Keisha Castle-Hughes is an Australian-New Zealand actress who rose to prominence for playing Paikea "Pai" Apirana in the film Whale Rider. She was nominated for several awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actress and an award at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Young Actor/Actress, which she won.
Castle-Hughes has appeared in various films including Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger, Piece of My Heart and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. She also performed as Mary of Nazareth in the 2006 film The Nativity Story. In 2015, she joined the cast of the HBO TV series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as Obara Sand. Wikipedia
On getting her role as "Paikea" in Whale Rider, as quoted in the actor profiles http://www.whaleriderthemovie.com/html/castcrew_cast.html at the official Whale Rider site http://www.whaleriderthemovie.com/.
