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Life in Hollywood — it’s not always about the fame. Even with a long, storied career in the spotlight, New Zealand actor and producer Cliff Curtis has managed to keep much of his personal life private. He steers clear of any self-promotion as much as possible and admits to being “quite socially awkward” at times.

But when it comes to supporting others in the film industry, especially fellow Pacific Islanders, you can count him in. Last October, Curtis made a stop in Hawai‘i to take part in a workshop hosted by International Cultural Arts Network (ICAN), a nonprofit co-founded by local film industry veterans Angela Laprete, Brian Keaulana and Robert Suka. Their mission is to elevate, educate and empower diversity with a focus on Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in Hawai‘i’s TV and film industry, and bridge cultural connections globally in various forms of storytelling and entertainment.

“New Zealand, in terms of the film industry, was put on the map because of The Lord of the Rings,” says Curtis. “They really put them on the map, but for us as Indigenous people, we want to see stories which reflect us. Hawai‘i is a film destination for many franchises. You got Jurassic Park, many movies have been made here over the years, and you have The White Lotus. When you look at that, it’s like where are the stories that tell of the original people of Hawai‘i? ... So, we are here to help encourage and support Hawaiians to tell their own stories and give them that support.

“Part of what we hope to do is to create opportunities for the Hawaiian talent here to elevate their craft and to make it known that they are a part of the community here.”

Throughout his 30-plus years in the entertainment industry, Curtis has played a wide range of roles in a variety of films and TV series, including The Piano, Once Were Warriors, Training Day, Fear the Walking Dead, The Meg, and Meg 2: The Trench. Also among his work are a number of projects filmed in Hawai‘i, including Six Days, Seven Nights with Harrison Ford and Temuera Morrison, Rapa Nui with Jason Scott Lee, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw with Dwayne Johnson.

For Avatar: Way of Water, Curtis underwent water training on the Big Island, where he recalls one of his greatest experiences: swimming with manta rays at night. “It was beautiful,” he says.

More recently, he filmed the historical drama Chief of War with Jason Momoa for Apple TV+.

“When we were shooting on the Big Island for Chief of War, I kind of isolated,” remembers Curtis. “Rather than staying at the hotel, I had a camper van and a tent and I stayed out there (in the lava rocks) on my own, and it was beautiful. I loved it. That was an amazing experience.”

Curtis also has many personal connections to the Hawaiian Islands. He’s been a supporter of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival, which recently presented him the HIFF Leanne K. Ferrer Trailblazer Award. And his mentor, the late Merata Mita, was assistant professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Academy for Creative Media. Curtis recalls trips to Hawai‘i 20 years ago or so to visit her, and even running workshops with her at UH. He also wrote and executive produced a documentary on her life’s work, titled Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen, which was released in 2018.

“I love Hawai‘i, I would purposely book my flights to come through here,” says Curtis, who still calls Aotearoa home. “And even though I would have a layover, I would get off, come and swim at one of the beaches, just so I could touch and be in the water.

“(Last year) I brought my family for my daughter’s 21st birthday. I don’t usually talk about my family, but it was special because rather than have a party, she said, ‘I want to have a family vacation.’ It was just us — her brothers, her boyfriend, my wife and me. We stayed at the Royal Hawaiian and then out on the North Shore, and it was just the best family vacation our family has ever had.”

For Curtis, a father of four, family is everything. It’s what he looks forward to the most when he’s not busy working, and it’s where he hopes his legacy lives on.

“Personally, I want to be remembered fondly by my children and my family, that is the most important thing to me,” he says. “If they think of me fondly — the people that love me most, that I love most — if they think well of me, that’s all that matters.

“The older I get, the narrower my focus becomes on those things. I become less concerned about all the other things, not that I don’t want to make a contribution socially or within my community, yes, I do, but those primary relationships, that’s the most important.”

Curtis adds that he’s at a stage of his life where he’s getting more comfortable with not being in front of the camera and more interested in being behind the lens, which is leading to him to do more producing.

“I don’t naturally lean into the celebrity aspect of what we do,” he says. “I don’t do social media. I don’t really do a lot of interviews. The fame and fortune was not the ride that I was going on. I was interested in storytelling and in the craft and the creativity of it.

“There’s an awkwardness, like the whole self-promotion aspect that’s required with it, that sort of makes me feel shy. When there’s an expectation of, you’re an actor, you like to be on display, you want to do that stuff, there’s a bit of a contradiction for me in that because I actually like normal life a lot. I like normalcy a lot.”

Being the center of attention off screen may bring out a surprisingly timorous Curtis, but his extensive work on screen has clearly made him one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood.

Reflecting on his journey, he acknowledges the many different opportunities he’s had, and it’s that full picture of his work so far that has been the highlight of his career.

“I’ve been able to work in large Hollywood productions, I’m in Avatar sequels — a massive franchise and an incredible opportunity — but also being able to work on smaller entertainment productions like Muru (which played at the film festival last year), and Whale Rider was here years ago,” says Curtis. “And I produce films as well. I’ve produced projects with Taika Waititi (such as the 2010 film, Boy), so it’s that ability to sort of go to Hollywood and do that Hollywood stuff and then go home and tell the smaller more intimate stories about my community. It’s being able to have both options available to me, that’s the highlight.”

Coming up, fans can look forward to seeing Curtis in the Australian TV series Swift Street, as well as Netflix’s Kaos — plus at some point Avatar 3, 4 and 5. Of course, there’s also the eight-episode series Chief of War, which has not announced a premiere date yet.

Curtis notes he has some other projects on his plate as well. But instead of talking about them, he prefers to let the works speak for themselves.

“It’s such a precarious business,” he says. “A lot of things don’t work out, so you can announce to the world, oh, I’m going to do this, but if it doesn’t work out ... It’s like planting seeds. You plant a seed; you want to grow something. It needs to be protected from the sun, the wind and the elements for it to grow, to germinate and become into the world. And then, suddenly, there’s something there for the world to appreciate and if they do, that’s great.”

“So, keep gardening and keep fishing. Keep your garden in order, keep your nets in order and keep being productive and making contributions as best as you can.”