Rene Naufahu

Rene Naufahu (born May 1970) is a New Zealand-born actor, screen writer and director of Tongan and Samoan heritage. He is perhaps best known for being an original cast member of the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, playing paramedic Sam Aleni for the show's first four years. In the United States, he is better known for portraying various characters in the Power Rangers franchise, such as Emperor Grumm of Power Rangers S.P.D. and Mentor Ji from Power Rangers Samurai and Power Rangers Super Samurai. In 2006, at the Air New Zealand Screen Awards, he won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role as Erasmus, in the Toa Fraser film No.2. The film won the Audience Award, World Cinema - Dramatic, after sellout screenings at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. In 2005, he co-wrote television drama The Market with Brett Ihaka, and Matthew Grainger. He was also one of the show's directors, alongside Damon Fepulea'i, and Geoff Cawthorn. He attended the Amsterdam-based Binger Institute's Script Development program in 2003. Naufahu's first feature film as director is crime thriller The Last Saint, which began filming in September 2013.