Cliff Curtis: Difference between revisions
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*{{imdb name|id=0193295|name=Cliff Curtis}} |
*{{imdb name|id=0193295|name=Cliff Curtis}} |
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* [http://www.nzonscreen.com/person/cliff-curtis Cliff Curtis on NZ On Screen] |
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[[Category:1968 births|Curtis, Cliff]] |
[[Category:1968 births|Curtis, Cliff]] |
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Revision as of 10:15, 23 November 2008
Cliff Curtis | |
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| Born | Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis |
Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis (born 27 July 1968) is a New Zealand born actor.
Biography
Curtis, one of nine children, was born in Rotorua, in the North Island of New Zealand, and is the the son of an amateur dancer.[1] He is of Maori descent and his tribal affiliations are Te Arawa and Ngati Hauiti.[2] He has shown the ability to portray characters of a wide range of ethnicities; particularly various Latin American and Arab characters. He has appeared as a character actor in many Hollywood films, while back home in New Zealand he is usually the main star.
As a boy he studied "Mau Rakau" a traditional Maori form of staff fighting with Maori elder "Mita Mohi" on the island of Mokoia, which nurtured his abilities as a performer in "Kapahaka" (traditional Maori song and dance performance). He later performed as a breakdancer and then competitively in Rock'n'Roll revival dance competitions.
He started acting in amateur theatre productions of musicals Fiddler on the Roof and The Man of La Mancha with the Kapiti Players and the Mantis Cooperative Theatre Company before attending The New Zealand Drama School and there after Teatro Dimitri Scoula in Switzerland. He worked in a number of New Zealand theatre companies "Downstage", "Mercury Theatre", "Bats Theatre", "Centre Point" in stage productions of Happy End, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, The Cherry Orchard, Porgy and Bess, Weeds, Macbeth, Serious Money, The End of the Golden Weather.
His first feature film role was in Oscar nominated New Zealand film The Piano other notable New Zealand films he acted in are Once Were Warriors, Desperate Remedies, River Queen and Whale Rider.
Since then he has starred opposite many big names in Hollywood such as Anthony Hopkins, Eddie Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey and George Clooney in films such as Three Kings, Blow, Bringing Out the Dead, Sunshine and Training Day. His international reputation grew further in 2003, when he was one of the leads in the internationally popular New Zealand film Whale Rider.
In 2004 with producer Ainsley Gardiner, he formed independent film production company Whenua Films.[3] The goals of the company are to support the growth of the New Zealand indigenous filmmaking scene, and to be supportive of local short filmmakers. He and Ainsley were appointed to manage the development and production of the Short Films Fund for 2005/2006 by The New Zealand Film Commission. They have already produced several shorts under the new company banner, notably, Two Cars, One Night, which received an Academy Award nomination in 2005. Whenua also produced another successful short film by director Mike Jonathan called Hawaikii in 2006. Both short films have circulated through many of the prestigious international film festivals like Berlinale. At the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Miramax Films bought US distribution rights to their first feature film Eagle vs Shark.
Film and television
- Under Cover (1991) (TV)
- The Piano (1993)
- Desperate Remedies (1993)
- Kahu & Maia (1994)
- Once Were Warriors (1994)
- Rapa Nui (1994)
- Hercules in the Underworld (1994) (TV)
- Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - "As Darkness Falls" (1994)
- Chicken (1996)
- Mananui (1996)
- City Life (1996) (TV)
- The Chosen (1998) (TV film)
- Deep Rising
- Six Days Seven Nights (1998)
- Virus (1999)
- Three Kings (1999)
- Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
- The Insider (1999)
- Jubilee (2000)
- Blow (2001)
- Training Day (2001)
- The Majestic (2001)
- Collateral Damage (2002)
- Point of Origin (2002 (TV film)
- Whale Rider (2002)
- Runaway Jury (2003)
- Traffic (2004) (TV miniseries)
- Spooked (2004)
- Heinuous Crime (2004)
- The Pool (2005)
- River Queen (2005)
- The Fountain (2006)
- Sunshine (2007)
- Fracture (2007)
- Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
- 10,000 BC (2008)
- Crossing Over (2008)