Cliff Curtis

Clifford Vivian Devon "Cliff" Curtis born 27 July 1968 is a New Zealand actor who has had major roles in film, including The Piano, Whale Rider, and Blow, and most recently has appeared in NBC's television series Trauma. He is also co-owner of independent film production company Whenua Films. Curtis, ethnically Māori, has on film portrayed a range of ethnicities, including Latin American and Arab characters. He has appeared as a character actor in many Hollywood films, while in New Zealand he is usually the main star.

He started acting in amateur theatre productions of the 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 Teatro Dimitri Scoula in Switzerland. He worked in a number of New Zealand theatre companies, including Downstage, Mercury Theatre, Bats Theatre, and Centre Point. He appeared in stage productions of 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 in the Oscar-nominated New Zealand film The Piano. Other notable New Zealand film roles were Once Were Warriors, Desperate Remedies, River Queen and Whale Rider.

Since then he has appeared in films such as Three Kings, Blow, Bringing Out the Dead, Sunshine in 2007, Training Day and "Push" in 2009. His international reputation grew further in 2003, when he was one of the leads in the New Zealand film Whale Rider.

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)

Heinous 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)

Push (2009)

Crossing Over (2009)

Trauma (2009)

The Last Airbender (2010)

A Thousand Words (2011)