Pana Hema Taylor

Pana Hema Taylor grew up in the town of Wairoa, where he became involved with the New Zealand street gang, Mongrel Mob.^{[2][better source needed]} In order to keep him from becoming a gang member, his parents, who had split up awhile before, decided that he should live with his father in Christchurch, New Zealand^[2] where he attended Aranui High School.^[3] In 2007, he won best actor for his role as Mercutio in the school's production of Romeo and Juliet.^[4]

Hema Taylor was first seen on TV in 2007 on the Māori language educational series Whanau.^[3] He has since worked on various New Zealand feature films including Boy and Kawa. Hema Taylor is best known for his work in the Starz television series Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned, playing the role of the Syrian rebel Nasir.^[5] In 2014 he was cast as Mana in the New Zealand action film The Dead Lands.^[6]

He starred as Jared in The Brokenwood Mysteries series 1–6, and as Bert in Westside.

In 2009, 20-year-old Hema Taylor met 38-year-old actress Danielle Cormack when she was the costume/set designer on a play he was in. The two have a son, Te Ahi Ka, born 19 March 2010.^[7] They divorced in 2013.^{[citation needed]}

In March 2015, Taylor and his partner Naomi Campbell had a daughter.^[8]

Hema Taylor is of Māori (Ngāti Kahungunu) heritage.

• Pana Hema Taylor at IMDb
• Pana Hema Taylor - Agent Profile