Kiwi Actor Cliff Curtis Reveals his Hollywood Horror Story

Publish Date
Friday, 19 August 2016, 9:54AM
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Cliff Curtis has been through the wringer - and he's finally ready to reveal his Hollywood horror story. "It can be really tough," sighs Curtis. "People don't realise ... "

Curtis, a film veteran at home known for a career that spans 1993's The Piano to 2014's acclaimed The Dark Horse, has spent the past eight years chasing his TV dreams in Los Angeles.

Although he's easily recognisable now as the lead actor in zombie spin-off Fear the Walking Dead, things weren't always this good. Despite working on several high-profile shows, Curtis spent much of those eight years in limbo, signed to projects that were going nowhere.

"It's a long time between drinks when you're on the TV circuit, Every two years you get a shot at something. If it doesn't work out, you're down from work for a whole year before you can get back into another show."

Curtis knows exactly what that feels like. It happened to him "three times over six years". He doesn't name names, but take a quick look at his IMDb page and it's easy to join the dots.

In 2009's medical drama Trauma, he lasted 18 episodes as a wisecracking paramedic nicknamed Rabbit before NBC cancelled it a year later. In 2012, Curtis signed up for ABC's Missing, playing a CIA boss alongside Ashley Judd and Sean Bean. It lasted 10 episodes before it was axed.

Then there was 2014's Gang Related, a Fox show in which Curtis played a gang boss with an impressive goatee. It lasted 13 episodes before being - you guessed it - thrown into a shallow grave.

Curtis, 48, says each cancellation was a tough blow for a Kiwi actor trying to prove his worth overseas. "They sign you on for a five-year contract. They hold the rights for a year ... and they don't let you go ... even if the show's been cancelled," he says.

"You do the pilot and wait three months to find out if they want to make a show out of it, and they might make six episodes. Then they might make another three. It's very piecemeal ... then they cancel it and you're out of work for a year. It's a tough gig."

If he sounds angry or exasperated about his experiences, he's not. That's because Curtis' story has a moral, one that shows patience and perseverance can pay off. And it's all thanks to a zombie apocalypse.

With the second season of Fear the Walking Dead resuming here on Monday, Curtis' Hollywood TV struggles are behind him.

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