Acushla-Tara Kupe

Acushla-Tara Kupe (Ngāti Maniapoto) started her professional acting journey at 20 when cast in the cult feature film hit Fresh Meat starring alongside New Zealand icon Temuera Morrison followed by 4 years working at the iconic Circa Theatre in Wellington. Acushla then headed to the UK where she landed the role of Pui Sonova in the BBC drama series Creeped Out. During her time in the UK Acushla-Tara also performed at many international functions with renowned kapa haka group Ngāti Rānana in which she appeared in the multi-award winning Netflix series The Crown. She also spent 3 years filming the XBox & INT./NIGHT video game As Dusk Falls, and BBC Radio’s The Christchurch Murder with Killing Eve’s Fiona Shaw. On returning to New Zealand Acushla-Tara was cast in Apple TV+ show Mr Corman alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Acorn TV/TVNZ’s comedy-drama series Under the Vines Season 2 & 3, and the Māori-language children’s series Te Pāmu Kūmara Season 1 & 2. Most notably she was cast as Diana Huia, the lead role in Irish/New Zealand co-production The Gone Season 1 & 2, starring opposite Richard Flood (Grey’s Anatomy, Shameless), directed by Peter Burger and Hannah Quinn. In 2023 she played Tessa Ensler in the sold-out NZ premiere of Lawrence Olivier Best New Play-winner, Prima Facie, directed by Paul Gittens for Auckland Live and Plumb Productions.