Cliff Curtis - wikipedia Cliff Curtis For the MLB pitcher, see Cliff Curtis ( baseball ). Cliff Curtis Curtis in 2016 Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis ( 1968 - 07 - 27 ) 27 July 1968 ( age 50 ) Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand Nationality New Zealand Occupation Actor Years active 1991 -- present Spouse ( s ) name unknown ( m. 2009 ) Children Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis ( born 27 July 1968 ) is a New Zealand actor. His film credits include Once Were Warriors ( 1994 ), Blow ( 2001 ), Whale Rider ( 2002 ), Live Free Or Die Hard ( 2007 ) and The Dark Horse ( 2014 ) for which he won the Best Performance by an Actor award at the 2014 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Curtis had television series roles on NBC 's Trauma and Body of Proof, and ABC 's Missing. From 2015 to 2017, Curtis portrayed Travis Manawa on the AMC horror drama series Fear the Walking Dead. Ethnically Māori, his many character roles have included a range of ethnicities, such as Latin American and Arab. Curtis is co-owner of the independent New Zealand production company Whenua Films. Contents 1 Early life 2 New Zealand career 3 International career 4 Personal life 5 Filmography 5.1 Film 5.2 Television 6 References 7 External links Early life Curtis, one of eight children, was born in Rotorua, in the North Island of New Zealand, and is the son of an amateur dancer. Curtis is of Māori descent ; his tribal affiliations are Te Arawa and Ngāti Hauiti. As a boy he studied mau rākau, a traditional Māori form of taiaha fighting, with Māori elder Mita Mohi on Mokoia Island, which nurtured his abilities as a performer in kapa haka. Curtis later performed as a breakdancer and then competitively in rock ' n ' roll dance competitions. He received his secondary education at Western Heights High School, Rotorua. New Zealand career Curtis started acting in amateur productions of musicals Fiddler on the Roof and Man of La Mancha with the Kapiti Players and the Mantis Cooperative Theatre Company, before attending the New Zealand Drama School and Teatro Dimitri Scoula in Switzerland. He worked at a number of New Zealand theatre companies, including Downstage, Mercury Theatre, Bats Theatre, and Centre Point. His stage roles include Happy End, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, The Cherry Orchard, Porgy and Bess, Weeds, Macbeth, Serious Money, and The End of the Golden Weather. Curtis at the 2011 MIPCOM, in Cannes. 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 f * * ken Bully '' referring to Curtis 's character spoken by `` Jake the Muss '' Temuera Morrison, became one of New Zealand film 's most memorable and quoted lines, as well as being part of the `` Kiwiana '' trend. He also played a seducer in the melodrama Desperate Remedies. In 2000 Curtis starred as family man Billy Williams in Jubilee, before playing father to the lead character in the international hit Whale Rider. In 2004 with producer Ainsley Gardiner, Curtis formed independent film production company Whenua Films. The goals of the company are to support the growth of the New Zealand indigenous film - making scene, and support local short filmmakers. He and Gardiner were appointed to manage the development and production of films for the Short Films Fund for 2005 - 06 by the New Zealand Film Commission. They have produced several shorts under the new company banner, notably Two Cars, One Night, which received an Academy Award nomination in 2005, and Hawaikii by director Mike Jonathan in 2006. Both short films circulated through many of the prestigious international film festivals like the Berlinale. At the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Miramax Films bought US distribution rights to their first feature film, a relationship comedy titled Eagle vs Shark, directed by Taika Waititi. Waititi 's follow - up feature Boy, also from Whenua Films, went on to become the highest grossing New Zealand film released on its own soil. 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 Potini, who died in 2011. Curtis studied chess and deliberately put on weight for the role. International career Cliff Curtis at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con International. Curtis has appeared in films such as Martin Scorsese 's Bringing Out the Dead ( 1999 ), Three Kings ( 1999 ), the drug drama Blow ( 2001 ) with Johnny Depp, Training Day ( 2001 ), Collateral Damage ( 2002 ), Live Free or Die Hard ( 2007 ), Sunshine ( 2007 ), Push ( 2009 ), and Colombiana ( 2011 ). In M. Night Shyamalan 's The Last Airbender ( 2010 ), he played the main villain, Fire Lord Ozai. Curtis portrayed Lt. Cortez in the film Last Knights ( 2015 ) and Jesus Christ in the film Risen ( 2016 ). In the NBC TV drama Trauma, he played daredevil flight medic Reuben `` Rabbit '' Palchuck. Curtis was cast as Travis Manawa, a leading male role of the AMC TV series Fear the Walking Dead, the official spin - off of The Walking Dead. In 2017, Curtis was cast as `` Tonowari '' and is set to appear in the four sequels to Avatar ; see Avatar 2 and Avatar 3. Personal life Curtis guards his personal life closely. He married in late 2009 in a lavish private ceremony at his home, and has three children. Filmography