Punahou School graduate Brandon Finn understands the power of a stare. It is something the actor does as Prince Kūpule in episode 2 of “Chief of War when his father, King Kahekili of Maui, orders him to hunt down the main character of the series, Kaʻiana, and bring him back, dead or alive.
“And you see this moment where the camera racks focus and … Prince Kūpule is looking at Kahekili without saying any words, as if: ʻI cannot believe you are asking me to do this. ... And as your son, it is my responsibility to follow your lead.’ ”
The scene was “brutal” but marked his favorite moment to shoot, he told Aloha State Daily.
King Kahekili was played by the New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison. Finn credits Morrison with encouraging him to hold his stare in that scene. For Finn, the role involved "a lot of homework with what that father and son dynamic was like,” he said.
“And that's a separate thing from the language itself, because obviously I spent a lot of time learning Hawaiian language, learning ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi,” he added. “But in terms of what's happening between the two of them as father and son, that’s something [where] I ended up delving into my own relationship with my own father.”
Written by Thomas Pa‘a Sibbett and Jason Momoa, the Apple TV+ mini-series launched its first episodes on Aug. 1. It follows Kaʻiana, played by Momoa, as he tries to unify the Islands before Western colonization. The eighth episode drops on Friday, Sept. 12, and the season finale comes out on Friday, Sept. 19.
Prior to filming “Chief of War,” Finn had not spoken more than a few sentences in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, he said. To get ready for this role, he worked closely with an instructor.
“His name is Kiawe Goodhue, and we just went lesson after lesson non-stop for a month and a half because I knew it needed to sound the right way," he said. "Let alone it's the right thing to do in terms of responsibility owed to the people of Hawaiʻi, their ancestors, their history and their cultures.”
Finn was born in Maui. His family moved to Oʻahu when he was about two years old, he said.
“But Maui is my birthplace,” he added. “And later on in life, all of these things led themselves to where I find myself today, playing Prince Kalanikūpuli, the last reigning king of Maui Island in Hawaiian history. I had this pinch me moment. I could not believe I'm born on Maui and in my lifetime, I get to bring Kalanikūpuli to life through ʻChief of War’ with Apple TV, let alone the platform that they have with 45+ million subscribers in over 100 countries.”
Finn wants viewers of the show to take with them an appreciation of language.
“You know what's beautiful?” he said. “The one that really gets to me is ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, the language. And there is already a resurgence of the language within Hawaiʻi. But I feel as if ʻChief of War,’ being as big as it's become thus far, will only move that needle further in the direction of having people interested in Ōlelo Hawaiʻi. And not just people from Hawaiʻi — people born and raised, who are of Hawaiian ethnicity — but also people who would love to come, visit, spend time and if it sparks their interest learn Ōlelo Hawaii, as well, if that's something that interests them. Because that's how the language lives on forever.”
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
