Temuera Morrison wants native Hawaiians to be proud of 'Chief of War'
NEW YORK, July 31 (UPI) -- Aquaman and The Book of Boba Fett actor Temuera Morrison says he hopes native Hawaiians are proud that Chief of War focuses on their history and features a primarily Polynesian cast.
"This is very fresh. I haven't seen anything quite like this before in my whole life," Morrison, 64, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
"At the end of the day, I want Hawaiian people to be proud and reclaim themselves, reclaim their identity and feel proud about their Hawaiian heritage," the New Zealander added. "We're blessed because we're all the same people."
Morrison said that on the first day of filming, the woman who operated the boom microphone told him he was playing her ancestor.
#ChiefOfWar premieres tomorrow.
ʻĀpōpō ka hōʻike mua o Chief of War. pic.twitter.com/zP9F8v73t3— Apple TV (@AppleTV) July 31, 2025
"That's all she said and she waled away and I said, 'Oh, my God!' It suddenly hit me that we have a responsibility here. We are representing all these people and I am playing her ancestor. Fortunately for me, she never hit me on the head with her microphone, so I must have been on the right track."
Premiering Friday on Apple TV+, the nine-episode series takes place in 18th century Hawaii when the islands' leaders disagreed about whether they should peacefully unify or conquer each other.
Jason Momoa co-wrote and produced the action drama, in which he also plays Ka'iana, the titular hero.
Morrison plays his frenemy Chief Kahekili and Cliff Curtis plays Keoua, another rival king.
"Jason needed some support posts around him. He knew Cliff and I had the experience in this medium," Morrison said.
"We were humbled to get the opportunity. Personally, it was quite an adventure, spiritually, culturally. We all had to learn the Hawaiian language. That was quite challenging."
Morrison admitted he initially had some reservations about taking on the pivotal role in such an epic.
"I'm very, very grateful that I decided to do this project because I was trying to run away in the beginning. I didn't think I could do it," he recalled.
"Then, there were things like the cold. We were running around with hardly any clothes on. My feet aren't as hard as our Polynesian ancestors' used to be. Every now and then, I'd be like: 'Ah! Ah! Can I wear my shoes, please, please!' The volcanic rocks were killing me, but what a journey it's been."
It was Hawaiian-born Momoa who convinced Morrison to join the epic project.
"Jason said: 'Bro, bro, we're the same people, man! We're the same people. Get on board!' So, with those words of encouragement, I said, 'Yeah, bro, you are right. I think it's about sharing our Polynesian culture and heritage and supporting one another," Morrison said.
Fear the Walking Dead and The Meg alum Curtis, 57, described his and Morrison's characters as the antagonists of the story.
"The hero's journey is shown through the character Ka'iana, played by Jason Momoa. He's the chief who left the Hawaiian islands, went into the world and came back with technology to help unite the islands," Curtis said.
"The chief of war has to choose which king he is going to fight for. It's a classic, archetypal story structure. Even though there is a new language and new costumes, visages and things that look different, the classical structure is something that all of humanity can relate to and recognize themselves in it."
The geopolitics of the bygone era mirrors what some people are still experiencing in 2025, Curtis noted.
"As we look back to our past, we see our ancestors struggle with the very same things as our current situation in the world," he added. "To live in peace or live in war."
The ensemble also includes Luciane Buchanan,Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Kaina Makua, Moses Goods, Siua Ikale'o, Brandon Finn, James Udom, Mainei Kinimaka, Te Kohe Tuhaka and Benjamin Hoetjes.
Jason Momoa's career: epic action roles and red carpets
Jason Momoa (C), a cast member in "Conan the Barbarian," attends the premiere of the film with his girlfriend at the time, actress Lisa Bonet (R), and her daughter with Lenny Kravitz, actress Zoe Kravitz, at the Regal Theatre in Los Angeles on August 11, 2011. Bonet and Momoa have two children together, daughter Lola Iolani and son Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Is Apple getting ready to launch a PlayStation and Xbox competitor?