Film Year Title Role 1993 The Piano Mana 1993 Desperate Remedies Fraser 1994 Kahu & Maia 1994 Once Were Warriors Bully 1994 Rapa Nui Short Ears Chicken Zeke Mananui Mana 1998 Deep Rising Mamooli 1998 Six Days, Seven Nights Kip 1999 Virus Hiko 1999 Three Kings Amir Abdulah 1999 Bringing Out the Dead Cy Coates 1999 The Insider Sheikh Fadlallah ( as Clifford Curtis ) 2000 Jubilee Billy Williams 2001 Blow Pablo Escobar 2001 Training Day Smiley 2001 The Majestic The Evil But Handsome Prince Khalid 2002 Collateral Damage Claudio El Lobo Perrini 2002 Whale Rider Porourangi 2003 Runaway Jury Frank Herrera Fracture Detective Franklin Spooked Mort Whitman Heinous Crime Pizza delivery man 2005 The Pool Husband 2005 River Queen Wiremu 2006 The Fountain Captain Ariel 2007 Sunshine Searle 2007 Fracture Detective Flores 2007 Live Free or Die Hard FBI Deputy Director Miguel Bowman 2008 10,000 BC Tic'Tic 2009 Push Hook Waters 2009 Crossing Over Hamid Baraheri The Last Airbender Fire Lord Ozai 2011 Colombiana Emilio Restrepo 2012 A Thousand Words Dr. Sinja 2014 The Dark Horse Genesis Potini 2015 Last Knights Lt. Cortez 2016 Risen Yeshua ( Jesus ) of Nazareth 2018 The Meg James `` Mac '' Mackreides 2020 Avatar 2 Tonowari Television Year Title Role Notes 1991 Under Cover Zip Television film 1994 Hercules in the Underworld Nessus 1995 Mysterious Island Peter 2 episodes City Life Daniel Freeman 4 episodes 1998 The Chosen Father Tahere Television film 2002 Point of Origin Mike Camello Traffic Adam Kadyrov 3 episodes 2009 -- 2010 Trauma Reuben ' Rabbit ' Palchuk 20 episodes 2011 Body of Proof FBI Agent Derek Ames 2 episodes 2012 Missing Agent Dax Miller 10 episodes 2014 Gang Related Javier Acosta 13 episodes 2015 -- 2017 Fear the Walking Dead Travis Manawa 21 episodes 2016 -- 2017 Talking Dead Himself 3 episodes References Jump up ^ `` AMC 's `` Fear the Walking Dead '' Begins Production in Vancouver '' ( Press release ). AMC. May 11, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Whenua Films ''. Whenua Films. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 03. Jump up ^ Haines, Leah ( 12 February 2006 ). `` Cliff Curtis, the megastar with a mortgage ''. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2011. Jump up ^ `` '' Do n't cry for me, Waititi '' says Pita Sharples ``. Scoop. 2007 - 01 - 25. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 03. Jump up ^ Parahi, Carmen ( Interviewer ) ( Dec 15, 2014 ). `` Cliff Curtis : My real life tragedy, violence and triumph ''. Youtube. Marae TV. Jump up ^ `` The Dark Horse : Cliff 's Edge ''. The NZ Herald. July 26, 2014. Jump up ^ ``... a funny, warm - hearted comedy set in heartland New Zealand... '', New Zealand Film Commission Jump up ^ `` Wellington director 's feature to be the highest - grossing NZ production ''. Wellington.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Film review with Dan Slevin ''. Radio New Zealand National. 24 July 2014. Jump up ^ Baillie, Russell ( 31 July 2014 ). `` Movie review : The Dark Horse ''. The New Zealand Herald. Jump up ^ Hibberd, James ( December 4, 2014 ). `` Inside TV : ' Walking Dead ' spinoff casts male lead ''. EW. Jump up ^ Moore, Debi ( March 29, 2015 ). `` News : See the First Teaser for AMC 's Fear the Walking Dead ''. Dread Central. Jump up ^ `` Cliff Curtis starred as daredevil flight medic Reuben `` Rabbit '' Palchuck... ``. NBC. 14 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 December 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011. Jump up ^ Prudom, Laura ( News Editor ) ( 2014 ). `` The Walking Dead ' Companion Series Casts Cliff Curtis as Male Lead ''. Variety. Jump up ^ `` Cliff Curtis explains why Fear the Walking Dead is more than a zombie show ''. www.ew.com. Retrieved 17 September 2016. Jump up ^ MrDisgusting ( March 29, 2015 ). `` ' Fear The Walking Dead ' Trailer : Get Your Flu Shot ! ''. Bloody Disgusting. Jump up ^ `` ' Fear the Walking Dead ' Star Cast in All Four ' Avatar ' Sequels ''. EW.com. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017. Jump up ^ `` Cliff Curtis ' NZ wedding ''. The New Zealand Herald. 3 January 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2011. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cliff Curtis. Cliff Curtis on IMDb Cliff Curtis on NZ On Screen Slate video showing Curtis playing several ethnicities and nationalities BNF : cb15124776k ( data ) GND : 12435758X ISNI : 0000 0001 0986 0793 LCCN : no2003019492 SUDOC : 130140619 VIAF : 71693684 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cliff_Curtis&oldid=856265477 '' Categories : 1968 births New Zealand male film actors New Zealand male Māori actors 20th - century New Zealand male actors 21st - century New Zealand male actors Toi Whakaari alumni Ngāti Hauiti Te Arawa People from Rotorua People educated at John Paul College, Rotorua Living people New Zealand male television actors Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from June 2011 Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska ไทย 中文 16 more Edit links This page was last edited on 24 August 2018, at 00 : 59 ( UTC ). 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Question: who plays travis in fear the walking dead
Answer: Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis