''I Can Play Anything'', in August 2010. In 2009 Laga'aia took on the role of Ambassador for the Touched by Olivia Foundation. In 2012 he was appointed as an Ambassador for kindergartens in Queensland. In 2012 Laga'aia released 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'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...

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

Personal life

Laga'aia was born and raised in

Māngere Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...

South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. One of his younger brothers, Frank Laga'aia, was a member of the

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

award-winning band Ilanda. Jay is also a member of international costuming group th
501st Legion
as a member of the Terror Australis Garrison (Australia). Since 1990, Laga'aia has been married to Sandra Jane Laga'aia, one of the deputy principals at Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus, with whom he has eight children. Their daughter Catherine is a child actress. In June 2024, she was cast as the titular character in the 2026 live-action film '' Moana''.

Discography

Albums

Filmography

Film

Television

Other appearances

Theatre

Laga'aia has appeared in numerous theatre productions. Laga'aia appeared in the musical ''Grease.'' In 2025, Laga'aia appeared in the Hayes Theatre version of ''The Pirates of Penance.''

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 People from Māngere