Taika Waititi, also known as Taika Cohen, is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian known for directing Thor: Ragnarok and writing and directing Jojo Rabbit. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2004 short film Two Cars, One Night.

His feature films Boy (2010) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) have each been the top-grossing New Zealand film for a time. He co-directed and starred in the horror-comedy film What We Do in the Shadows (2014) with Jemaine Clement.

Waititi wrote the initial screenplay for the 2016 Disney film Moana, which focused on gender and family. Those elements were passed over in favor of what would become the finalized story.

In 2017, Waititi directed and played Korg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Thor: Ragnarok. That same year, Waititi won the award for New Zealander of the Year but was unable to receive it in person due to work commitments.

In 2019, he directed and portrayed Adolf Hitler in the satirical black comedy Jojo Rabbit, which he also wrote. He won an Oscar Award for Adapted Screenplay for this movie.

Waititi has described himself as a Polynesian Jew, as his father is Maori and his mother has both Irish and Russian Jewish heritage.

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