Cliff Curtis
| Cliff Curtis | |
|---|---|
 Curtis at the 2011 MIPCOM, in Cannes |
|
| Born | Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis 27 July 1968 Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse(s) | name unknown (m. 2009) |
| Children | 2 |
Clifford Vivian Devon "Cliff" Curtis (born 27 July 1968) is a New Zealand actor whose screen roles include Whale Rider, Jubilee and Blow. His television work includes NBC series Trauma, and Body of Proof, and starring in ABC's Missing. Curtis is co-owner of independent New Zealand production company Whenua Films.[1] Ethnically Māori, his many character roles include having portrayed a range of ethnicities, including Latin American and Arab characters.
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Early life [edit]
Curtis, one of nine children, was born in Rotorua, in the North Island of New Zealand, and is the son of an amateur dancer.[2] Curtis is of Māori descent and his tribal affiliations are Te Arawa and Ngati Hauiti.[3]
As a boy he studied mau rākau, a traditional Māori form of taiaha fighting with Māori elder Mita Mohi on Mokoia Island, which nurtured his abilities as a performer in kapa haka. Curtis later performed as a breakdancer and then competitively in rock 'n' roll dance competitions. Curtis also sometimes impersonates Tim Cahill and is an avid Everton supporter. He received his secondary education at Western Heights High School, Rotorua.
New Zealand career [edit]
Curtis started acting in amateur productions of musicals Fiddler on the Roof and Man of La Mancha with the Kapiti Players and the Mantis Cooperative Theatre Company, before attending the New Zealand Drama School and Teatro Dimitri Scoula in Switzerland. He worked at a number of New Zealand theatre companies, including Downstage, Mercury Theatre, Bats Theatre, and Centre Point. His stage roles include Happy End, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, The Cherry Orchard, Porgy and Bess, Weeds, Macbeth, Serious Money and The End of the Golden Weather.
His first feature film role was a small part in Oscar-nominated Jane Campion film The Piano. He went on to win attention in Once Were Warriors, one of the most successful films released on New Zealand soil, and played a seducer in melodrama Desperate Remedies. In 2000 Curtis starred as family man Billy Williams in Jubilee, before playing father to the main character in international hit Whale Rider.
In 2004 with producer Ainsley Gardiner, Curtis formed independent film production company Whenua Films.[1] The goals of the company are to support the growth of the New Zealand indigenous filmmaking scene, and support local short filmmakers. He and Gardiner were appointed to manage the development and production of films for the Short Films Fund for 2005-06 by the New Zealand Film Commission. They have produced several shorts under the new company banner, notably Two Cars, One Night, which received an Academy Award nomination in 2005, and Hawaiki by director Mike Jonathan in 2006. Both short films circulated through many of the prestigious international film festivals like the Berlinale.
At the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Miramax Films bought US distribution rights to their first feature film, relationship comedy Eagle vs Shark, directed by Taika Waititi. Waititi's follow-up feature Boy, also from Whenua Films, went on to become the highest grossing New Zealand film released on its own soil.[4]
International career [edit]
Curtis has appeared in films such as Three Kings, Johnny Depp drug drama Blow, Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead, Sunshine and Live Free or Die Hard in 2007, Training Day, Collateral Damage and Push in 2009.
In the NBC TV drama Trauma,[5] he played daredevil flight medic Reuben "Rabbit" Palchuck.
In M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, released in 2010, he played Fire Lord Ozai.
Personal life [edit]
Curtis guards his personal life closely. He married in late 2009.[6] in a lavish private ceremony at his home marae.
Filmography [edit]
Film [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Piano | Mana | |
| 1993 | Desperate Remedies | Fraser | |
| 1994 | Kahu & Maia | ||
| 1994 | Once Were Warriors | Bully | |
| 1994 | Rapa Nui | Short Ears | |
| 1996 | Chicken | Zeke | |
| 1996 | Mananui | Mana | |
| 1998 | Deep Rising | Mamooli | |
| 1998 | Six Days Seven Nights | Kip | |
| 1999 | Virus | Hiko | |
| 1999 | Three Kings | Amir Abdulah | |
| 1999 | Bringing Out the Dead | Cy Coates | |
| 1999 | The Insider | Sheikh Fadlallah (as Clifford Curtis) | |
| 2000 | Jubilee | Billy Williams | |
| 2001 | Blow | Pablo Escobar | |
| 2001 | Training Day | Smiley | |
| 2001 | The Majestic | The Evil But Handsome Prince Khalid | |
| 2002 | Collateral Damage | Claudio El Lobo Perrini | |
| 2002 | Whale Rider | Porourangi | |
| 2003 | Runaway Jury | Frank Herrera | |
| 2004 | Fracture | Detective Franklin | |
| 2004 | Spooked | Mort Whitman | |
| 2004 | Heinous Crime | Pizza delivery man | |
| 2005 | The Pool | Husband | |
| 2005 | River Queen | Wiremu | |
| 2006 | The Fountain | Captain Ariel | |
| 2007 | Sunshine | Searle | |
| 2007 | Fracture | Detective Flores | |
| 2007 | Die Hard 4.0 | FBI Deputy Director Miguel Bowman | Known in North America as Live Free or Die Hard |
| 2008 | 10,000 BC | Tic'Tic | |
| 2009 | Push | Hook Waters | |
| 2009 | Crossing Over | Hamid Baraheri | |
| 2010 | The Last Airbender | Fire Lord Ozai | |
| 2011 | Colombiana | Emilio Restrepo | |
| 2012 | A Thousand Words | Dr. Sinja | |
| 2013 | The Last Knights | Lt. Cortez |
Television [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Under Cover | Zip | TV Film |
| 1994 | Hercules in the Underworld | Nessus | TV Film |
| 1995 | Mysterious Island | Peter | TV Series |
| 1996 | City Life | Daniel Freeman | TV Series |
| 1998 | The Chosen | Father Tahere | TV Film |
| 2002 | Point of Origin | Mike Camello | TV Film (HBO) |
| 2004 | Traffic | Adam Kadyrov | TV Mini-Series |
| 2009 - 10 | Trauma | Reuben 'Rabbit' Palchuk | TV Series |
| 2011 | Body of Proof | Special Agent Derek Ames | Recurring role Episodes: Missing |
| 2012 | Missing | Agent Dax Miller | TV Series |
References [edit]
- ^ a b "Whenua Films". Whenua Films. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
- ^ Haines, Leah (12 February 2006). "Cliff Curtis, the megastar with a mortgage". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ^ ""Don't cry for me, Waititi" says Pita Sharples". Scoop. 2007-01-25. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
- ^ "Wellington director’s feature to be the highest-grossing NZ production". Wellington.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
- ^ "''Cliff Curtis starred as daredevil flight medic Reuben "Rabbit" Palchuck...''". Nbc.com. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
- ^ "Cliff Curtis' NZ wedding". The New Zealand Herald. 3 January 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
External links [edit]
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