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New Zealand's most successful actor of the modern era Cliff Curtis says its awesome to be cast as a Maori in the Hollywood television series Fear of the Walking Dead.
He's got the lead role in the series playing a Maori guy who lives and works in LA at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse which is the sequel to the top rating The Walking Dead and says its great to be in a Hollywood production where he doesn't have to cover up his moko and body art.
Cliff Curtis with Ngati Hauiti and Te Arawa tribal affiliations says his school teacher character Travis Manawa wasn't written to be Maori however the show's executive producer Dave Erikson suggested it to him and he thought it could well work as many Maori come to the United States and take up jobs where they could well be confronted by zombie type characters in an apocolpyse.
While he's not giving away the significance of being Maori in the plot Cliff Curtis says Travis is a second generation his grand parents having come to America.
He says playing the role has got him thinking about how people would fair during an apocolypse and says while it would be a nightmare in America people in New Zealand would be able to survive much better as they would be able to get into a waka and go fishing.
Its the first time his Maori heritage has been factored into a charcater since his role in the 1999 sci-fi thriller Virus and its not likely to be a part of his next major role where he will play Jesus in the movie Risen.
Fear of the Walking Dead premieres on the SoHo channel on August 24.
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