Julian Dennison

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Julian Dennison
File:Julian Dennison 2016.jpg
Dennison in 2016
Born (2002-10-26) 26 October 2002 (age 23)
Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand
EducationHutt International Boys' School[1]
OccupationActor
Years active2013–present

Julian Bailey Dennison (born 26 October 2002) is a New Zealand actor. He starred in the 2013 film Shopping for which he won the English Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor.[2][3] He is known for his roles as Ricky Baker in Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), the highest-grossing New Zealand film in history, Russell "Firefist" Collins in Deadpool 2 (2018), and Belsnickel in The Christmas Chronicles 2. He also played Josh Valentine in Godzilla vs. Kong[4] in 2021 and had a leading role in the film Uproar (2023).[5] He also played Fishlegs in How to Train Your Dragon (2025).

Life and career

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Dennison was born and raised in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. He is the third of a family of four children, and has a twin brother named Christian. Julian is of Māori descent and is a member of the Ngāti Hauā iwi (tribe), part of the Tainui tribal confederation. Dennison's mother Mabelle Dennison is an actress.[6] He attended Naenae Primary School, where he first auditioned, and got his first part in the 2013 film Shopping,[7] He was then cast in the Australian film Paper Planes (2015). He later attended Hutt International Boys' School in Upper Hutt.[citation needed]

Dennison continued with acting and was given a role in an advertisement for the NZ Transport Agency to discourage driving under the influence of drugs. The public service announcement, which became an internet sensation in New Zealand and Australia,[8] was directed by Taika Waititi, who later asked Dennison to star in his film Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) without the need to audition. The film went on to become New Zealand's highest-grossing film to date, and was critically acclaimed.

Dennison played Russell Collins / Firefist in the 2018 film Deadpool 2. He was cast because of his Wilderpeople performance, and the friendship of Waititi with Deadpool's filmmakers.[9][10] In 2020, Dennison co-starred in The Christmas Chronicles 2, portraying Belsnickel and also voicing his elf form, and in 2021, he had a large supporting role in the monster sequel Godzilla vs. Kong.[11][4] In 2023, he was cast in the A24 film Y2K.[12]

Dennison played the main role of Josh Waaka in the film Uproar in 2023. His performance was praised by The Age, for its "admirable restraint".[5] In an interview for The Post, Dennison stated that his lead role in Uproar was when "I felt like I was finding my voice."[13] In January 2024, Dennison was announced to play Fishlegs Ingerman in the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon.[14]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2013 Shopping Solomon
2015 Paper Planes Kevin
2016 Hunt for the Wilderpeople Ricky Baker
Chronesthesia Beni a.k.a. Love and Time Travel[15]
2018 Deadpool 2 Russell Collins / Firefist
2020 The Christmas Chronicles 2 Belsnickel
2021 Godzilla vs. Kong Josh Valentine
2023 Uproar Josh Waaka
2024 Y2K Danny [16]
2025 How to Train Your Dragon Fishlegs Ingerman [17]
TBA Just Picture It TBA Filming

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2016 Funny Girls Himself
2019–present The Strange Chores Pierce (voice) Season One only
2024 Star Wars: The Bad Batch Deke, Stak (voice) Episode: "Paths Unknown"[18]

References

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  • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
  • Julian Dennison on FacebookLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  • Julian Dennison at IMDb
  • Julian Dennison at NZ on Screen

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