HoriAhipene
- Actor
The versatile Hori Ahipene became a New Zealand comedy fixture in the 1990s after playing a Samoan matriarch on Skitz and The Semisis, a DJ in pioneering bilingual sitcom Radio Wha Waho, and his work directing for a run of sketch shows. The Toi Whakaari graduate went on to co-star with Te Radar on offbeat sitcom and chat show B&B, then took on dual roles for kapa haka comedy The Ring Inz.
Biography
Hori Ahipene grew up in the Waikato forestry town of Mangakino. The youngest of five, he soon developed a sense of humour: “in many ways humour was my way of diffusing situations”. As a teen, Ahipene scored a lead role at his older sister’s drama club, after the original actor broke his leg. "I knew that I’d just found my passion”.
Screenography
“For a long time, I was the Māori in Pākehā productions. In Ring Inz, I'm a Māori in a Māori production that reflects a Māori world in the Māori language, that's accessible for all — it's not exclusive, and it's a joy to be part of.”
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