You might have seen him on stage as Che Guevara. Or Gunter, a buck-toothed Swede who yells crap one-liners. Perhaps on TV as a stripper or a guy in the Moro ads. But chances are you most likely remember Taika Waititi from the Academy Awards when he upset the artsy aunties by pretending to be asleep. Their reflexive cringe from comfy couches in Khandallah and Cashmere seemed to say, why can’t he be like that nice Peter Jackson or cute Keisha? Among the huffy letters to newspaper editors there wasn’t a crumb of credit for Waititi’s astonishing achievement in getting an Oscar nomination for his short film Two Cars, One Night.
Taika Waititi: No End Of Stories
In 2005, Taika Waititi was nominated for an Oscar for his short film, Two Cars, One Night, co-produced by Ainsley Gardiner. He famously pranked being asleep at the Academy Award ceremony. That year he was also interviewed by Mike White, who described him as ‘worryingly talented’. The actor, comedian, filmmaker, photographer, painter, playwright and musician told North&South that he also collects old sewing machines.
11th September 2025You might have seen him on stage as Che Guevara. Or Gunter, a buck-toothed Swede who yells crap one-liners. Perhaps on TV as a stripper or a guy in the Moro ads. But chances are you most likely remember Taika Waititi from this year’s Academy Awards when he upset the artsy aunties by pretending to be asleep. Their reflexive cringe from comfy couches in Khandallah and Cashmere seemed to say, why can’t he be like that nice Peter Jackson or cute Keisha? What’s he doing there anyway? Among the huffy letters to newspaper editors there wasn’t a crumb of credit for Waititi’s astonishing achievement in getting an Oscar nomination for his short film Two Cars, One Night.
For goodness’ sake, it was the guy’s first real film, about something as homegrown as three kids left outside the Te Kaha pub – and it charmed and wowed a world of film aficionados.