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Poroaki Merritt-McDonald

Poroaki Merritt-McDonald

Actor

Poroaki Merritt-McDonald is a compelling New Zealand actor with an instinctive screen presence and an impressive body of work across film and television. His credits include, but are not limited to, the Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters as Milosi; feature film Muru alongside Cliff Curtis; feature film Savage alongside Jake Ryan; international television series The Gone; comedy series Baddies; and Disney’s feature Encanto Reo Māori, voicing Bruno. Most recently, Poroaki plays Diggy in the award-winning feature film Big Girls Don’t Cry, winner of the Grand Prix at the Biarritz Film Festival, announced by Jury President Kristen Stewart.

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Actor
Titles
5 on MovieCove · 9 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 65 days to Oct 28Down 19% in 30 days

What are Poroaki Merritt-McDonald's films like?

Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
37%
Self
31%
Bonds
23%
Morality
9%

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 1 · Serious 0 · Dark 2

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 0 · Intense 2

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 1 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 1 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Melancholic
2
Dread
2
Warm
1
Contemplative
1
Other
1

How their films linger

Haunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Poroaki Merritt-McDonald's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Poroaki Merritt-McDonald's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

9 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.

  • Sgt. Haane(2026)

    as Rangi

  • Big Girls Don't Cry(2026)

    as Diggy

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Kōkā (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    as Harry

  • Monarch: Legacy of Monsters(2023)

    Show 1 episode · as Milosi

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all shows

  • The Gone(2023)

    Show as Ginge

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows

  • The Raid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    as Waikura/Rusty

  • Kiwi & Cat: Mānawatia a Matariki (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Show 10 episodes · as Kiwi (voice)

  • Savage(2019)

    as Red

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • My Brother Mitchell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Todd

Career shape

Star power in the 10th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 7 titles from 2018 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Savage (2019)

$1.1M worldwide

Highest rated

Big Girls Don't Cry (2026)

Midcredits 81st

Most popular right now

The Gone (2023)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting7 of 7: 7 only acting, 0 with another role

By decade

2010s2 · acting2020s5 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Poroaki Merritt-McDonald's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 69th percentile, the median of the 2 of 3 with a score; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 76th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

76thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

57thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 4 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 50th to 74th3

Shape of the crowd

2 of their 4 titles are Mixed.

  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · actor

Big Girls Don't Cry (2026)

87th percentile spread · 20% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Big Girls Don't Cry (2026)

Midcredits 81st · 66% liked

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Poroaki Merritt-McDonald work with?

People who share at least 2 of Poroaki Merritt-McDonald's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper shares the most, 2.

Composers

Producers