The Apple TV is probably my favorite device that Apple makes. While the Apple TV app is in dire need of some basic improvements, the hardware box itself is a standout—especially compared to competitors like Amazon's Fire TV and Roku's streaming devices. This is largely thanks to the stellar Siri Remote, which makes navigating the device with your fingers or voice a cinch, and the powerful Apple silicon chip inside that makes the Apple TV's operating system, tvOS, run buttery smooth. Other countries are stepping up after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the climate fight Emotionally intelligent people use the 2-week rule to motivate themselves and reach their biggest goals Exclusive: Google is indexing ChatGPT conversations, potentially exposing sensitive user data However, when it comes to being a device meant to sit at the center of your living room as an all-encompassing entertainment hub, the Apple TV is lacking in one big department: gaming. The Apple TV is technically a gaming console, since it can play rudimentary games and supports third-party console controllers. But no one is likely to replace their PlayStation or Xbox with one any time soon, because the current Apple TV lacks the processing power to run console-quality games. Yet perhaps that could be changing. Recently, I've noticed that Apple has been making moves that suggest the company may be on the cusp of turning the Apple TV into a full-blown PlayStation and Xbox competitor. Doing so would open up another potential billion-dollar revenue stream for the company. The new Apple Games app is currently MIA from tvOS 26 At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this year, the company unveiled a new cross-device app called Apple Games. The app acts as a central hub and launcher for all the games you've ever bought on Apple's App Store or have access to via the company's Apple Arcade subscription service. The Apple Games app also gives you quick access to game events and challenges, and helps you discover new games to play and see what games your friends are playing. In other words, the new Apple Games app is similar to the PlayStation 5 Game Hub and the Xbox Dashboard—the interfaces on the consoles that significantly differentiate the living room gaming experience from PCs. Apple announced that Apple Games is coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26 this fall. But the new app is conspicuously absent from the Apple TV's next operating system, tvOS 26, which also ships this fall. This is a notable omission, especially considering that Apple markets its Apple Arcade gaming service as a core feature of the Apple TV experience. It also offers thousands of mobile-level games through the tvOS App Store. The more I think about the Apple Games omission from tvOS 26, the more it makes sense—if Apple is set to turn the Apple TV into a true gaming console but doesn't want anyone to know it yet. The next Apple TV is rumored to have two key hardware improvements essential to top-line gaming consoles Apple doesn't update the Apple TV as often as it does iPhones or even its iPads. Typically, years pass between Apple TV updates. The most recent Apple TV, the Apple TV 4K, was last updated in November 2022, nearly three years ago. That means it's ripe for an update this year. Rumors suggest that a new Apple TV is indeed coming later this year and that it will feature two significant hardware upgrades—ones that would enable it to become a true gaming console. The first is an updated chipset. The current Apple TV 4K features the Apple A15 Bionic chip, the same one found in the iPhone 13 from 2021. Most people expect the next Apple TV to get a significant upgrade—perhaps to the A18 or A18 Pro, found in the current iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro series, or perhaps even the unreleased A19 chip, which will go into this year's iPhone 17 series. It's also possible Apple could put the M1 or M2 chip, previously found in Macs and iPads, into the new Apple TV. This jump from the A15 to the A18, A19, M1, or M2 would give the Apple TV the performance boost it needs to run AAA console games, such as the Resident Evil series from Capcom, which are currently capable of running (with controller support, no less) on the iPhone 15 Pro, thanks to its A17 Pro chip. Another upgrade the next Apple TV is expected to get is a new Apple-designed Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chipset that will support the Wi-Fi 7 standard (via MacRumors). This standard offers lower latency and faster Wi-Fi speeds than the current Wi-Fi 6 standard—something critical for gaming consoles