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Jordi Webber

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Jordi Webber
Born (1994-05-25) 25 May 1994 (age 30)[1]
Rotorua, New Zealand
Occupation(s)Actor, musician
Years active2012–present

Jordi Webber (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand actor and musician. He came to prominence as a member of the boyband Titanium, which was formed in 2012 as part of a competition run by The Edge radio station. The band's first single "Come On Home" debuted at number one on the New Zealand singles chart. Titanium later became the first New Zealand band to have three singles in the chart simultaneously. During this time, Webber was named Cleo Cruiser Bachelor of the Year.[2]

He opted to stay in New Zealand when the band went to the United States and he officially left Titanium in 2014 to pursue solo music and acting careers. He released his first single "I'll Be Loving You" in September 2016. That same year, he was cast as Levi Weston, the Gold Ranger, in Power Rangers Ninja Steel. The series began airing in 2017. After finishing the promotional campaign for Power Rangers, Webber appeared in two webseries Oddly Even and Ao-Terror-oa.

Webber had a recurring role on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street as Jake Morris, and starred in the action-horror series The Dead Lands as Rangi. From 2020 until 2021, Webber starred as Constable Cruz Kingi in the rugby drama series Head High. Webber credited the show for helping him to reconnect with the Māori culture. Webber also debuted a musical alter-ego named Waazzoo and The Vibes and he released a self-titled EP in 2020, followed by the single "Juice and Lemonade" in 2021.

Webber's film roles include television film Together Forever Tea (2021), romantic holiday film Mistletoe Ranch (2022), and the Netflix interactive romantic comedy Choose Love. Webber joined the cast of Australian soap opera Home and Away as Kahu Parata in 2023. He will appear in the upcoming Australian television drama Prosper.

Early life

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Webber was born and raised in Rotorua, along with his two brothers and sister. He was raised in the Mormon faith.[2] He attended Rotorua Boys' High School, where he became head prefect and secured the Geyser Community Foundation Rotorua Boys' High School speech and drama scholarship.[3] In 2010, Webber was runner-up in the Senior English section of the Ngā Manu Kōrero Speech Competition. He also appeared in a television advertisement for New World.[3] Webber always wanted to be an actor and was studying a Bachelor of Performing Arts before he auditioned to be in a boyband.[4]

Career

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Music

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In 2012, Webber auditioned for a competition run by radio station The Edge to create a New Zealand boyband. He was selected along with Zac Taylor, Andrew Papas, Shaquille Paranihi-Ngauma, Haydn Linsley and T.K Paradza to form Titanium.[5] Webber was 18 years old when he joined the band and he was the youngest member.[6] Titanium's first single "Come On Home" debuted at number one on the New Zealand singles chart.[7] Titanium released their debut studio album All for You in December 2012. They became the first New Zealand band to have three singles in the official New Zealand singles chart simultaneously.[8] When the band went to the United States in 2013, Webber decided to stay in New Zealand.[9] That same year he was named Cleo Cruiser Bachelor of the Year.[10]

Webber left Titanium in 2014 and he pursued a solo music career. After receiving a funding grant from New Zealand On Air, he released his first single and music video called "I'll Be Loving You" on 30 September 2016.[11] The following year, Webber released "Reasons", a song that helped raise suicide awareness.[4] He also debuted his second single "Love You Forever", whose accompanying music video allowed him to utilise his acting career with stunts and storytelling.[4] Webber also confirmed that he had recorded an album, which was due to be released in 2018. He cited Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars and The Weeknd as influences for the album's sound.[12] Webber later debuted a musical alter-ego named Waazzoo and The Vibes and he released a self-titled EP in 2020. His single "Juice and Lemonade" was released the following year.[13]

Acting

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In addition to launching his solo music career, Webber also pursued a career in acting.[11] In early 2017, Webber confirmed that he had joined the cast of Power Rangers Ninja Steel as Levi Weston, the Gold Ranger.[14] Webber auditioned for the role in May 2016 and began filming in September that year.[15] He described working on the show as "an awesome experience".[14] Webber called his character "a special ranger", as he was not part of the original line-up. He was also a musician, which gave Webber an opportunity a chance to sing in the show.[14] After finishing up the promotional campaign for Power Rangers Ninja Steel, Webber starred in the New Zealand dramedy webseries Oddly Even.[12] The series marked Webber's first New Zealand project and he said it would have "quite a few laughs in it – quite quirky, like awkward humour."[12] He also appeared in an episode of the anthology horror webseries Ao-Terror-oa.[16] Webber later filmed a pilot for an action television show set during World War I.[12]

In 2019, Webber recurred on New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street as Jake Morris, a prison inmate who had a relationship with nurse Dawn Karim (Rebekah Randell).[9] The following year, saw the release of the eight-part action-horror The Dead Lands in which Webber stars as Rangi. The series is based on Toa Fraser's film of the same name. It was filmed in and around Auckland and was broadcast on US streaming service Shudder and TVNZ OnDemand.[17] That same year, Webber starred as Tric in the webseries Nevernight, an adaptation of the book of the same name by Jay Kristoff.[18] He also appeared in the Polynesian sketch comedy show SIS,[19] and comedy series Millennial Jenny.[20]

From 2020 until 2021, Webber starred as Constable Cruz Kingi in the New Zealand rugby drama series Head High.[21] Webber was glad of the chance to play a "multi-layered character", stating "There was a long time there where I was mainly going for teen roles in high school kind of stuff, which is cool, but I think, deep down, we all want to move into those older, more mature roles."[21] Producers increased Webber's role for the second series, as they focused on the police work of lead character Rene O'Kane, played by Miriama McDowell.[22] Webber thought his character was both "relatable and approachable", while Kerry Harvey of Stuff believed Cruz was the show's "most culturally aware Māori character".[21] Webber credited Head High for helping him reconnect with his culture.[21]

