The filmmaker also helmed Hollywood thrillers like “The Edge,” “Along Came a Spider,” “XXX: State of the Union,” and “Next.”

Lee Tamahori, New Zealand director of Bond movie Die Another Day and Once Were Warriors, dies at 75

The filmmaker also helmed Hollywood thrillers like "The Edge," "Along Came a Spider," "XXX: State of the Union," and "Next."

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

November 7, 2025 6:20 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Lee Tamahori at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Credit:

Michael Buckner/Getty

Lee Tamahori, the New Zealand director known for such films as the Māori drama *Once Were Warriors* and the James Bond movie *Die Another Day*, died Friday at 75.

The filmmaker's family confirmed the news in a statement, according to the public service broadcaster Radio New Zealand. A cause of death was not immediately available. Tamahori said that he had been living with Parkinson's disease in an interview with *Te Ao With Moana* in May.

"His legacy endures with his whānau, his mokopuna, every filmmaker he inspired, every boundary he broke, and every story he told with his genius eye and honest heart," Tamahori's family said. "A charismatic leader and fierce creative spirit, Lee championed Māori talent both on and off screen." They added, "We've lost an immense creative spirit."

Lee Tamahori directing Pierce Brosnan in 'Die Another Day'.

MGM/courtesy Everett Collection

Born in Wellington in 1950 to parents with British and Māori heritage, Tamahori studied at Tawa College in Tawa, the Wellington suburb where he grew up. He began his filmmaking career as a commercial artist and photographer, and worked as a boom operator on local movies and for Television New Zealand. He was later promoted to assistant director on films like the sci-fi project *The Quiet Earth* and the drama *Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence*, which starred David Bowie.

Tamahori founded the commercial production company Flying Fish in 1986, and helmed numerous high-profile commercials in subsequent years.

After making his directorial debut with the short film *Thunderbox* and several TV dramas, Tamahori directed his first feature film in 1994: *Once Were Warriors*, a gritty crime drama about a Māori family in South Auckland. Based on the 1990 novel by Alan Duff, the film starred Rena Owen and Temuera Morrison (both of whom went on to star in 2002's *Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones*), as well as Cliff Curtis, Julian Arahanga, and Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell. The film earned rave reviews and passed *Jurassic Park* to become the highest-grossing film of all time in New Zealand.

Celebrity deaths 2025: Remembering the stars who've died this year

Diane Ladd, Oscar-nominated actress and mother of Laura Dern, dies at 89

Tamahori went to Hollywood for his sophomore feature, the 1996 neo-noir *Mulholland Falls*, which starred Nick Nolte, Jennifer Connelly, Melanie Griffith, and John Malkovich. He quickly followed that with the 1997 survival thriller *The Edge*, which was written by David Mamet and starred Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin.

After directing a season 2 episode of *The Sopranos* in 2000, Tamahori helmed 2001's *Along Came a Spider*, which saw Morgan Freeman reprise his role as Alex Cross after playing the character in 1997's *Kiss the Girls*.

Tamahori's fifth feature, the Bond movie *Die Another Day*, was his biggest box office success, earning more than $430 million worldwide. The film was Pierce Brosnan's fourth and final outing as 007, and also starred Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Judi Dench, Rosamund Pike, Will Yun Lee, and Madonna.

Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, and Lee Tamahori on the set of 'The Edge'.

20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Tamahori continued down the Hollywood action-thriller path with his next two films. He helmed 2005's *XXX: State of the Union*, starring Ice Cube and Willem Dafoe. He then directed 2007's *Next*, which starred Nicolas Cage as a magician who can see two minutes into the future.

The filmmaker turned to real-life events to inspire his next thriller, 2011's *The Devil's Double*, starring Dominic Cooper as Iraqi military commander (and Saddam Hussein's son) Uday Hussein as well as his body double, Latif Yahia. The film, which was produced by Belgian and Dutch financiers, marked Tamahori's first non-Hollywood project since his debut, and earned two Saturn Awards nominations after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.

Tamahori returned to New Zealand for his 2016 historical drama *Mahana* (also known as *The Patriarch*). The film reunited him with Morrison, who played the head of a sheep-shearing family business in northeastern New Zealand in the 1950s. *Mahana* garnered Tamahori's strongest reviews since his first feature.

Lee Tamahori on the set of 'Next'.

Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

The director helmed an episode of *Billions* in 2020, and ultimately ended his career with the 2023 historical drama *The Convert*, starring Guy Pearce as a minister caught in the middle of a violent conflict between two Māori tribes in the 1830s.

Tamahori still has one directorial project that remains unfinished: *Emperor*, a historical biopic starring Adrien Brody as Emperor Charles V. Announced in 2014, the film also stars Sophie Cookson, Paz Vega, Thomas Kretschmann, Oliver Platt, Bill Skarsgård, and Rutger Hauer, but remains in legal limbo after producer Paul Breuls was arrested on fraud allegations.

Tamahori is survived by his partner Justine; his children Sam, Max, Meka, and Tané; his daughters-in-law Casey and Meri; and his grandchild Cora Lee.**

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Movies”