Biography for
Cliff Curtis

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Cliff Curtis was born in Rotorua, Aotearoa, New Zealand, on July 27, 1968.

Of New Zealand Maori descent (Ngati Hauiti, Te Arawa) he spent time when young learning the traditional Maori fighting styles of mau rakau. He enrolled at the New Zealand Drama School, and then the Teatro Dmitri Scoula in Switzerland.

After returning to Aotearoa New Zealand from Europe, he was cast in The Piano (1993). Subsequent roles in New Zealand include the camp melodrama Desperate Remedies (1993), the gruelling urban drama Once Were Warriors (1994), in which he plays a child rapist, and the lighthearted comedy Jubilee (2000).

In Hollywood, Cliff Curtis has played a range of different roles and ethnicities in films. He plays a Colombian in Blow (2001), an Arab in Three Kings (1999) and The Insider (1999), a Latino in Training Day (2001) and Runaway Jury (2003), and a drug dealer of ambiguous ethnicity in Bringing Out the Dead (1999). However, he is probably best known for his role as Paikea's father Porourangi, in Whale Rider (2002).

Trivia

Though he's Maori, he's only played a Maori in a couple of movies. He has been cast as nearly any other dark-skinned nationality having played, among others, Mexican-Americans, Colombians, Arabs and Chechens.

Almost missed his flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to Los Angeles en route to Mexico to film Blow (2001).

While filming Whale Rider (2002) he would approach Rawiri Paratene in the mornings and annoy him in order to keep them both in character.

Is in two separate films entitled "Fracture," playing a detective in both.

Filmed his part as Pablo Escobar in Blow in just three days.

Is one of nine children.

Personal Quotes

(On Whale Rider) I've been waiting for this film for a long time. It's fun to go off and put on a disguise and pretend to be someone else, but to be able to get back to myself and my culture, that was just more than really nice, y'know - it was vital.

As an actor ... at some point you've got to forget that the crew's there in order to do your job.

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