iOTA

Sean Hape (born 7 May 1968), known professionally as Iota (stylised iOTA), is a New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter and actor. As a musician, he has released six studio albums and was nominated for Best Independent Release for The Hip Bone Connection at the ARIA Music Awards of 2000. He has won four Helpmann Awards: Best Male Actor in a Musical in 2007 for Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2006 Australian cast) and Best Cabaret Performer, Best New Australian Work and Best Original Score for his work in Smoke and Mirrors in 2010.

Personal life iOTA has stated that his parents met in New Zealand; his father is Māori and his mother English. He grew up in Pinjarra, Western Australia,

At high school, iOTA took drama and music as electives, so he could "slack off for two hours";

iOTA changed his name by deed poll when he was 26. iOTA has cited three reasons for this: wanting to begin a new identity as an entertainer, being openly gay, and being a recovering alcoholic.

Music iOTA's first album The Hip Bone Connection was released in 1999 and was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Independent Release. a characterization he disagrees with.

His second, Big Grandfather, was considered less accessible and more atmospheric, and was not as successful as his first. His third, La Caravana, "is about the nomadic life of a musician". He competed with the song, "Life" and finished 9th.

Acting As an actor, iOTA has performed on stage in Australia as an angel in Sydney Dance Company's Berlin, as Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and in the original productions Smoke & Mirrors and B-Girl.

His acting has won him Helpmann Awards for Best Male Actor in a Musical (for Hedwig and the Angry Inch) in 2007, and Best Cabaret Performer (for Smoke & Mirrors) in 2010. He also received Helpmann Awards for Best New Australian Work and Best Original Score for Smoke & Mirrors.

He appeared in George Miller's 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road (the fourth in the Mad Max series) as the Doof Warrior, an eyeless guitarist working for Immortan Joe whose guitar is also a flamethrower. He has said he learned to act by necessity: "In the country, poofters are there to be bashed, or ridiculed. So I put on a mask, and became tough and rowdy: the long hair, the slouching, the spitting, lots of drinking piss." iOTA can be seen in Baz Luhrmann's 2013 film The Great Gatsby as Trimalcio the orchestra leader.

He is one of two singers for the character of Walter Walrus on the animated Netflix series Beat Bugs, along with Daniel Johns.

Discography Albums + List of albums, with Australian chart positions Title Album details Peak chartpositions AUS The Hip Bone ConnectionReleased: August 1999 Label: Mammal Records (002) Format: CD 82 Big GrandfatherReleased: 2001 Label: Black Yak (BYOA17) Format: CD, DD - La CaravanaReleased: 2003 Label: Black Yak (BYOA31) Format: CD, DD - Beauty Queen of the SeaReleased: 2006 Label: Black Yak (BYOA34) Format: CD, DD - iOTAReleased: 2015 Label: iOTA (01) Format: CD, DD, streaming - Wolf Number NineReleased: March 2016 Label: iOTA (02) Format: CD, DD, streaming - Hours DisappearReleased: 25 September 2026 Label: Format: CD, DD, streaming -

Live albums + List of live albums Title Details One of Life's Simple PleasuresReleased: 2002 Recorded: October 1996 Label: Black Yak Records (RR303) Format: CD, DD

EPs + List of extended plays Title Details IotaReleased: 1998 Label: Mammal Records (001) Format: CD Little CarlosReleased: 2000 Label: Black Yak (BYOE15) Format: CD, DD

Singles + List of singles as lead artist Title Year Album "Struttin' Rock Rooster" 2001 Big Grandfather "Million Miles" "Wooden Skeletons" 2002 "Scars" La Caravana "Pockets" "Pigs" 2003 "I Want It Again" 2004 non-album single "Handle on It" 2006 Beauty Queen of the Sea "Come Back for Me" "Life" 2020 Australia Decides "Home Song" / "Bitter Wine"

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia since 2001. Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2007 Iota - Hedwig and the Angry Inch Best Male Actor in a Musical 2008 Iota - Richard O'Brien's Rocky Horror Show Best Male Actor in a Musical

Iota - Smoke & Mirrors Best Cabaret Performer

Iota - Smoke & Mirrors Best New Australian Work Iota - Smoke & Mirrors Best Original Score