Joseph Gordon-Levitt praised for wearing Te Wiki o te Reo Māori face mask

Hollywood star Joseph Gordon-Levitt is being told "ka pai" by New Zealanders impressed by his Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) face mask. 

The Inception star showed off his mask which features the hei tiki logo on Facebook, asking fans to share photos of themselves donning their favourite face covering amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Gordon-Levitt has been living in Aotearoa after production of his show Mr Corman moved here to finish filming - and he's been hanging out in Wellington ever since, which has now moved to COVID-19 alert level Delta 2. 

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori kicks off next week, but the actor is already celebrating it - much to the delight of his New Zealand fans. 

"I'm crying at JGL repping te ao Māori," one Facebook user commented. "Can we find where he's living and befriend him?" 

"OMG bless him," wrote another, while other commenters chimed in with: "Chur uncle Joe!" and "Ka pai uncle J!" 

A representative for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori also joined the conversation, telling Gordon-Levitt: "Kia ora Joseph! We love to see people wearing our masks... happy to send you more if you need." 

They also defended the 40-year-old star against concerns he had breached copyright by wearing the hei tiki, which has strict rules about its use. 

"This mask is produced by us so we reserve the right to use our hei tiki as we like. This was gifted to him so he is in no way breaching any rules," they replied to concerned commenters. 

While Te Wiki o te Reo Māori face masks appear to for koha only, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (The Māori Language Commission) are offering up their 'Kia Kaha te reo Māori' logo online so that people can print their own t-shirts or hoodies for personal use.