Joe Naufahu


Joe Naufahu is a former professional rugby player and now actor. During his rugby career, he played for the Leicester Tigers and Glasgow Warriors, among others, and briefly coached the Glasgow Hutchesons Aloysians. He began acting in 2005. Most notably, he portrayed Khal Moro in the sixth season of the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.
Naufahu has grandparents from Tonga, Samoa, Portugal and Germany. His brother is actor and director Rene Naufahu.

Career

Rugby

Naufahu played rugby for his school Auckland Grammar and played with New Zealand Schoolboys on their tour of the United Kingdom in 1995. He then joined the provincial side Canterbury and played for the New Zealand Under 19s and Under 21s. He also played for Southland
He played in the Super 12 Under 23 tournament for the Canterbury Crusaders in 2001.
He moved to the United Kingdom in 2002 and had a brief spell with Leicester Tigers starting 2 matches and making 3 appearances from the bench. From there he signed for the Glasgow Warriors in December 2002. He worked with the then Glasgow coach Kiwi Searancke coming through the age grades in New Zealand. He was immediately put in the first team. He marked his Glasgow debut by scoring a try against rivals Edinburgh on Boxing Day 2002 at Hughenden Stadium in a 10-10 draw. He also scored a try in the return fixture in Edinburgh, and Glasgow ultimately won the match 45-33. In season 2003-04 Naufahu suffered from a knee injury. In his rehabilitation he played for amateur side Stirling County.
The knee injury eventually caused Naufahu to quit professional rugby, but he continued playing for amateur side Glasgow Hutchesons Aloysians in 2004-05. However the injury eventually prevented him playing at an amateur level and he moved to become a coach at Glasgow Hutchesons Aloysians.

Acting

After some smaller roles, and one of the lead roles in the 2005 TV series The Market, Naufahu secured a recurring role in the sixth season of the fantasy TV series Game of Thrones in 2016 as Khal Moro.
He played Mils Muliaina in the Rugby Union movie The Kick, a biography of All Black Stephen Donald who kicked New Zealand's winning penalty in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Fitness

Nauhafu runs a personal training business called Ludus Magnus.

Filmography

Film

Television