Located in the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand is a relatively big island country located around one thousand miles from Australia which is its closest neighbor. This remote country consists of the South and North islands alongside numerous smaller islands. There are several major urban centers including Wellington that is the capital city and Auckland and both cities are situated on the North Island.
New Zealand is home to numerous natural wonders such as Milford Sound and foreign tourists enjoy kayaking through this stunning area that was formed thousands of years ago. Millions of tourists coming to New Zealand every year also visit Champagne Pools, Waitomo Glowworms, and the Blue Pools. New Zealand is also home to a thriving movie industry and awesome actors and some of these inclyde Sam Neill, Russell Crowe, Martin Henderson, Jemaine Clement, Cliff Curtis, Temuera Morrison, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Melanie Lynskey, Alan Dale, and Karl Urban.
1. Sam Neill
One of the most famous New Zealanders in the movie industry is most certainly Sam Neill. Even though he was born in Northern Ireland, he has New Zealand citizenship as he moved there back in 1954. Neill spent most of his teenage years in New Zealand and he considers himself a New Zealander. Sam has been active in the movie industry since 1970 and he appeared in numerous movies over the years including Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Jurassic Park, Event Horizon, and Dirty Deeds.
Dirty Deeds is a comedy crime movie that revolves around Australian gangster Barry Ryan played by Bryan Brown and his blossoming gambling operation. Barry is making thousands of dollars per day only from slot machines and the character played by Sam Neill, Detective Sergeant Ray Murphy, is hot on his trail. Speaking of gambling and casinos, New Zealand in real life is home to numerous renowned, reputable no deposit casino venues.
2. Russell Crowe
Alongside Sam Neill, Russell Crowe is undoubtedly the most famous New Zealander who made it big in Hollywood. Russell Crowe was born in 1964 in Wellington. He had his first role in the Spyforce television series in 1972 and starred in his first movies Prisoners of the Sun and The Crossing in 1990, followed by an acclaimed role in 1992’s Romper Stomper.
However, this amazing New Zealander is best known for his extraordinary performance in Gladiator. For his role as the main character Maximus, he won an Academy Award. His other great movies include A Beautiful Mind, L.A. Confidential, and True History of the Kelly Gang. Most recently, Crowe announced he would be starring in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder movie.
3. Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson was born in Auckland in 1974 and during his fruitful acting career, he appeared in Smokin’ Aces, The Ring, Torque, Flyboys, and many other movies. Martin Henderson is also known for his roles in several television shows. He appeared in Grey’s Anatomy and played Dr. Ben Keeton in ABC’s medical drama Off the Map. At the beginning of his career, he played Stuart Neilson in Shortland Street alongside Michael Gavin, Bet Mitchell, Sam Bunkall, Ben Barrington, and Sally Martin.
4. Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement also born in New Zealand is best known for his appearance in Men in Black 3, What We Do in the Shadows, and Flight of the Conchords. Clement is also a very talented writer, director, and singer. He directed five episodes of the What We Do in the Shadows television series as well as two episodes of Short Poppies. He was also one of the producers of What We Do in the Shadows, Flight of the Conchords, and Wellington Paranormal.
5. Cliff Curtis
Cliff Curtis was born in Rotorua, New Zealand in 1968. He started his fruitful acting career in Man of La Mancha and Fiddler on the Roof musicals, while his big screen break finally came in 1993. He had a small role in The Piano. Later on, he appeared in several New Zealand movies including Once Were Warriors before finding international success with Bringing Out the Dead, Blow, Training Day, Collateral Damage, Live Free or Die Hard, and Fear the Walking Dead.
6. Temuera Morrison
New Zealander Temuera Morrison is best known for his roles in Once Were Warriors, Aquaman, and Star Wars: Episode II and III. With Martin Henderson, he appeared in Shortland Street but he received critical acclaim for his role of Jake Heke in 1994’s Once Were Warriors. Temuera Morrison also appeared in the movie’s sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted. However, his big-screen success came after appearing in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones where he played Jango Fett; he recently returned to the galaxy far, far away to play Boba Fett in The Mandalorian.
7. Keisha Castle-Hughes
Keisha Castle-Hughes was born in 1990 and has been active in the movie industry since 2001 when she appeared in Whale Rider. She is known for portraying Queen Apailana of Naboo in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and also appeared in several other critically-acclaimed movies including Piece of My Heart, A Heavenly Village, and Red Dog. More recently, she played Obara Sand in Game of Thrones.
8. Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Lynskey is another internationally successful New Zealand actress. She debuted on the big screen in Heavenly Creatures back in 1994. Once the movie was released, she moved to the United States to pursue her career, landing roles in Sweet Home Alabama, Flags of Our Fathers, Win Win, The Perks of Being Wallflower, Ever After, Coyote Ugly, and more recently Rainbow Time, Little Boxes, And Then I Go, and Sadie.
9. Alan Dale
Alan Dale was born in 1947 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Before focusing on his acting career in his late 20s, Alan Dale played rugby. Since he found no luck in his home country, he moved to Australia where he landed the role of Dr. John Forrest in The Young Doctors television series. He also portrayed Jim Robinson in Neighbours. After moving to the United States, he landed roles in many series including The O.C., Ugly Betty, The X-Files, Once Upon a Time, and Lost., and has also appeared in films like Star Trek: Nemesis, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
10. Karl Urban
Karl Urban started his acting career in Shark in the Park where he portrayed Rohann Murdoch. He also appeared in Shortland Street, Homeward Bound, and White Fang television series before landing a movie role in Amazon High in 1997. In the following years, he landed roles in the likes of Dredd, Riddick and Thor: Ragnarok. However, he is best known for his roles of Bones in Star Trek and Eomer in The Lord of the Rings, and also currently stars in Amazon’s acclaimed superhero series The Boys.
