Curtis Hannah
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Curtis Maaka Hannah is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''
Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...
''. Portrayed by Jayden Daniels since 2015, Curtis has appeared on the show in 2 stints in both regular and recurring appearances.


Creation and casting

In 2015, producers decided to expand the role of guest-character
Jack Hannah John Fredrick Hannah (January 5, 1913 – June 11, 1994) was an American animator, writer and director of animated shorts. He worked for Disney and Walter Lantz. Biography Hannah was born on January 5, 1913, in Nogales, Arizona. After attend ...
(Reuben Milner) and introduce a family unit around him. The character of his older brother Curtis was created and recent drama school graduate Jayden Daniels was cast in the role. Upon being cast, Daniels decided to stay as the role for what he thought would be around 2 years. The arrival was said to "ruffle a few feathers" amongst the characters, whilst Daniels enjoyed working alongside screen father Jarod Rawiri ( Mo Hannah). After 18 months in the role, Daniels decided his, "dreams are bigger and I want to try other stuff" and quit the show. He decided to pursue a career outside of acting in construction and accepted an apprenticeship. The resulting storyline saw Curtis imprisoned something which Daniels enjoyed despite acknowledging, "it is a bit sad but I like that there is a bit of drama around it." Curtis departed the show on 1 November 2016. Daniels was happy with his stint as Curtis, believing he had, "been so lucky. He's had so many storylines, huge storylines. It's been crazy. I've been able to do so much cool stuff." Due to the popularity of the character and ambiguity of his exit, producers decided to reintroduce Curtis in 2017. After auditioning in Los Angeles and starring in an
Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...
in-flight video, Daniels reprised his role in September 2017. Daniels described returning as "terrifying", "Just because it was something that had been so familiar to me for a year and a half, and then literally having none of this for more than eight months, coming back meant finding my feet again." As a result of no success in his overseas auditions, Daniels committed to staying on as Curtis for "awhile longer". Daniels departed the role the following year. In 2020, Daniels was again asked to reprise the role due to fan demand for the character. He had expected his previous departure to be permanent but thought, "It’s been great, especially as I know how hard it is to consistently act in this country. It’s been great that I’ve had that – to be able to go back to Curtis." The return saw a reunion with on-screen brother Reuben Milner who also returned to the soap. Daniels highlighted the development undergone throughout the character's time onscreen, "I’ve done him for like three years screen-time wise, so I’m pretty used to how he is and how he reacts to things. He kind of has quite a bit of freedom because he came in as a bad boy and now he’s a cop, so he can kind of play both sides and that’s fun to do." Daniels continued playing Curtis in a recurring manner throughout the following year. Starring as part of online spinoff ''Shortland Street: Retribution'', Daniels departed the role of Curtis when he was killed off in the show's final episode. He was happy to film his final scenes with on-screen brother Milner and partner
Ngahuia Piripi Ngahuia Piripi is a New Zealand television actress. Piripi plays Esther Samuels on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Biography Piripi was born in Auckland to Poto Stephens-Dunn and Haami Piripi; she was raised by her mother. She ...
( Esther Samuels), "It was cool to be able to take a character I know so well and have played for so long and be able to try and push him even more ... We were able to give the scenes a bit more time which is always nice and I’m super grateful that I got to cap Curtis’ journey alongside Reubs (Milner) and Nga (Piripi) who have both been such an integral part of him as a character."


