Lani Tupu
Encyclopedia
Lani Tupu is a classically trained actor. He was educated at Rongotai College
and Wellington Teacher's Training College. He was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council
Bursary
in 1977 to enter New Zealand Drama School, where he graduated in 1978. Lani left New Zealand for Australia in 1985 to "branch out across the big pond."
He has been nominated for several awards throughout his career. These include the Best New Talent at the 1984 Feltex Television Awards, several awards from the New Zealand Film and TV Awards
(1993) for Best Dramatic Performance and a Best Actor award for Talk of the Town, which he also directed, at the Dream Maker Festival in Ontario
, Canada. He was also finalist for the Male Performance Supporting Role at the 1986 Listener Film Television Awards for his work in the film Send a Gorilla, and was nominated for Best Actor in 1985.
Lani Tupu participated in the foundation of an Australian theatre group called The Walkers and Talkers, which is no longer running, and has also served as an acting coach and taught "Acting for the Camera" in Australia and New Zealand. He also runs weekly workshops on "Screen Acting" at the Actors Centre in Sydney, Australia. Tupu is active in stage production, both as a director and actor, and spends considerable time behind the camera. He directed Going Home for the stage as well as the critically acclaimed and award-winning short film Talk of the Town (1996).
Lani Tupu's TV appearances include:
Country GP, Impossible
(1988), Time Trax
(1993), The Feds (1993), High Tide (1994), Water Rats
(1996), The New Adventures of Flipper (1996), House Gang (1998), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World (1999/2000), Farscape
(1999–2003), Green Sails (2000), The Finder
(2001), Revelations - The Initial Journey
(2002), Grass Roots (2003), Stingers
(2002/2004), Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
(2004).
Lani Tupu's movie appearances include:
Send a Gorilla (1988), The Punisher
(1989), Marlin Bay
(1992), Heart of Fire (1997) (USA: "Tanker Incident"), Lantana
(2001), and Liquid Bridge (2003)
Rongotai College
Rongotai College is an all-boys state secondary school in the south-eastern suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, New Zealand. The students are aged 12 to 19.The decile 6 school has a roll of over 650 students...
and Wellington Teacher's Training College. He was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council
Creative New Zealand
The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets and audiences for New Zealand arts domestically and internationally...
Bursary
Bursary
A bursary is strictly an office for a bursar and his or her staff in a school or college.In modern English usage, the term has become synonymous with "bursary award", a monetary award made by an institution to an individual or a group to assist the development of their education.According to The...
in 1977 to enter New Zealand Drama School, where he graduated in 1978. Lani left New Zealand for Australia in 1985 to "branch out across the big pond."
He has been nominated for several awards throughout his career. These include the Best New Talent at the 1984 Feltex Television Awards, several awards from the New Zealand Film and TV Awards
New Zealand Film and TV Awards
The New Zealand Film and TV Awards were awarded in New Zealand from 1986 through 2003, and were supplanted by the New Zealand Film Awards.-Film Awards:In 2003 film awards were given in the following categories:*Best Film*Best Actor*Best Actress...
(1993) for Best Dramatic Performance and a Best Actor award for Talk of the Town, which he also directed, at the Dream Maker Festival in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada. He was also finalist for the Male Performance Supporting Role at the 1986 Listener Film Television Awards for his work in the film Send a Gorilla, and was nominated for Best Actor in 1985.
Lani Tupu participated in the foundation of an Australian theatre group called The Walkers and Talkers, which is no longer running, and has also served as an acting coach and taught "Acting for the Camera" in Australia and New Zealand. He also runs weekly workshops on "Screen Acting" at the Actors Centre in Sydney, Australia. Tupu is active in stage production, both as a director and actor, and spends considerable time behind the camera. He directed Going Home for the stage as well as the critically acclaimed and award-winning short film Talk of the Town (1996).
Lani Tupu's TV appearances include:
Country GP, Impossible
Mission: Impossible (1988 TV series)
Mission: Impossible is an American television series that chronicles the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The show is a revival of the 1966 TV series of the same name...
(1988), Time Trax
Time Trax
Time Trax was an American/Australian co-produced science fiction television series that first aired in 1993. A police officer, sent through time into the past, has to track down and return convicted criminals who have escaped prison in the future...
(1993), The Feds (1993), High Tide (1994), Water Rats
Water Rats (TV series)
Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney...
(1996), The New Adventures of Flipper (1996), House Gang (1998), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World (1999/2000), Farscape
Farscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
(1999–2003), Green Sails (2000), The Finder
The Finder
The Finder, also known as Finders Keepers, is an Australian children's television show, directed by Scott Hicks, that first aired on 28 October 1991, based on a book by Emily Rodda...
(2001), Revelations - The Initial Journey
Revelations - The Initial Journey
Revelations – The Initial Journey is a 2002 TV series, produced by Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group in New Zealand. The stories are told through the narrator who is called Jess the Traveller and played by Tom Hern. Each episode contains a story from a different time and place in world history....
(2002), Grass Roots (2003), Stingers
Stingers
Stingers was an Australian police drama television series. It ran for eight seasons on the Nine Network before it was canceled in late 2004 due to declining ratings and the late timeslot Channel Nine gave the program...
(2002/2004), Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars is a television science fiction mini-series written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and David Kemper and directed by Brian Henson. Following the Farscape series' unexpected cancellation in September 2002, it aimed to wrap-up the season four cliffhanger and tie up some elements...
(2004).
Lani Tupu's movie appearances include:
Send a Gorilla (1988), The Punisher
The Punisher (1989 film)
The Punisher is a 1989 film starring Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle, directed by Mark Goldblatt from a screenplay by Boaz Yakin. It is loosely based on the Marvel Comics' character The Punisher. The film changes many details of the comic book origin and the main character does not wear the...
(1989), Marlin Bay
Marlin Bay
Marlin Bay was a New Zealand one-hour drama television series which ran for 39 episodes from 1991 - 1994. The series was set in a fictional resort and casino in the picturesque far north of New Zealand. The series dealt with issues regarding the high-flying lifestyle surrounding the hotel and...
(1992), Heart of Fire (1997) (USA: "Tanker Incident"), Lantana
Lantana (film)
Lantana is a 2001 Australian film, directed by Ray Lawrence and featuring Anthony LaPaglia, Kerry Armstrong, Geoffrey Rush and Barbara Hershey. It is based on the play Speaking In Tongues by Andrew Bovell, which premiered at Sydney's Griffin Theatre Company...
(2001), and Liquid Bridge (2003)