Introduction
Julian Bailey Dennison (born 26 October 2002) is a New Zealand actor. He debuted in the 2013 film Shopping, for which he won the New Zealand Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He is best known for his roles as Ricky Baker in Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), the highest-grossing New Zealand film in history, and as Russell "Firefist" Collins in Deadpool 2 (2018). Dennison has appeared in multiple commercials for companies including Lynx and Air New Zealand.
Life and career
Dennison was born and raised in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. He is the third child of a family of four children. He has a twin brother named Christian. Julian is of Māori descent and is a member of the iwi (tribe) Ngāti Hauā and the pouhara (canoe) Tainui. He attended Naenae Primary School, where he first auditioned, and got his first part in the film Shopping (2013). He was then cast in the Australian film Paper Planes (2015). He later attended Hutt International Boys' School in Upper Hutt.
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, 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. In June 2018, Dennison was the first to be cast for Godzilla vs. Kong in a supporting role. Dennison currently lives in Foxton, New Zealand.