Storylines

Following the diagnosis of leukaemia in the youngest sibling of the Hannah family
Pixie A pixie (also called pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, piskie, or pigsie in parts of Cornwall and Devon) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are speculated to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas around Devon and Cor ...
(Thomasin MacKenzie), the eldest brother Curtis moved to Ferndale from Australia where he had recently served time in prison much to his father Mo's (Jarod Rawiri) anger. Taking a job at 'The I.V.' bar, Curtis struggled with money and took to drug dealing, cage fighting, and general criminal activities. He began dating bar owner Dayna (Lucy Elliott) but left her humiliated when it was revealed he had been having an affair with her flatmate
Lucy Lucy is an English language, English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings ar ...
(Grace Palmer). Following the death of Pixie, Curtis carried out a vindictive vendetta against the doctor he held responsible
Chris Warner Christopher Alexander Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'' who has been portrayed by Michael Galvin since the show's first episode. Other than a 4-year gap as a result of Galvin's resignation in 1 ...
(
Michael Galvin Michael Galvin (born 27 March 1967) is a New Zealand actor, singer and playwright, well known for his role as Chris Warner on the soap opera Shortland Street, a character he has played almost since the show's debut in 1992 until 1996 and again ...
) but when Chris helped him escape jail time, Curtis decided to go straight. He started up a business with his best friend
Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...
(Tane Williams-Accra) and began dating Esther Samuels (
Ngahuia Piripi Ngahuia Piripi is a New Zealand television actress. Piripi plays Esther Samuels on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Biography Piripi was born in Auckland to Poto Stephens-Dunn and Haami Piripi; she was raised by her mother. She ...
). Curtis grew annoyed with Mo's girlfriend
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
(Laura Thompson) and she subsequently framed him for the shooting of
Drew McCaskill ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand television soap opera. It was first broadcast on 25 May 1992 and currently airs on television network TVNZ 2. The following is a list of characters that appeared on the show in 2015 by order of first appeara ...
(Ben Barrington). Esther left Curtis for
Finn Connelly Finbar "Finn" Warner (previously Burton and Connelly) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Born onscreen, Finn was originally played by an uncredited baby actor in 1993 before Lukas Whiting took over the rol ...
(Lukas Whiting) despite his eventual proof of innocence. After many months, Curtis and Esther eventually reconnected but after realising his brother
Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...
(Reuben Milner) was storing class-A drugs, Curtis took the wrap and received a 5-year prison sentence. Whilst in jail, he broke up with Esther to spare her the pain of dating a convict. 10 months later Curtis returned to Ferndale with the news that as a recent law student, he had managed to be acquitted and have all charges wiped. Despite jealousy at Esther and Finn having reconciled, he made it clear he was still in love with her but began to date
Dawn Robinson Dawn Sherrese Robinson (born November 24, 1966) is an American singer and actress best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop group En Vogue, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. Following her departure from En Vogue, Rob ...
(Rebekah Palmer) before having a passionate affair with Sass Warner (Lucy Lovegrove). He experienced racial profiling from corrupt cop Clint Allen (Ryan Lampp) and eventually succeeded in getting him released from the police force. Curtis finally admitted he wanted Esther back on the day of her wedding, but was rejected, leading him to re-evaluate his life and join the police force. From 29 April, he has had 3 one-night stands with Becky, who happens to be the newly-wed wife of the Head of Ferndale Police, and Curtis' trainer-teacher, Tank. Becky split it off though, feeling bad and eventually confessed to Tank. Having Curtis at his mercy in a training exercise, Tank dropped Curtis, choosing not to save him as a lesson and a warning. From this point, Curtis and Tank would begin a feud. She later broke up with Tank, and starts a relationship with him. On 12 June, he completed his 2-year life turnaround when he graduates from police college and became a
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...
. However, his first case could be bringing down long time rival Finn Warner, who abused Esther Samuels the second time and broke her ribs. His first case on duty is with the returning Detective Darryl, who is his superior, and they went back to the Hannah's place to question a dumbfounded Jack, who had no idea that his med school classmate, Claire, was drunk-raped outside The I.V. Bar. However, as Kate was later assaulted, his attention turned to his nemesis - Former Sergeant Clint Allen, now as a taxi driver, transported many female patients fresh off new attacks. With him being pressured by his family, he tried to provoke Allen into confessions when he dines in the I.V. Bar, and was later formally laid complaint by Allen, prompting Darryl to possibly stand him down and take him off the case. After Allen died from a brutal attack of unknown reasons, they turned the attention to James White, who had a history of abusing his partner. However, he was only charged with minor burglary charges as he was burgling a shop during one of the attacks. After that, Curtis took leave to clear his head. He returned in September 2020 after Eddie Adams and Boogie found him in the bush, and mistaken him as The Creep. However, Curtis was actually undercover to undercover the identity of The Creep. His cover was blown when Boogie told
Sophia King Sophia D. King (born February 14, 1966) is an American politician and former member of Chicago City Council, who served as alderman from the 4th ward, which includes portions of the neighborhoods Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Oakland, and ...
, who in turn told Esther as they were unaware of Esther and Curtis' history. Early October, Eddie put Curtis' life in further danger when The Creep, who turned out to be Simon Ashton the former surgeon turned chaplain. He removed Curtis' kidney and hurt Eddies' shoulder, before he was knocked unconscious by Boogie when he was kept in the car while waiting for Esther and Eddie. Curtis was in an induced coma as the wound was infected and has lost substantial amount of blood. He was extubated and regain consciousness. In 2021, he briefly rekindled his relationship with Esther Samuels, with her finally leaving Eddie Adams, but with his undercover work focusing on sex traffickers, he left after his cover was close to being blown. This was done as in reality: Jayden Daniels left the show to film season 2 o
Head High on TV3
Both he and Esther Samuel are the main characters of the franchise's first R-16 spinoff -
Shortland Street: Retribution
', with Curtis reprising the role of an undercover Iron Dogs gang member''.'' Curtis was killed during the spinoff and his funeral took place on Shortland Street on the January 19th 2022 episode.