and the bandwidth-hungry games that stream to them. The leading games console, the PlayStation 5 Pro, currently offers Wi-Fi 7 support. In other words, the hardware components Apple needs to turn the next Apple TV into a PlayStation and Xbox competitor are all in the pipeline. And, increasingly, so is something else the Apple TV would need to become a true gaming console: increasing commitment to Apple's platforms from major games studios. More AAA games are hitting the Mac—and iPhone—than ever before In the video game industry, the top games are known as AAA (triple-A) titles. These are the games with the most advanced graphics and the biggest budgets, and are frequently the highlights of the console gaming experience. Historically, AAA game developers have shied away from releasing their major titles on the Mac (the Apple device with the hardware power most comparable to professional gaming consoles). But in the past year, that's changed a lot, thanks to Apple's move to make game development on the Mac easier and more cost-effective than ever, thanks to tools like the company's Game Porting Toolkit 3 and the hardware-accelerated graphics API, Metal 4, which makes graphics-intensive games look better on Mac and iPhone. Considering Apple devices are more popular than ever, game studios stand to financially benefit by bringing their biggest titles to Apple's platforms and their millions of users. In July alone, two major AAA titles made their debut on the Mac: CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate and Deep Silver's Dead Island 2. Other major AAA titles have also been released on the Mac over the past few years, including Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Shadows and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Remedy's Control Ultimate Edition, Kojima Productions' Death Stranding Director's Cut, Round 8 Studio's Lies of P, 11 Bit Studios' Frostpunk 2, and Capcom's Resident Evil series remastered editions. Additionally, more AAA titles are coming to the Mac this year, including IO Interactive's Hitman World of Assassination, InZOI Studio's InZOI, and Pearl Abyss' Crimson Desert. Most of these games require an M1 series chip or later, found in the company's Apple Silicon Macs released since 2020. Some, like the Resident Evil series, can even run on the A17 Pro and later, first introduced in 2023. Apple's current A18 Pro is roughly equivalent to the M1 in terms of performance, and if Apple puts it, the M1 or M2, or the upcoming A19 Pro, inside the next Apple TV, as expected, there is no reason these AAA games that currently run on the Mac couldn't run on the new Apple TV. And if that happens, the Apple TV becomes a professional-level gaming console. Turning the Apple TV into a gaming console makes sense for Apple's ecosystem and the company's bottom line When Apple announced the upcoming Apple Games app for all its devices except the Apple TV, it stood out as a glaring hole in the company's lineup, especially since Apple Games is a natural fit for the Apple TV. But when you take in the odd omission, along with recent rumors that the next Apple TV is set to get powerful new CPU and wireless chipsets, and the flood of new AAA titles hitting the Mac and iPhone this year, things start to look a lot clearer. Yet something else leads me to believe that Apple could be turning the Apple TV into a gaming console this year: the company's history of being unwilling to let software announcements spoil new hardware features. In the past, Apple has withheld software announcements at WWDC to avoid revealing upcoming hardware improvements to its devices. The AAA titles available on the Mac appear in Apple Games on the macOS 26 beta. If Apple had previewed Apple Games on the tvOS 26 beta, Mac games that run on the new unreleased Apple TV, including these AAA titles, might have also shown there. That would spoil a major, as-yet-unannounced feature for the as-yet-unannounced Apple TV. Of course, all this is just conjecture on my part. Still, all the signs seem to be pointing to Apple TV becoming a true gaming console. This would make a lot of business sense for Apple. At price points of $129 or $149, depending on whether you want more storage and an ethernet connection, the current Apple TV 4K is much more expensive than such competitors as the Roku Streaming Stick 4K ($49), the Roku Ultra ($99), and the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K ($49). However, if Apple gives the new Apple TV gaming console capabilities, the current $129/$149 price suddenly looks like a bargain. A triple-A gaming experience on the Apple TV would be a unique