Jake Heke is the central figure in Once Were Warriors, the 1994 New Zealand drama directed by Lee Tamahori and adapted from Alan Duff's novel. Played by Temuera Morrison, Jake became one of New Zealand cinema's most quoted characters for his volatile temper and blunt dialogue. Short lines from the film later circulated on soundboards and in meme edits, detached from the heavier story, where this warning is reused as a darkly comic prediction that someone who leaves angry will inevitably return.