Antonio Te Maioha
Encyclopedia
Antonio Te Maioha is a television and film actor
from New Zealand
. He first came to international prominence when he played a gladiator
named Barca in the television drama Spartacus: Blood and Sand
.
in 1970, but raised in Hastings
in the Hawke's Bay Region of the North Island
of New Zealand
. His father was of Maori descent through both the Ngapuhi
tribe, the largest in New Zealand, and the Waikato
tribe, also known as the "Tainui" or "Waikato-Tainui."
and was in the cast of "Waiora", touring New Zealand, Hawaii
and Britain
.
One of Antonio Te Maioha's first significant television roles was in 1998 playing Boraxis in "Hercules, The Legendary Journeys" followed by several roles in "Xena: Warrior Princess
" and "Legend of the Seeker
, a weekly television series based on The Sword of Truth
novels by Terry Goodkind
." He has also appeared in other New Zealand-based television productions, including "Shortland Street
" and "The Lost World
". Te Maioha has also had roles in several films, including "Te Tangata Whai Rawa O Weneti" and a short film called "Taua
" (War Party)" and the 2000 film "Feathers of Peace" (Ngati Tama Warrior) directed by Barry Barclay
.
Te Maioha has come to international attention through his supporting role as the gladiator
Barca in the television drama "Spartacus: Blood and Sand
" and its prequel "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
". Nicknamed the "Beast of Carthage", Barca is the bodyguard and hitman of a gladiator owner named Batiatus. Several episodes into the show, he is showed to be in a homosexual relationship with a slave boy named Pietros. He is eventually murdered when Pietros is tricked into revealing damning evidence about Barca. Regarding the prominence of the homosexual relationship in the series and its acceptance by the other characters, the website Change.org commented that it was "uplifting" to see that "none of the drama arose out of anti-gay sentiment" and that "hopefully...other historical dramas will openly explore gay storylines as well."
, he has hosted a Sustainable Futures Forum in Waikato that brought around 80 people to discuss a variety of environmental issues. He has also publicly discussed his personal involvement and Raglan's leadership in recycling
, citing the accomplishments of a local organization called Xtreme Waste
. Te Maioha is uncomfortable with being labeled as a "greenie," saying that he is just doing "stuff everybody could" and that being given such a label means that other people will "write you off...instead of actually listening to what’s being said or applying changes in their own lives."
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He first came to international prominence when he played a gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
named Barca in the television drama Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a Starz television series that premiered on January 22, 2010. The series is inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus , a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BC led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Executive producers Steven S...
.
Background
Te Maioha was born in AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
in 1970, but raised in Hastings
Hastings, New Zealand
The city of Hastings is a major urban settlement in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, and it is the largest settlement by population in Hawke's Bay. Hastings city is the administrative centre of the Hastings District...
in the Hawke's Bay Region of the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. His father was of Maori descent through both the Ngapuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
tribe, the largest in New Zealand, and the Waikato
Waikato
The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
tribe, also known as the "Tainui" or "Waikato-Tainui."
Career
Antonio Te Maioha started his career as a street performer before gaining a place at the Toi Whakaari Drama School in 1992. He went on to work with a Maori theatre project run by actor Jim MoriartyJim Moriarty
Jim Moriarty is an actor and theatre director in New Zealand who has worked on stage and the screen since the 1970s. His work has toured nationally and internationally...
and was in the cast of "Waiora", touring New Zealand, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
One of Antonio Te Maioha's first significant television roles was in 1998 playing Boraxis in "Hercules, The Legendary Journeys" followed by several roles in "Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
" and "Legend of the Seeker
Legend of the Seeker
Legend of the Seeker is a television series based on The Sword of Truth novels by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series, which was its first foray into broadcast syndication, with Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Joshua Donen, Ned Nalle and...
, a weekly television series based on The Sword of Truth
The Sword of Truth
The Sword of Truth is a series of thirteen epic fantasy novels written by Terry Goodkind. The books follow the protagonists Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander on their quest to defeat oppressors who seek to control the world and those who wish to unleash evil upon the world of...
novels by Terry Goodkind
Terry Goodkind
Terry Goodkind is an American writer and author of the epic fantasy The Sword of Truth series as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines, which has ties to his fantasy series, and The Omen Machine, which is a direct sequel thereof. Before his success as an author Goodkind worked...
." He has also appeared in other New Zealand-based television productions, including "Shortland Street
Shortland Street
Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera, first broadcast on Television New Zealand's TV2 on 25 May 1992. It is the country's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 4500 episodes and 19 years, and is one of the most watched television programs in...
" and "The Lost World
The Lost World
-Conan Doyle novel and adaptations:* The Lost World , a 1912 book* The Lost World , a silent film* The Lost World , set in Venezuela* The Lost World , set in Africa...
". Te Maioha has also had roles in several films, including "Te Tangata Whai Rawa O Weneti" and a short film called "Taua
Taua
A taua is a war party in the tradition of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Contemporary knowledge of taua is gleaned from missionary observations and writings during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century and the later New Zealand wars....
" (War Party)" and the 2000 film "Feathers of Peace" (Ngati Tama Warrior) directed by Barry Barclay
Barry Barclay
Barry Barclay, MNZM was a New Zealand filmmaker and writer of Maori and Pākehā descent.-Background:...
.
Te Maioha has come to international attention through his supporting role as the gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
Barca in the television drama "Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a Starz television series that premiered on January 22, 2010. The series is inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus , a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BC led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Executive producers Steven S...
" and its prequel "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena is a Starz television mini-series and prequel to Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which premiered January 21, 2011. The series follows the character Gannicus , the first gladiator to become Champion of Capua representing Lentulus Batiatus...
". Nicknamed the "Beast of Carthage", Barca is the bodyguard and hitman of a gladiator owner named Batiatus. Several episodes into the show, he is showed to be in a homosexual relationship with a slave boy named Pietros. He is eventually murdered when Pietros is tricked into revealing damning evidence about Barca. Regarding the prominence of the homosexual relationship in the series and its acceptance by the other characters, the website Change.org commented that it was "uplifting" to see that "none of the drama arose out of anti-gay sentiment" and that "hopefully...other historical dramas will openly explore gay storylines as well."
Private life
Antonio Te Maioha is married and lives in the town of Raglan on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. Active in local environmentalismEnvironmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, he has hosted a Sustainable Futures Forum in Waikato that brought around 80 people to discuss a variety of environmental issues. He has also publicly discussed his personal involvement and Raglan's leadership in recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
, citing the accomplishments of a local organization called Xtreme Waste
Xtreme Waste
Xtreme Waste is a non-profit organization dedicated to recycling and based in the town of Raglan, New Zealand. According to its mission statement, its goal is to create a waste management system for the Raglan/Whaingaroa community in which none of the trash would be stored in landfills.Xtreme...
. Te Maioha is uncomfortable with being labeled as a "greenie," saying that he is just doing "stuff everybody could" and that being given such a label means that other people will "write you off...instead of actually listening to what’s being said or applying changes in their own lives."