Raised as a devout Catholic in Rotorua, with a crucifix above his bed, former altar boy Cliff Curtis wanted to be a priest when he grew up. That is, until he discovered acting. From that moment, he had only one ambition – to play Jesus.
He came close in the acclaimed Kiwi movie The Dark Horse, in which he starred as a bipolar chess champion who believed he was the son of God, but Cliff was blown away when he was finally offered his dream role, in the new Joseph Fiennes movie Risen, about the Resurrection of Christ. “I was really confused and wondered if it was a prank as it felt surreal,” confesses the 47-year-old star of Whale Rider and Once Were Warriors. “When asked what role I most wanted to play, I’d always answer Jesus, so that had become a joke, which is why I was over-whelmed.
“I questioned if they knew what they were doing, as there was nothing in my work that suggested I would be right for the role. I’m not blond and blue-eyed, and I am in my 40s, whereas Jesus was in his early 30s when these events took place.” Eventually, the director talked the actor around and Cliff embarked on a month-long vow of silence in order to “tame my ego” and “free me from the clutter”.
Playing Jesus was”the most beautiful thing”, says Cliff. Left: With his wife and son.
Quiet reflection
During filming in Malta, he ate simple meals and didn’t once speak to his wife of six years, nor his three children. Cliff explains, “It was a cleansing process because I talk a lot and often a lot of nonsense.” He also tried not to speak to the cast and crew of Risen, which he admits was “almost absurd”, but when the director asked him to engage a bit more with his co-stars, Cliff offered to wash their feet.
“And I did!” he recalls. “One by one. It was lunch break and they didn’t know what was going on. It was beautiful, humble and very authentic. They all reacted differently and it brought tears to my eyes.” They didn’t speak during the shoot, but Shakespeare in Love star Joseph, 45, says Cliff was “fully charged to bring his A-game to the set”, while the Kiwi actor recalls that they had “a very nice conversation” when filming wrapped.
Cliff describes his crucifixion scene as “painful and very uncomfortable”, and confesses he needed to meditate in order to cope with it. But the pain was all worth it. Speaking of his role, Cliff concludes, “Creatively and artistically, it was perhaps the most beautiful thing I have experienced as an actor, and the most significant thing I’ve done so far as an artist. I believe something has shifted in me at a deep level.”
Cliff pictured with his wife and son.
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