Lee Tamahori

Lee Tamahori
Tamahori in 2002
Born
Warren Lee Tamahori

(1950-04-22)22 April 1950
Wellington, New Zealand
Died7 November 2025(2025-11-07) (aged 75)
Auckland, New Zealand
EducationTawa College
OccupationFilm director
Years active1976–2025

Warren Lee Tamahori (/ˌtɑːməˈhɔːri/; 22 April 1950 – 7 November 2025) was a New Zealand film director.

His feature directorial debut, Once Were Warriors (1994), was a widespread critical and commercial success. It is considered one of the greatest New Zealand films ever made. Subsequently, he directed a variety of works both in his native country and in Hollywood, including the survival drama The Edge (1997), the Alex Cross thriller Along Came a Spider (2001), the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002), the political biopic The Devil's Double (2011), and the period drama Mahana (2016).

He won the New Zealand Film Award for Best Director for Once Were Warriors, with a second nomination for Mahana, and another win for The Convert.