selling point that Roku or Amazon couldn't compete with. It could also give Apple a major new revenue stream in the form of 30% App Store commissions on AAA titles sold through the tvOS App Store. As of 2024, the global AAA gaming market is valued at approximately $75 billion annually, according to a July 2025 Business Research Insights report. It's expected to grow to nearly $108 billion by 2033. But most of all, a new Apple TV with console gaming capabilities would further solidify the device as the digital heart of the living room and smart home, giving users another reason to stay within Apple's ecosystem, both inside and outside the house—an ancillary benefit Apple likely finds invaluable. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter:
Elle
3 hours ago
- Elle
Malin Åkerman Explains the 'Hunting Wives' Finale Twist That ‘Got Everyone Gasping'
Spoilers below. Over the course of The Hunting Wives' first season, Malin Åkerman's Margo Banks moves through East Texas society like a woman who's mastered spectacle and subterfuge. As the polished, calculating center of a clique built on indulgence, secrecy, and power, Margo understands that survival often means performing control, even as chaos simmers just beneath the surface. By the season finale, that veneer fractures, and what spills out is not just scandal, but something closer to ruin. Åkerman, who has built a career on characters wielding charisma with precision, from the formidable wife of a hedge fund manager in Billions to the self-centered sister in 27 Dresses, knew The Hunting Wives' full story from the outset. 'I was sent all eight episodes from the very beginning,' she explains over Zoom. 'Thankfully, I had the whole arc in front of me, knew that she was the killer, and got to play with that throughout the whole season.' That foresight allowed her to layer early scenes with subtle tension, even as viewers speculated about who had killed Abby (Madison Wolfe), a local teenager found dead in the the penultimate episode, 'Shooting Star,' Jill (Katie Lowes)—once a prime suspect in Abby's murder—is fatally shot by Callie (Jaime Ray Newman) after the women discover Starr's (Chrissy Metz) dead body. The finale, called 'Sophie's Choice,' picks up in the immediate aftermath with police interviews, fractured alliances, and the slow unraveling of Margo's carefully controlled world. It opens with a flashback of Sophie (Brittany Snow) in a romantic entanglement years ago, and Margo—back in the present—celebrating her husband Jed's (Dermot Mulroney) birthday with a threesome. Each moment reveals the show's dual nature: all gloss on top, rot underneath. At the heart of that collapse is the reveal that Margo, not Jill, killed Abby. The motive is fraught: Abby had discovered Margo was having an affair with her teenage boyfriend Brad (George Ferrier), had secretly gotten pregnant, and had an abortion. When Abby confronted Margo, Margo used Sophie's gun to silence her. Sophie (Brittany Snow), connecting the dots through a remark about tampons (a callback to episode 1), confronts Margo. 'I always refer to [Margo] as a survivor,' Åkerman says. Her instincts aren't just self-preserving; they're reflexive. 'She does whatever she needs to do to survive.' For Åkerman, the emotional centerpiece of the finale is the confrontation between Margo and Sophie at Jed's fundraiser, where Sophie finally learns the truth. 'That was a tough night,' the actress recalls. 'We're having so much fun on set, but I don't like filming scenes like that. I don't like digging that deep and going that dark.' However, she understood its magnitude. 'It's a life-or-death moment for Margo. She's built her whole life to get to where she's at, and someone is threatening to take it all away. Her life is her baby.' To ground the moment, Åkerman drew from personal fear. 'I had to sort of personalize it, and go, okay, someone's coming to me and saying, 'I'm going to take your child away from you.' That gutted me.' The result is a reckoning shaped by desperation and denial, a rare glimpse of Margo stripped of performance. 'It was such a big moment and a beautiful scene,' Åkerman says. 'There was so much going on there. It's a pivotal moment in this show.' Soon after, Margo confesses the affair and abortion to Jed, who slaps her and throws her out. The shift is brutal and swift, underscoring Margo's dependence on the very structures she believed she could manipulate. 'It's hard to watch Margo fall from grace,' Åkerman says. 