Cliff Curtis is a New Zealand actor. He was born on 27th July 1968 in Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. He is one of eight children, the son of an amateur dancer. Curtis is of Māori descent; his tribal affiliations are Te Arawa and Ngāti Hauiti. Curtis is ethnically Māori, his many character roles have included a range of ethnicities, such as Mexican American, Samoan, Indian, Arab, and Anglo-Saxon. He is the co-owner of the independent New Zealand production company Whenua Films.

Cliff Curtis Professional Carrier

His first feature film role was a small part in the 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 screens; the line “Uncle fucken Bully” referring to Curtis’s character spoken by “Jake the Muss”, played by Temuera Morrison, became one of New Zealand film’s most memorable and quoted lines, as well as being part of the “Kiwiana” trend. He played Kahu in the short-film Kahu & Maia, a contemporary depiction of a Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Rongomaiwahine legend.

In 2014, Curtis played the lead role in The Dark Horse, which the National Radio review called “one of the greatest New Zealand films ever made. The New Zealand Herald praised him for his “towering performance as real-life Gisborne speed chess player and coach Genesis Photini, who died in 2011. Curtis studied chess and deliberately put on weight for the role.

Curtis Personal Life

He was married in late 2009 in a private ceremony at his home and has four children. He is Roman Catholic. Despite being of Māori descent, Curtis has been cast in a variety of roles that have challenged him to play different ethnicities from Latin American, Indian, and Middle Eastern descent. Upon being asked about his place as an “all-purpose ethnic” actor, he actually responded quite positively to it stating, “It’s been a real advantage, I love being ethnic.

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