Posted in: Apple, TV | Tagged: Chief of War

Chief of War: Te Kohe Tuhaka on Bringing Authentic Hawaiian History

Te Kohe Tuhaka (The Dead Lands) spoke with Bleeding Cool about his AppleTV+ epic drama "Chief of War," working with Jason Momoa, and more.

It's not much of a stretch to say. Still, if it weren't for streaming platforms like AppleTV+ always looking to challenge the atypical TV narratives, we might not hear the kind of stories from artists like Jason Momoa (who also stars) and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett want to tell, like their upcoming historical drama series, Chief of War. The story is the retelling of the unification and colonization of Hawai'i at the turn of the 18th century. Te Kohe Tuhaka (The Dead Lands) plays Nāmākēhā, a high chief who fought in the unification wars. He spoke to Bleeding Cool about how the series touches upon a period of the 50th US state's history that predates King Kamehameha, working with Momoa and Sibbett, researching Nāmākēhā, and his most formidable challenge on set.

Te Kohe Tuhaka on Bringing Life to 'Chief of War'

What intrigued you about 'Chief of War?'

The most intriguing thing about 'Chief of War' is the story itself, it's the story that was the most unexpected. You would think, "We're going to tell a Hawaiian story," initially, we'll talk about King Kamehameha, but this is before any of those stories, so that was most intriguing for me.

What was it like working with Jason and Thomas as creatives?

Both Jason, Thomas, all the other directors from Brian [Andrew Mendoza], going down to Justin [Chon], even all the creatives part of the show, felt like a family. Jason, himself, as an actor and a director, is pretty amazing to work with, and the personability around any changes or shifts in the story was cool.

What does a series like this let you do as an actor that you wouldn't normally do?

That's an interesting question. The scale of this is probably the biggest thing I've experienced. I love acting, the craft of acting, building character, and being a part of telling a story, but this is my first opportunity to work on something of this scale. It required a lot of work and a lot a buy-in.

How did you prep for the role of Nāmākēhā, and how were you able to evoke his essence?

It's interesting. I play Nāmākēhā in 'Chief of War,' but it's actually Jason Momoa's ancestor as well. He has a direct line to Nāmākēhā, so there was a bit of pressure there in the preparation side of things. I immersed myself not only in the language journey for the show, but also in the cultural journey. The character Nāmākēhā himself is the closest of the characters within the three brothers who is linked strongly to the cultural practices in Hawaii and within the family. I took it upon myself to explore and research those things.

What was the most challenging aspect of production? Was it the battle scenes?

For my own body of work, I have a history and reps on the bank, let's say, with doing stunts, fight choreography, working in wild environments. That wasn't necessarily the hardest thing. Hawaii is a beautiful place, so it's hard not to feel [mesmerized] like, "Wow, this is an amazing experience!" The hardest thing was shooting here in Aotearoa [New Zealand] during the middle of winter, because it was freezing here. It was difficult to embrace that warm Hawaiian feel when it's below and into the single digits in the degrees here in the country.

What was it about bringing that authentic experience to the show? What is the process behind that? How long did it take you to get into that mindset?

As actors in the early stages of being a part of a project like this, all you have initially is the script, so that's door number one. That's the entry point into the world, and then from that point, you start to build your character. You look at the relationships that your character has with others in the show. Due to the nature, skill set, and the epic knowledge of all our heads of department, from makeup, hair, costuming, to the directors, those pieces of the puzzle fed into the process, which made it easier to feel authentic. It also made it easier to lean into taking the responsibility of creating from the self, being able to lean on the costume, design, and language. It was easy, but there was still a lot of work that had to be done.

Chief of War, which features a predominantly Polynesian cast, also stars Temuera Morrison, Luciane Buchanan, Te Ao O Hinepehinga, Kaina Makua, Moses Goods, Siua Ikale'o, Brandon Finn, James Udom, and Mainei Kinimaka. The series will premiere with two episodes on August 1st and new episodes on Fridays on AppleTV+.

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