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Cliff Curtis

Highest Rated: 97% The Dark Horse (2014)

Lowest Rated: 0% A Thousand Words (2012)

Birthday: Jul 27, 1968

Birthplace: Rotorua, New Zealand

Born in New Zealand in 1968, of Maori descent, Cliff Curtis was a performer even before he started his formal training. He attended theater schools in his native New Zealand as well as the Teatro Dimitri Scuola in Switzerland. When he returned to New Zealand, he started out playing the classics on stage, but his heritage clearly played a part in the roles he earned, especially in his early work on screen. Not surprisingly, his first onscreen credits are for film and television from his native New Zealand. What is surprising is that many of these niche roles were giving Curtis international exposure. His first role was a supporting part in Jane Campion's Academy Award-nominated "The Piano" (1993). He had a larger role in another major export from New Zealand, "Once Were Warriors" (1994), where he played the brutal character Bully. The international appeal of this film provided an entrée into Hollywood, where he began to play supporting roles in major releases including the romantic comedy "Six Days, Seven Nights" (1998), political satire "The Insider" (1999), and cop thriller "Training Day" (2001). Curtis never forgot his roots, returning most notably in 2002's Oscar-nominated Whale Rider, in which he played a Maori father trying to understand his young daughter. He continued to play supporting roles in feature films, until he appeared in his first series regular role on "Trauma" (NBC, 2009-2010). Although the series lasted only one season, audiences continued to respond to his work. Curtis starred opposite Ashley Judd in the ABC series "Missing" (ABC, 2012) and in 2014, was a series regular on the Fox show "Gang Related" (Fox, 2014). In 2014, it was announced that Curtis would be the lead on AMC's first spinoff from its hugely successful series "The Walking Dead" (AMC, 2010- ).

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Highest rated movies

97% 81% The Dark Horse Watchlist 96% 90% The Insider Watchlist
94% 77% Three Kings
Watchlist
93% 95% Once Were Warriors
Watchlist
92% Muru
Watchlist
92% 100% Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen
Watchlist
91% 73% Murina Watchlist
91% 88% Whale Rider
Watchlist
90% 86% The Piano
Watchlist
88% 86% Boy
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Avatar: Fire and Ash Tonowari (Character) - 2025
No Score Yet No Score Yet Last Breath Unknown (Character) - 2025
No Score Yet No Score Yet Ka Whawhai Tonu Unknown (Character) - 2024
27% 73% Meg 2: The Trench James "Mac" Mackreides (Character) $82.6M 2023
74% 71% True Spirit Ben Bryant (Character) - 2023
76% 92% Avatar: The Way of Water Tonowari (Character) $684.1M 2022
92% No Score Yet Muru Sgt 'Taffy' Tawharau (Character),
Executive Producer
- 2022
91% 73% Murina Javier (Character) $55.8K 2021
37% 37% Reminiscence Cyrus Boothe (Character) $3.9M 2021
78% 89% Doctor Sleep Billy Freeman (Character) $31.6M 2019
67% 88% Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw Jonah (Character) $173.8M 2019
92% 100% Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen Executive Producer - 2018
47% 44% The Meg Mac (Character) $142.8M 2018
53% 70% Risen Yeshua (Character) $36.9M 2016
16% 47% Last Knights Lt. Cortez (Character) - 2015
97% 81% The Dark Horse Genesis (Character),
Executive Producer
$143.6K 2014
No Score Yet 45% Greencard Warriors Executive Producer - 2013
68% 50% Great Expectations Executive Producer $203.9K 2012
0% 46% A Thousand Words Dr. Sinja (Character) $18.4M 2012
28% 67% Colombiana Emilio Restrepo (Character) $36.7M 2011
88% 86% Boy Producer $255.2K 2010
5% 30% The Last Airbender Fire Lord Ozai (Character) $131.6M 2010
15% 49% Crossing Over Hamid Baraheri (Character) $454.1K 2009
23% 42% Push Hook Waters (Character) $31.8M 2009
10% 37% 10,000 B.C. Tic'Tic (Character) $94.8M 2008
76% 73% Sunshine Searle (Character) $3.7M 2007
82% 86% Live Free or Die Hard Bowman (Character) $134.5M 2007
56% 67% Eagle vs. Shark Producer $221.8K 2007
No Score Yet 46% River Queen Wiremu (Character) - 2005
No Score Yet 56% Tama Tu Producer - 2005
73% 75% Runaway Jury Frank Herrera (Character) $49.4M 2003
No Score Yet 47% Point of Origin Mike Camello (Character) - 2002
91% 88% Whale Rider Porourangi Apirana (Character) $20.8M 2002
19% 27% Collateral Damage Claudio "The Wolf" (Character) - 2002
42% 60% The Majestic The Evil But Handsome Prince Khalid (Character) $27.8M 2001
74% 89% Training Day Smiley (Character) $76.3M 2001
56% 87% Blow Escobar (Character) $53.1M 2001
96% 90% The Insider Sheikh Fadlallah (Character) $29.0M 1999
73% 70% Bringing Out the Dead Cy Coates (Character) $16.6M 1999
94% 77% Three Kings Amir Abdullah (Character) $60.7M 1999
12% 23% Virus Hiko (Character) $14.0M 1999
38% 36% Six Days, Seven Nights Kip (Character) $74.3M 1998
36% 44% Deep Rising Mamooli (Character) $11.2M 1998
93% 95% Once Were Warriors Bully (Character) $1.3M 1994
No Score Yet 60% Hercules in the Underworld Nessus (Character) - 1994
90% 86% The Piano Mana (Character) $39.3M 1993

TV

Credit
73% 57% Fear the Walking Dead Travis (Character) 2015-2017
41% 90% Gang Related Javier Acosta (Character) 2014
No Score Yet No Score Yet Missing Dax Miller (Character) 2012
76% 61% Body of Proof Unknown (Guest Star) 2011
25% 80% Trauma Reuben "Rabbit" Palchuk (Character) 2009-2010
No Score Yet No Score Yet Traffic Unknown (Character) 2004
No Score Yet 72% Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Unknown (Guest Star) 1995