Background
Lees was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He was brought up in an environment where Samoan was commonly spoken, so he grew up thinking of himself as being Samoan.
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Nathaniel Lees
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He got his first acting job because of "being brown", as the theatre required brown people running around on stage killing Captain Cook. Participant of the audition was him walking through the door, and upon doing so, he "had the job". He is known for his role as Captain Mifune in The Matrix trilogy and his role as "Uglúk" in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
He has also had roles on the television series Young Hercules, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess.
He is also well known for a long career in theatre, having received many prestigious rewards for his contribution to the arts He appeared in 30 Days of Night with Josh Hartnett.
He also played Master Mao in the Power Rangers series Power Rangers Jungle Fury. Early television appearances in New Zealand included a regular role in the 1989 series Shark in the Park.
Lees was the director of the award winning play Think of a Garden written by John Kneubuhl, produced by Cath Cardiff and performed at Taki Rua Theatre in Wellington 1995.
In 1996, he directed A Frigate Bird Sings co-written by Oscar Kightley and Dave Fane and produced by Makerita Urale for the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts. The set was designed by Kate Peters and Michel Tuffery. The play was nominated for Production of the Year, Director of the Year, and Secretariat Design at the 1996 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards.
In 2003, Lees directed The Songmaker"s Chair by Albert Wendt.
He also directed Awhi Tapu, by Maori playwright Albert Belz.