Character development


Relationship with Esther Samuels

In 2015 Curtis embarked on a relationship with young doctor Esther Samuels (Ngahuia Piripi). Daniels had a strong relationship with Piripi and he thought, "it helps on screen. If we couldn't get on off-screen, I think it would be hard to find that chemistry on screen." Throughout 2016, Curtis actively tried to steal Esther from her boyfriend Finn (Lukas Whiting), eventually succeeding. Daniels thought Curtis and Finn's rivalry played out well, "Because we're such good friends, we can push each other further safely on screen". Despite the on-off nature of Curtis and Esther, Daniels believed, "they'll definitely end up together. They're each other's soul mate." However Curtis' arrest saw the couple separated which "saddened" Daniels as well as Curtis, "It breaks his heart as well because I think she's his soulmate. He's really in love with her and they've just got together and then this happens and it's quite devastating." Whilst Curtis spent time in jail, Esther reunited with Finn with Piripi stating she did, "genuinely believe that Esther loves both Curtis and Finn but, with Curtis, she just loved him more. I feel like with Esther and Finn, I think she's fighting feelings she's had there because she knows her feelings for Curtis are stronger." As Finn and Esther planned to marry in March 2018, Curtis still believed "that he is the better man for her." Piripi believed that Finn was the right choice for Esther, "There's always going to be that love that Curtis and Esther have ... It is that first love. It's that one that stole your heart. You realise as you drift apart, grow apart, you become different people but it's shared experiences, and shared history that really ties those people. I think Finn is something new and Esther sees a future in that rather than holding onto the nostalgia that is Curtis."Esther's later relationship with Eddie Adams was challenged when he discovered she was still contacting Curtis, with Piripi explaining: "Everyone has that one what-if guy or girl and I think Curtis is definitely that for Esther ... She just can't seem to let him go whether he's there or not. She just can't move on. Curtis and Esther eventually reconciled and had a daughter, Pikitea. However Curtis was killed off in the online spinoff ''Shortland Street: Retribution'', with Daniels acknowledging fan's disappointment, "I think people will be sad but nothing can last forever so I do hope that in the end that they will be satisfied with how everything wraps up." Curtis' death continued featuring in storylines on-screen with Esther struggling with the grief.


Reception

The character of Curtis at first proved to be disliked by the public, with Daniels receiving abuse online but shortly into his stint this changed and saw the character become one of the most popular on the show, and landing him the description of "fan favourite". Research conducted by
TVNZ Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...
determined that Curtis was one of the show's most popular characters across its entire first 29 years on air. Daniels believed this was due to the ability for the audience to relate to Curtis as a result of his bad choices, "I base him on people I know and who I've had relationships with and come into contact with. I just pull from everyone I've known. I don't make up anything." During Curtis' time in prison, Daniels was often approached with jokes from the public about escaping jail. Daniels was nominated for the New Zealand TV award of "TV Personality of the Year" in 2020 for his portrayal of Curtis.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannah, Curtis Shortland Street characters Television characters introduced in 2015 Fictional bartenders in soap operas New Zealand male characters in soap operas Fictional criminals in soap operas