Cliff Curtis

Cliff Curtis is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most internationally recognised and versatile actors, and a performer whose deep roots in Māori storytelling continue to influence both his screen and stage work. Of Te Arawa and Ngāti Hauiti descent, Curtis began his training at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, before working with some of the country’s most innovative theatre companies, including Downstage Theatre at the Hannah Playhouse.

In the early 1990s, Curtis appeared in several Downstage productions that helped define Wellington’s contemporary theatre scene, including Macbeth, The End of the Golden Weather and Serious Money. 

Curtis went on to an extraordinary film and television career, starring in Once Were Warriors, Whale Rider, The Dark Horse, and major international projects such as Training Day, Sunshine, Fear the Walking Dead, and James Cameron’s Avatar sequels. He has often spoken of his beginnings in live performance — and of spaces like the Hannah Playhouse — as vital foundations for his craft and his commitment to storytelling that reflects identity, place, and humanity.

Through both his acting and his production company, Whenua Films, Cliff Curtis continues to champion indigenous voices and authentic New Zealand narratives, carrying the spirit of the Hannah and its legacy of bold, socially resonant theatre onto the global stage.