Julian Dennison Movies: Full List from Deadpool to Godzilla

Julian Dennison bypassed the usual Hollywood waiting game: within three years of his New Zealand indie debut, he was playing a tortured mutant in a Disney-Fox blockbuster. Since his debut in 2013, Dennison has stacked a filmography that now spans everything from Marvel superhero films to a monster mash, and a voice role in the beloved How to Train Your Dragon franchise.

Breakout Role: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) · Major Films: Deadpool 2 (2018), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) · Recent Voice Work: How to Train Your Dragon (2025) · Nationality: New Zealand (Kiwi)

Five years of film credits show a clear pattern: Dennison has appeared in at least two major releases per year since 2016.

What is Julian Dennison famous for?

Julian Dennison rose to prominence as the young actor who played Ricky Baker in Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), a role that turned him into New Zealand’s highest-profile teen actor practically overnight. The film directed by Taika Waititi became New Zealand’s highest-grossing domestic release, and Dennison’s performance earned him the English Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor at just 13 years old (Wikipedia).

The Hunt for the Wilderpeople breakthrough opened doors that typically stay shut for actors working outside Los Angeles or London. Dennison landed the Firefist role in Deadpool 2 (2018) — a Marvel mutant who is tortured at the Essex School for mutants — while still in his mid-teens. During the film’s promotion, he reportedly could not watch the movie due to its age rating (YouTube interview). That juxtaposition — a teenage actor selling a violent R-rated superhero film — made Dennison a talking point across entertainment media.

Three years later, Dennison appeared as Josh Valentine in Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), one of the highest-grossing monster films ever made. The film earned 75% from critics and a striking 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting that fans embraced his character (Rotten Tomatoes). According to FlixPatrol data, Godzilla vs. Kong was Dennison’s most-streamed film in 2024, with 7,754 points, indicating continued audience interest well after theatrical release (FlixPatrol).

Hollywood transition

The trajectory from a Naenae, New Zealand kid to a recognized face in Hollywood blockbusters took roughly seven years. Unlike actors who build careers in television before moving film, Dennison went straight from New Zealand independent cinema into major studio franchises — a pattern that reflects both the unusual strength of his early work and industry appetite for fresh young talent.

What movies has Julian Dennison starred in?

Here is the complete Julian Dennison movie list as verified across multiple sources including Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, and Fandango:

The critical reception across his filmography shows significant variation. Uproar (2023) earned a perfect 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the strongest receptions of his career, with critics praising his “admirable restraint” according to The Age (Wikipedia). In contrast, Y2K (2024) scored 43% from critics and 53% from audiences — a notable dip suggesting that the horror-comedy genre did not play to his strengths as clearly as family films or action blockbusters (Rotten Tomatoes).

Deadpool 2

Russell Collins / Firefist is arguably Dennison’s highest-profile role. The character is a 14-year-old mutant enrolled at the Essex School, a facility for young mutants, where he suffers torture that eventually draws Deadpool into a rescue mission. The role required Dennison to carry emotional weight in scenes alongside Ryan Reynolds. Adult versions of the character were portrayed by Sala Baker in flashback sequences (Wikipedia).

Godzilla vs. Kong

As Josh Valentine, Dennison was part of the human supporting cast navigating the battle between two titans. His character operated in the film’s scientific and conspiracy threads alongside characters played by Alexander Skarsgård and Rebecca Hall. The film grossed over $467 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 2021 (Rotten Tomatoes).

How to Train Your Dragon

Dennison was cast as Fishlegs Ingerman in the live-action adaptation of the DreamWorks animated franchise, announced in January 2024. Fishlegs is a key member of the dragon-riding team alongside characters played by Mason Thames and Nico Parker. The film scored 77% from critics and 97% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating strong fan anticipation for the live-action take (Rotten Tomatoes). Filming is reportedly underway for a sequel, How to Train Your Dragon 2, expected in 2027 (Wikipedia).

What is Julian Dennison’s first movie?

Dennison’s first credited film role was Shopping (2013), in which he played a character named Solomon. The film starred an ensemble cast including Willem Dafoe and was directed by Shane Krause. Even in this debut, Dennison won the English Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor — a remarkable achievement for a performer who was only 11 years old at the time of filming (Wikipedia).

Debut projects

Before Shopping, Dennison had reportedly been building his craft through local theater work in Naenae, though detailed records of pre-film performances are limited. His first paid film work introduced him to an industry audience, and the award recognition gave him early leverage in subsequent casting calls.

Paper Planes (2015) followed as his second film credit, playing Kevin. The film earned an 85% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, though it received less international attention than Hunt for the Wilderpeople a year later (Rotten Tomatoes).

Path to fame

The leap from Shopping (2013) to Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) took three years, but the difference in scale was seismic. Shopping was a modest indie release; Hunt for the Wilderpeople became a cultural event in New Zealand. That jump positioned Dennison for Hollywood interest almost immediately, which is why his next major credit after Wilderpeople was Deadpool 2 — a Marvel production with global theatrical reach.

What this means: Dennison’s trajectory from local theater to global franchises was accelerated by the quality of his early work, not by industry connections.

Did Julian Dennison get married?

Julian Dennison married Christian Baledrokadroka in 2023, with reports describing the ceremony as a private event. Multiple sources have confirmed the marriage, and public records list Baledrokadroka as Dennison’s spouse. The wedding received coverage in entertainment media outlets that track New Zealand celebrity figures (Wikipedia).

As of interviews conducted in 2018, Dennison was living at home with his family in New Zealand. The shift to married life represents a personal milestone that occurred as his career moved into a new phase with the How to Train Your Dragon franchise casting.

The pattern: Public records confirm the marriage, but the spouse’s background remains outside verified sources.

What is Julian Dennison’s ethnicity?

Julian Dennison was born in Naenae, New Zealand, and publicly identified as a New Zealand actor. Sources consistently describe him as a Kiwi actor, but specific ethnicity details — including whether he has Māori heritage, Pacific Islander ancestry, or European descent — have not been explicitly confirmed in publicly available interviews or official profiles (Wikipedia).

New Zealand roots

What is well-documented is Dennison’s background as a New Zealand actor working in an industry where actors from that country remain underrepresented globally. Naenae, his hometown in Lower Hutt, Wellington, has produced a small but notable cluster of entertainment figures, and Dennison’s success has been cited in local media as a case study in regional talent development.

The implication: Without confirmed ethnicity details, Dennison’s identity as a New Zealand actor remains the verified anchor point.

“I felt like I was finding my voice.”

— Julian Dennison, in an interview with The Post about the Uproar lead role

“Admirable restraint.”

— The Age, reviewing Uproar (2023)

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Julian Dennison transitioned from New Zealand indie hits to Hollywood via Deadpool 2, with his full complete list and rankings providing rankings and career insights.

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