He was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Bursary in 1977 to enter New Zealand Drama School.

His movie appearances include Send a Gorilla (1988), The Punisher (1989), Marlin Bay (1992), Heart of Fire (1997),Lantana (2001), Liquid Bridge (2003), and Robotropolis (2011).

[10] Tupu participated in the foundation of an Australian theatre group called The Walkers and Talkers along with other New Zealanders.

[3] In 1993 he was in the premiere of John Kneubuhl's play Think of a Garden in Auckland directed by Nathaniel Lees, which reviewers compared to Bruce Mason's The End of the Golden Weather as being iconic for New Zealand.

[1] His debut screen directing role was in New Zealand on Tala Pasifika in 1996, eight short films written by Lisa Taouma.