Cliff Curtis (full name Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis) was born in 1968, on July 27 in Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. His father was a dancer. His nationality and ethnicity is something the actor is really proud of. Being of Maori descent Curtis spent his boyhood studying traditional Maori fighting technique called "taiaha". Cliff also had some performances in break dancing as well as dance contests of rock and roll. Curtis attended Western Heights High School. After this he decided to become a student at New Zealand Drama School. But it was not enough for Cliff as he later traveled to Switzerland and enrolled in Teatro Dmitri Scoula.
Career
The Kiwi started his acting career back at home in New Zealand. The first appearance he made was on Jane Campion's masterpiece called The Piano. The 1993 drama won 3 Oscars and was nominated for 5 more. Curtis' role was a small one but he did get noticed and got a part in Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors. This was the movie that opened the doors for Cliff Curtis. Before moving to Hollywood, the actor did a couple more projects in his motherland, including Michael Hurst's comedy Jubilee.
After moving to the United States of America the actor began his international career. Cliff is known for playing a variety of different ethnicities, ranging from Latin-American to Arab. Curtis worked with the likes of Johnny Depp, Martin Scorcese and M. Night Shyamalan. Though his role in Shyamalan's Avatar: The Last Airbender is something Curtis might want to forget, since the movie was a total disaster. The actor reprised plenty of roles but the one he is most famous for is probably of Porourangi in Niki Caro's Whale Rider. The drama made over 40 million dollars in the Box Office and received numerous awards and nominations. Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Cliff Curtis was cast for Fear the Walking Dead, a spin-off to the AMC's The Walking Dead. Curtis plays Travis Manawa, one of the lead roles in the show.
It has also been revealed that the actor is set to play a character of Jesus in Kevin Reynolds' Risen.
Trivia
The actor from New Zealand really protects his personal life making it difficult to know more about him. It will be an extraordinary feat to write his biography if a person will ever appear for this job. His best bet would probably be to focus on Curtis' movies and TV shows. It is however, known, that the actor got married in 2009.
People speculate that Curtis has a net worth of about 3 million dollars but the real number might be higher than that, no one knows this for sure.
Cliff is one of the nine children and he shares his birthday with a famous wrestler Triple H and Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Awards and nominations
2014 movie The Dark Horse has won Cliff Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Actor and DFCC's Best Actor Award. The actor has also received few nominations for various performances.
Cliff Curtis is still an up-and-coming actor with plenty of raw talent. Those who are familiar with the movie industry will say that his best years are still ahead of him and it would not be surprising if he becomes an Oscar nominee one day.
| Birth Date: | 27 Jul, 1968 |
| Age: | 51 yrs |
| Occupations: | Actor Film actor Film producer Television actor |
| Citizenship: | New Zealand |
| Birth Place: | Rotorua |
| Education: | Toi Whakaari |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | New Zealand actor |
| Net Worth 2021: | 3 million |
