David Fane ONZM

Bio

Proud Samoan New Zealander David Fane, ONZM, is one of Aotearoa’s most versatile actors, well known for the eclectic characters he has created across his prolific career on stage and screen. First appearing in the early 90s on sketch comedy shows Skitz and Telly Laughs, Dave went on to become a regular on large and small screens in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Pretty quickly, he realised it's always best to work with people you like, so teamed up with some of his best mates to found theatre company, The Naked Samoans. Their particular brand of cutting-edge satire found an instant audience and has endured over 20 years to produce numerous sell out stage shows, 2 feature films, Sione’s Wedding (released in U.S. as Samoan Wedding) 1 and 2, and the beloved and award winning, animated series, Bro’town, for which David co- wrote and voiced multiple iconic characters.  

Some of David’s other film roles include the hit comedy, Tongan Ninja, and Samoan- themed horror film, The Tattooist, for which he received best supporting actor nomination at the NZ Film & Television awards. David has previously worked with Taika Waititi on award-winning comedy feature, Eagle vs Shark, and two seasons of the HBO Max run-away piratical hit, Our Flag Means Death.  David's other well-known TV roles include The Strip, Outrageous Fortune, 800 Words, Fresh Eggs and Australian series The Messenger. 

In 2016, David received Creative New Zealand’s Pacific Arts Senior Artist award and in 2023 he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the performing arts.