David Nyika’s highly anticipated homecoming boxing match on September 14 delivered a knockout win against Tommy Karpency, while coverage of the event had some viewers stunned. 

With nine fights on the card, last weekend’s event at Viaduct Events Centre drew packed tables and big names: sports stars David Tua, Ali Williams and Leon MacDonald were there, alongside politicians Winston Peters and Wayne Brown, who were seated next to film legend Cliff Curtis. 

Kiwi sports reporter Andrew Gourdie, formerly of Newshub, was part of the broadcast team for sports streaming site DAZN, which beamed the fight to 155 countries. 

The coverage included a chat with Curtis, microphones in hand and corporate tables behind them. Acknowledging the viewers around the world, Gourdie explains to “those of you who don’t know” that the Hollywood star is “one of the actors here in New Zealand we’re very proud of”. 

He then explains that Curtis is “most famous probably for playing Uncle Bully in Once Were Warriors. He certainly put on a show out there tonight,” Gourdie says, appearing to reference the hard-hitting nature of the boxing event. 

“Yeah thanks for that. Right,” Curtis says. 

Curtis pauses. “Sorry you just put me off there” he explains. “Talking about bad spirits from the past,” he appears to say, while Gourdie apologises. “Sorry sir,” the presenter says. “I beg your pardon.” 

The subject turns to the fight at hand. “Tell us a bit about what this boy’s future has in store for him,” Gourdie says. 

“Dave Higgins has done a great job,” Curtis says of the Kiwi boxing promoter and Duco co-founder. “David Nyika’s on the main stage. 

“All of that hard work, discipline, dedication paid off.” 

Actor Cliff Curtis pictured with Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters at Viaduct Events Centre‎, Auckland, last Saturday. Photo / Getty Images 

The Herald reached out to Andrew Gourdie for comment. 

Footage of the interview was shared by TikTok user @polareats and has since gone viral — it had 176,500 views by Monday morning — published with the caption “what not to do when you’re interviewing one of nz’s best actors”. 

Among the hundreds of comments were many pointing out that Curtis “doesn’t want to be known as Uncle Bully” and “clearly hates” still being recognised for the role. 

Uncle Bully was the abusive, predatory antagonist of the 1994 film Once Were Warriors. 

Cliff Curtis, 56, was 25 when the film came out, and famously never agreed to the role; his agent accepted it on his behalf while Curtis was away shooting in Rapa Nui (Easter Island). 

It was a challenging character and narrative arc. In the years since its release, Curtis has spoken publicly about the job. “That was a role I didn’t want to do,” he told the Herald in 2014. “That dude is going to be haunting me for the rest of my days.” 

To find a way into the infamous character, Curtis had “focused on the idea that that film was ultimately about the strength and beauty of our women who hold families together against enormous challenges” and could do the role “because ultimately, the kaupapa was greater than my individual aspirations”. 

Cliff Curtis as Uncle Bully in the 1994 film Once Were Warriors. 

Directed by Lee Tamahori and based on the bestselling book by Alan Duff, Once Were Warriors follows the Heke whānau — led by Temuera Morrison and Rena Owen as Jake and Beth — and depicts domestic violence and substance abuse while exploring the effects of colonisation and urbanisation. 

The movie was a critical and commercial success upon release, becoming the highest-grossing New Zealand film at the time, netting over $6 million at the local box office and $25 million internationally. It swept the 1994 NZ Film Awards, winning nine awards including best film and director, and earned gongs on the international festival circuit. 

A third of Kiwis were thought to have seen it. 

Once Were Warriors shocked audiences with its graphic content, and the film proved divisive, drawing criticism for portraying negative stereotypes while being considered an important contribution to local cinema. 

The production “contributed significantly to highlighting the immense creativity, talent and ability within the Māori community”, wrote Dr Leonie Pihama, a leading kaupapa Māori academic, in Film In Aotearoa New Zealand. “However, in terms of Maori representation to the world, its political and cultural implications are disturbing.” 

NZ On Screen reports it’s still the most-watched local release, and it’s consistently ranked in the top Kiwi films of all time. 

Stars Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison and Cliff Curtis are esteemed in the industry. 

Uncle Bully, his breakout role, is one of a long list for Curtis. It followed his film debut in The Piano, and he’s consistently worked on New Zealand productions throughout his career, with roles in Whale Rider, The River Queen, The Dark Horse and Muru. 

Cliff Curtis as Pourourangi in Whale Rider (2002). 

Curtis also executive-produced the 2019 documentary Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen about pioneering filmmaker Merata Mita, and was awarded the Arts Foundation Laureate prize in 2014. 

There’s been considerable success in Hollywood, with appearances in Training Day, and the fourth Die Hard film, with roles in The Meg, Fast and Furious, and Avatar franchises, and a lead role in TV series Fear the Walking Dead. He’s even played Jesus. 

Curtis was reunited with Once Were Warriors co-star Temuera Morrison in the 2024 film by Tim Worrall, Ka Whawhai Tonu, a fictionalised historical drama about the 1864 Battle of Ōrākau. 

Cliff Curtis and Te Wakaunua Te Kurapa in Ka Whawhai Tonu (2024). 

He’s starring in the upcoming Avatar sequels and is understood to be cast in the new Jason Momoa series Chief of War, now in post-production. 

Last year, Alan Duff announced that Once Were Warriors was poised to be reimagined as a television series.