Rena Owen
Vorlage:Infobox actor Rena Owen is an acclaimed New Zealand actress in film, theatre and television.[1]She is of Maori and Pakeha (European) descent. Owen is most well known in the lead role of Beth in the cult classic movie Once Were Warriors (1994) directed by Lee Tamahori. The role earned Owen a number of awards including Best Actress at the Montreal World Film Festival and San Diego International Film Festival.[2]Owen has also worked with arthouse director Rolf de Heer,[3] one of Australia's most well known directors, in the film Dance Me to My Song (1998). Owen played the role of Rix in the movie which earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the AFI Awards.
Career
In Once Were Warriors, Owen played the role of abused Māori housewife Beth Heke alongside Temuera Morrison who played the role of her husband. In the cast were other prominent Maori actors including Hollywood star Cliff Curtis and veteran stage and screen actor George Henare. The movie broke box office records in New Zealand and even surpassed Jane Campion's film The Piano. Once Were Warriors is predominantly narrated from Beth's perspective.[4] Owen reprised the role in the film's sequel, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999).
Owen shows love fighting back rage and then shame and despair tearing away at love. Her performance is classic.
New York Magazine, 24 April 1995.[5]
Star Wars
Owen voice-acted as Taun We in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) (in which Morrison played Jango Fett) and appeared in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) as Nee Alavar. She also worked with the Star Wars Expanded Universe when she reprised her role as Taun We in the video game Star Wars: Republic Commando and also an uncredited role as Jedi Master Tionne Solusar in the video game Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
Other roles include Rapa Nui (1994), Nemesis Game (2003), and Mee-Shee: The Water Giant (2005).
Personal life
Owen is originally from Moerewa, a little town in the North Island's Bay of Islands.[6] She comes from a family of nine children. Her father was Māori, her mother Pākēha. While at high school she participated in kapa haka groups and starred in school musicals. Owen trained as a nurse, and spent four years nursing before moving to England.[7]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
| 1994 | Hinekaro Goes on a Picnic and Blows Up Another Obelisk | Hinekaro |
| 1994 | Once Were Warriors | Beth Heke |
| Rapa Nui | Hitirenga | |
| 1995 | Savage Play | Takiora |
| 1998 | Dance Me to My Song | Rix |
| When Love Comes | Katie | |
| 1999 | I'll Make You Happy | Mickie |
| What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? | Beth Heke | |
| 2000 | Her Iliad | Lena |
| All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story | Soona Fualaau | |
| 2001 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Ticket Taker |
| Soul Assassin | Karina | |
| 2002 | A Thousand Guns | The Gypsy |
| Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones | Taun We | |
| sIDney | Clarissa | |
| 2003 | Nemesis Game | Emily Gray |
| 2004 | Pear ta ma 'on maf" | Warrior Woman |
| 2005 | The Horrible Flowers | Linda |
| The Crow: Wicked Prayer | Mary | |
| Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith | Nee Alavar | |
| Mee-Shee: The Water Giant | Crazy Norma | |
| Freezerburn | Lee | |
| 2006 | Leela | Mother |
| Pledge of Allegiance | Maria Macintyre | |
| The Iron Man | Dolores | |
| 2007 | Ocean of Pearls | Anna Berisha |
| 2008 | Rain of the Children | Puhi Tatu |
| 2009 | Karma Kula Mystic Warrior | Queen Puta |
Television
- Medivac (1996-1998), Australian television drama series
- Angel, Dinza, episode Ground State (Angel), 2002
- Prison Break, prison guard, episode The Final Break, 2009
Theatre
- Lead Role: Pohutukawa Tree, Auckland Theatre Company, NZ (2009)[8]
References
External links
- Official site
- ScreenTalk Interview with Rena Owen - December 2008. Requires Flash video software (60.4 MB).
- Rena's NZ On Screen profile
- Vorlage:Imdb
- ↑ [1]Once Bitten: An Unofficial Guide to the World of Angel by Nikki Stafford, p.249. Retrieved 5 November, 2009
- ↑ [2]IMBD Rena Owen Awards
- ↑ [3]Rolf de Heer at imbd
- ↑ [4]Media and ethnic minorities by Valerie Alia and Simone Bull, p. 56. Retrieved 5 November, 2009
- ↑ [5]New York Magazine, 24 April, 1995. Retrieved 5 November, 2009
- ↑ Johnson, Brian D. "Ogopogo gets drawn Down Under", Maclean's, July 31, 2006, vol. 119, issue 29, page 56.
- ↑ NZ On Screen biography through Creative Commons
- ↑ http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/news/whats-on-show-reviews/2009/aug/59642-pohutukawa-tree