<P> 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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P>

Who played uncle bully in once were warriors
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