Beginning as a commercial artist and photographer, he joined the New Zealand film industry in the late 1970s as a boom operator. He became an assistant director a decade later. Making international award-winning commercials for 10 years, he has also directed several TV series. His first feature film, Once Were Warriors, won the PEN First Book Award.
His father is Maori, his mother is British. Past jobs have included: commercial artist, photographer, boom operator, and assistant director