'She just lost that position of power that she's been in this whole season. What's going to happen now? But I feel like we could see it coming, because she's not fully free. She does have to answer to the man; that is the truth of her situation.' Throughout the season, Margo's power rests in her ability to curate her image, her marriage, and her inner circle. But in the finale, that curation falters. Margo finally tells Callie the truth: their romantic relationship is over, not just for appearances, but because she no longer feels the same way. Yet in a final grasp for support, she briefly goes back to Callie, calling Callie her 'ride or die' and warning that Sophie plans to go to the police. Callie counters that the district attorney has already closed Abby's case, and offers that she and her husband Sheriff Jonny (Branton Box) can keep an eye on Sophie. Margo's relationships with both Callie and Sophie—once strategic, seductive—become charged with emotional risk. 'I personally think it's a mix,' Åkerman says. 'Margo is wild and has a big sexual appetite; she does what she wants. But I do think she cares for both Callie and Sophie.' With Sophie especially, the bond grows more complex. 'They're survivors in their own right,' Åkerman says. 'I read this book that John Cleese wrote with his therapist [Robin Skynner] once that said we have screen doors, and behind them are all our traumas, everything we hope somebody fixes in us in a relationship. I think Sophie and Margo have similar traumas behind those doors.' And yet: 'Margo would let that kinship go in a heartbeat if it were challenged. She'd go, 'No, I choose me.'' That instinct crystalizes in the episode's final moments. While driving, Sophie is intercepted by Kyle (Michael Aaron Milligan) on a remote road. He insists she get out of the car to 'talk,' then seemingly reaches for a gun. She hits him with her vehicle, killing him in a split-second act of self-defense. Her phone rings at that moment—it's Detective Salazar (Karen Rodriguez)—but she declines the call. Moments later, Margo, unaware of any of this, calls Kyle. Sophie answers in silence. 'We filmed a few different versions of that [scene],' Åkerman says. 'One was where Margo says, 'Sophie, is that you?' She's starting to figure it out, and it's the beginning of a panic attack. She's starting to figure out that something terrible has happened to her brother.' Margo doesn't learn Kyle's fate onscreen, but when she eventually does (in a potential second season), Åkerman imagines the loss will cut deep. 'As much as she'd like not to admit it, Kyle is still her blood. He's the only real family she has,' she says. 'When she's in trouble, she becomes a little girl and runs back to him.' But even that bond, she notes, is defined by hierarchy. 'She wields the power there, as well. She decides what the relationship is going to look like.' Margo is not a hero. She's manipulative, calculating, and always vying to be one step ahead; yet she's impossible to stop watching. 'Whether it's controlling, hypocritical or whatever, there's a freedom to her that I loved,' Åkerman says. 'I'm such a people pleaser, and sometimes I just want to go, 'Fuck it, stop. Just be free. Be wild.' Margo's on another level. That really stuck with me.' Åkerman is hopeful that The Hunting Wives will be renewed. She also hopes viewers love what Margo brought to the show, 'even though she's terrible,' and 'that the twist at the very end got everyone gasping,' she says. For Åkerman, Margo is the kind of character you love to hate, and hate to love. 'She's just too fun,' she muses. Like a juicy beach read you can't put down, the show was designed to be addictive, surprising, and a little wicked. 'It's just fun to be taken on a ride—and that's what this show is for.'
UPI
3 hours ago
- UPI
Look: Chris Meloni to guest star on 'Law & Order: SVU' in Season 27
1 of 4 | "Law & Order: Organized Crime" star Chris Meloni is set to guest star as Elliot Stabler on "Law & Order: SVU" for Season 27. Photo courtesy of Peacock Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Chris Meloni is returning to Law & Order: SVU for a guest stint in Season 27. "Hangin with friends on a Friday nite @therealmariskahargitay @dannflorek," Meloni captioned Instagram photos of him with SVU veterans Hargitay and Florek this weekend. Meloni played New York Police Department Detective Elliot Stabler on SVU from 1999 to 2012, and has guest starred on the procedural several times since 2021. He also plays the character on his own series, Law & Order: Organized Crime, which recently wrapped its fourth season. Deadline said Kelli Giddish is returning to play Amanda Rollins full-time on SVU. Giddish was a series regular from 2011 to 2023, then guest starred on the show for the past two years.
