Pana Hema-Taylor

Pana Hema Taylor (born 1989) is a New Zealand television actor, best known for his roles in Spartacus, The Brokenwood Mysteries and Westside.

Early life

Pana Hema Taylor grew up in the town of Wairoa, where he became involved with the New Zealand street gang, Mongrel Mob.

In order to keep him from becoming a gang member, his parents, who had split up a while before, decided that he should live with his father in Christchurch, New Zealand In 2007, he won best actor for his role as Mercutio in the school's production of Romeo and Juliet.

Career Hema Taylor was first seen on TV in 2007 on the Māori language educational series Whanau. In 2014 he was cast as Mana in the New Zealand action film The Dead Lands.

He starred as Jared in The Brokenwood Mysteries series 1–6, and as Bert in Westside.

Personal life

In 2009, Hema Taylor met actress Danielle Cormack when she was the costume/set designer on a play he was in. The two have a son, Te Ahi Ka, born 19 March 2010. They divorced in 2013.

In March 2015, Taylor and his partner Naomi Campbell had a daughter.

Hema Taylor is of Māori (Ngāti Kahungunu) heritage.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2007 Whanau Harley 2007 Ebony Society uncredited Short film 2010 Redemption Zig Short film 2010 Boy Juju 2010 Kawa Sebastian 2011 Good for Nothing Young Native American 2012 The Most Fun You Can Have Dying David 2014 The Dead Lands Mana

Television Year Title Role Notes 2012 Spartacus: Vengeance Tiberius / Nasir Series regular: 9 episodes 2013 Spartacus: War of the Damned Nasir Series regular: 10 episodes 2014–2019 The Brokenwood Mysteries Jared Morehu Series regular: Series 1-6 2015–2020 Westside Bert Thompson Main role 2016 Dirty Laundry Tane 2017ResolveChris Crean 2019 The Gulf Rory Series regular