As a teenager, Jarod Rawiri fell in love with acting. A passion that would shape the course of his life and career. Now a familiar face on New Zealand screens thanks to his time on beloved Kiwi series Shortland Street and The Brokenwood Mysteries. The star has found time to revisit his first love: kapa haka. What began as a simple gesture of support for his daughter has turned into a powerful reconnection with his roots.
From drop-off to destiny
The 46-year-old thought he was simply dropping off his daughter Huia at her first rehearsal with a new group, but he was quickly drawn in. Despite his initial hesitation, he couldn’t be more delighted to reconnect with his childhood passion.
“My cousin Netti Norman is the leader of the group with Jeff Ruha and she specifically asked me to bring Huia,” recalls the 46-year-old.
“She is kind of haka famous. I got there, and they closed the door and said, ‘You’re all in the group.’ I was like, ‘No, I’m an actor, I don’t do kapa haka.’ But I got stuck in and realised that I needed it.”
Sharing the stage with Huia
Jarod (Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Tahu, Ngāti Whaoa and Ngāti Hine) and Huia competed with their group Te Poho o Hinekahukura at the kapa haka festival Te Matatini in Taranaki earlier this year. Jarod says sharing the stage with his daughter was a moment he will cherish forever.
“It just so happened that we were standing next to each other in the lines, so we were lucky enough to be able to hold hands as we walked on stage,” he tells.
Reclaiming Māoritanga as a whānau
Rekindling his passion for kapa haka is just one part of the journey. One that Jarod and his wife Dolina Wehipeihana, 49, along with their kids Tyla, 27, Huia, 18, Iarere, 15, and Te Marino, 13, are on within te ao Māori. As a family, they are learning how to whatu (hand weave) and make kākahu (Māori cloaks), and Jarod is the coach of Iarere’s waka ama team.
“It’s another way of connecting back to that ancestral knowledge as a way to bring wellbeing to our family,” says Dolina
Jarod adds, “We have always wanted our children to have what we missed out on, in terms of being able to speak Māori and learn about their tikanga. I’m discovering I have all of this stuff inside me that I needed to tap into and learn about myself and my Māoritanga.”
From shorty to global screens
The past few years have been a busy time for the family as both Jarod and Dolina have stepped into exciting new roles. Jarod is about to start filming his sixth season of the local hit The Brokenwood Mysteries. Where he plays DC Daniel Chalmers, and last year starred in the dark drama Friends Like Her. Though he was no stranger to fame before joining the series, after playing Mo Hannah on Shorty for eight years. He admits the passionate international fanbase has been a whole new world for him.
“I came off Shorty and straight onto Brokenwood,” tells Jarod, who is also a director on the Whakaata Māori series Ahikāroa.
“I went from being New Zealand-famous to getting a message from a person in Texas who had sent me a photo of a hardware store named Chalmers.”
Bringing global arts home
Meanwhile, Dolina (Ngāti Tukorehe and Ngāti Raukawa) has landed her dream role as the co-director of Tāwhiri. The organisation that runs the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Wellington Jazz Festival and the Lexus Song Quest. She now spends half the year in Wellington or travelling around the globe. Connecting with arts groups in the hopes of being invited to share their work in Aotearoa.
whānau first, always
Despite the demands of their careers and raising four children. Jarod and Dolina remain grounded in what matters most – their family, culture and each other. It’s not always easy, but the rewards are clear.
“It’s a big juggle, but it feels like everything we are doing is super-meaningful,” enthuses Jarod.
“Because the kids are teenagers, we’re relying on them to be a bit more onto it. And they are, which is great.”
Dolina adds with a laugh, “When Jarod drops me off at the airport, I will say, ‘We need to find time to connect!’ We’ve been together for 22 years now, so we are connected on so many levels. But we do need to find more time to spend quality time together.”
The Brokenwood Mysteries screens Sundays at 8.30pm on TVNZ 1 and streams on TVNZ+.
