Profile
Ethnicity
Māori
Iwi
Ngāpuhi
Location
Auckland, New Zealand
Height
183 cm
Age Range
19–29
Career Highlights
Lionel first caught viewers attention with his role of Rip in the 2013 feature film The Dark Horse, starring alongside Cliff Curtis. He then went on to join the core cast of New Zealand primetime drama Shortland Street, before landing roles on New Zealad-German co-production The Gulf, web series Educators, and most recently, a core cast role on high school rugby drama Head High. Being fluent in both english and te reo Māori (New Zealand’s native language), Lionel brings a special type of energy to his acting work.
Awards.
| 2014 | First Place in the Junior English Category for Secondary High Schools Regional Speech Competition | ||
Short Film.
| 2014 | Angus Icarus | Sean | Unitec |
Feature Film.
| 2013 | The Dark Horse | Rip | Dark Horse Films Ltd Dir. James Nepia |
Television.
| 2024 | Kairakau 3 | Taratu (Lead) | Dir. Various |
| 2023 | End of The Valley | Raupo (Supporting) | Dir. Various |
| 2021 | Head High Season 2 | Tai Roberts (Lead) | South Pacific Pictures Ltd Dir. Tim Worrall |
| 2019 | Head High | Tai (Core) | South Pacific Productions Dir. Tim Worrall |
| 2018 | Funny Whare | Guest - as himself | Maori Television - MTS Dir. Various |
| 2018 | The Gulf | Nikau | Dir. Charlie Haskell and Jackie van Beek |
| 2016 | Shortland Street | Leroy Raumati (Core Cast) | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Various |
| 2013 | Te Kaea | Lionel | Maori Television |
| 2012 | Pukana | Lionel | Maori Television |
Theatre.
| 2019 | 10ft Tall | Tamati (Lead) | Playworks Dir. Bryan Divers |
| 2018 | Bless This Child | Taylor (Lead) | Dir. Hone Kouka |
Web Series.
| 2022 | Kura Season 3 | Hotene (Lead) | Dir. Various |
| 2019 | Educators S-2 | Dixon | Dir. Various |
| 2018 | Educators | Student | Dir. Various |
| 2018 | Kura | Hotene | Dir. James Watson and Vince McMillan |
Training.
| Toi Whakaari (Drama) - 2010, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Hoani Waititi Marae |