In 2021, Webber appeared in the television film Together Forever Tea, co-starring fellow New Zealand actors Jay Ryan and Kim Crossman.[9] He also appeared in the comedy miniseries Perfect People,[9] and filmed a role in Taron Lexton's Nomad, which was shot across 26 countries and released in 2023.[23] Webber stars alongside Mercy Cornwall the romantic holiday film Mistletoe Ranch, which was shot in Queensland, Australia in early 2022.[24] He was also cast in the Netflix interactive romantic comedy Choose Love, written and produced by Josann McGibbon.[25]

In 2023, Webber joined the cast of Australian soap opera Home and Away in the recurring role of Kahu Parata.[21] Webber believed he was perfect for the role, as Kahu was billed as being "super free, super surfy and Māori". Webber was travelling around the east coast of Australia in a van at the time and felt that he had the right energy for the part.[21] Webber appears alongside Rebecca Gibney and Richard Roxburgh in the Stan drama Prosper, which was filmed in New South Wales. The series focuses on the founder and pastor of a fictional Sydney megachurch and his family. Webber plays Benji, the American husband of Isabel (Hayley McCarthy), the family's only daughter.[26]

Discography

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See also: Titanium discography

Extended plays

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Title EP details
Waazzoo and The Vibes
  • Released: 18 September 2020
  • Formats: Digital download

Singles

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Year Single Chart positions Album
NZ
2016 "I'll Be Loving You" — Non-album single
2017 "Love You Forever" —
2018 "Hide and Seek" —
2018 "Treat You Right" —
2021 "Juice and Lemonade" —[A]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or receive certification

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2017–2018 Power Rangers Ninja Steel Aiden Romero/Levi Weston/Ninja Steel Gold Ranger Main cast
2017 Ao-Terror-oa Anton Webseries
2018 Oddly Even Oscar Webseries
2019 Shortland Street Jake Morris Recurring role
2019 Nevernight Tric Webseries
2020 The Dead Lands Rangi Main cast
2020 SIS Orbit Episode: "Pilot"
2020–2021 Head High Cruz Kingi Main cast
2020–2021 Millennial Jenny JB Episodes: "Hot Desking" and "Community Sound Bath"
2022 Perfect People Jude Miniseries
2023 Home and Away Kahu Parata Recurring role
2024 Prosper Benji Kalani Main cast

Film appearances

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Year Title Role Notes
TBA Nomad Ari Post-production
2023 Choose Love Jack Menna Feature film
2022 Mistletoe Ranch James Hunt Feature film
2021 Together Forever Tea Joel Feature film

Notes

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  1. ^ "Juice and Lemonade" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 12 on the Hot 20 NZ Singles Chart.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "Jordi Webber". Lion Rock Management. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Newsmaker: Jordi Webber". Rotorua Daily Post. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Rising Star: Jordi's ability sets stage for future in performing arts". Rotorua Daily Post. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Reid, Hazel (23 December 2017). "5 minutes with Jordi Webber". Tearaway Magazine. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  5. ^ Gilchrist, Shane (29 September 2012). "Polishing up Titanium". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  6. ^ Hyndman, Gwyneth (29 October 2012). "Band newbie puts acting ambitions on hold". Stuff. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  7. ^ Downes, Siobhan (13 September 2014). "Titanium move up the charts". Stuff. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  8. ^ Thomas, Carly (30 July 2014). "Titanium steeled for home crowd". Stuff. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d Harvey, Kerry (12 August 2021). "Former boy band member singing from a different script in Head High". Stuff. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  10. ^ Childs, Amy (6 June 2013). "Heart-throb takes break". Stuff. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Boy band star Jordi Webber launches post-Titanium solo career". Rotorua Daily Post. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d Bond, Jordan (7 September 2017). "Rotorua Power Ranger Jordi Webber has sights on Hollywood". Rotorua Daily Post. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Q&A: Waazzoo and the Vibes". Hype Medium. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  14. ^ a b c "Ex-Titanium star Jordi Webber hits TV screens as Power Ranger". Rotorua Daily Post. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Summer catchup: 2017 set to be even bigger for Jordi". Rotorua Daily Post. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  16. ^ Michael (October 2017). "Set-Off for six weeks of horror in Ao-terror-oa starting with, 'Road Trip'". Indieactivity. Indieactivity. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Māori action flick The Dead Lands scores series on AMC streaming service Shudder". New Zealand Herald. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Jay Kristoff's Nevernight Is Now a YouTube Mini-Series". Tor.com. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  19. ^ "SIS". Neon. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Millennial Jenny". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d e f Harvey, Kerry (20 April 2023). "Former boy band star Jordi Webber scores roles in Home And Away and Netflix movie Choose Love". Stuff. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  22. ^ Simich, Ricardo (6 March 2021). "Spy: Local rugby drama Head High scores new stars". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  23. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (2 March 2023). "'The White Lotus' Breakout Star Leo Woodall Wraps Continent-Hopping Indie Film 'Nomad' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  24. ^ Lang, Jamie (10 February 2022). "Aussie Christmas Rom-Com 'Mistletoe Ranch' Begins Shooting (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  25. ^ Otterson, Joe (30 March 2022). "Netflix Orders Interactive Rom-Com 'Choose Love' From Josann McGibbon". Variety. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  26. ^ Whittock, Jesse (29 March 2023). "Richard Roxburgh & Rebecca Gibney To Star In Stan & Lionsgate's Megachurch Drama Series 'Prosper'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  27. ^ "Hot 20 NZ Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  28. ^ "Jordi Webber". The Independent Management Company. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
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