Peter Dennis Elliott (born ) is a New Zealand actor. He has appeared in numerous television shows including ''

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 ...

'', ''Gloss'' and ''Homeward Bound''. He has also appeared in several movies including ''

Heavenly Creatures ''Heavenly Creatures'' is a 1994 New Zealand biographical film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his partner, Fran Walsh. It stars Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their feature film debuts, with Sarah Peirse, Dian ...

''. He has a daughter Lucy Elliott who is an actress, who played character Dayna Jenkins on ''Shortland Street'' from 2013 to 2016.

Early life

Elliott was born in the

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

suburb of Upper Riccarton, and was educated at Linwood High School. He was involved in amateur dramatics in Christchurch, and found work in set construction for television when he was 22. He joined the

Court Theatre A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts general ...

in Christchurch in 1981, aged 25.

''Shortland Street''

Elliott played a pivotal role as Dr David Kearney, clinic director. In this era of ''Shortland Street'', storylines were externally driven, with challenges and topical events emanating from Central (Hospital), the Ministry (of Health), and the wider community. Along with key characters Rachel McKenna and Dr Chris Warner, the character of Dr David Kearney formed one of the key anchors of the show.

''Get Ready, Get Thru'' campaign

Elliott also fronted the ''Get Ready, Get Thru'' campaign for NZ Civil Defence. This was a highly visible campaign on national TV, for which he was chosen as a respected and well-known figure.

Other work

Becoming widely known first on 1980s soap ''Gloss'', Elliott was nominated for 'Best Actor' playing the scheming character Rex Redfern. Gloss was a seminal New Zealand drama and soap opera, one of the first local productions to achieve New Zealand-wide fame and audience. In 1987 he appeared in the

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 ...

mini-series '' Erebus: The Aftermath''. Winning a Qantas award for 2009 telemovie ''Until Proven Innocent'', he was also nominated ''Best Presenter'' at the TV Guide Television Awards 2002 for ''Captain's Log''. He has appeared in a number of films. He won 'Best Presenter' Award at the 2015 Film and TV Awards for "Explorers" series for TVOne. Elliott also has a strong & long-standing career on stage, performing for over 40 years. He covers the range from Shakespeare to pantomime, and works frequently with notable directors such as

Simon Prast Simon Prast is a director and actor from Auckland, New Zealand. Prast was the founder of the Auckland Theatre Company and director of the first Auckland Festival AK03. Early life Prast grew up in Otara and Waikowhai, Auckland. He was educated a ...

Elric Hooper, Jonathan Hardy, Raymond Hawthorne and Shane Bosher.. He was also the corporate voice for New Zealand's leading talk radio station Newstalk ZB up until 2011. In 2014, Elliott was the presenter of '' The Art of The Architect'', a

-commissioned series detailing local architectural projects. In the 2021 New Years Honours, Elliott was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to the performing arts and baseball.

References

External links

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Peter Elliott at NZ On Screen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Peter 1950s births Living people Actors from Christchurch People educated at Linwood College New Zealand male television actors New Zealand television presenters Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand male soap opera actors 20th-century New Zealand male actors 21st-century New Zealand male actors Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit