Peter Elliott (New Zealand actor)

For the British actor best known for playing apes, see Peter Elliott (British actor). For the British actor, stunt performer, singer, and diver, see Peter J. Elliott.

Peter Elliott
ONZM
Elliott in 2021
Born
Peter Dennis Elliott

1956 or 1957 (age 67–68)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Occupations
  • Actor
  • television presenter
Years active1987–present

Peter Dennis Elliott ONZM (born 1956 or 1957) is a New Zealand actor. He has appeared in numerous television shows including Shortland Street, Gloss and Homeward Bound. He has also appeared in several movies including Heavenly Creatures. 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 suburb of Upper Riccarton, and was educated at Linwood High School.[1] He was involved in amateur dramatics in Christchurch, and found work in set construction for television when he was 22.[2] He joined the Court Theatre in Christchurch in 1981, aged 25.[1][2]

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.[3][4]

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.[5]

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 NZ drama/ soap opera, one of the first local productions to achieve NZ-wide fame & audience.[2][6] In 1987 he appeared in the TVNZ 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 Elric Hooper, Jonathan Hardy, Raymond Hawthorne and Shane Bosher..[7]

He was also the corporate voice for New Zealand's leading talk radio station Newstalk ZB up until 2011.[8] In 2014, Elliott was the presenter of The Art of The Architect, a TVNZ-commissioned series detailing local architectural projects.[9]

In the 2021 New Years Honours, Elliott was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the performing arts and baseball.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Mann, Britt (15 April 2017). "A day in the life of New Zealand actor Peter Elliott". Stuff. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Potts, Zara (2 January 2021). "Peter Elliott". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Sort by Year – Latest Movies and TV Shows With Peter Elliott". IMDb.
  4. ^ Storylines of Shortland Street
  5. ^ "Home". Archived from the original on 18 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  6. ^ Screen, NZ On. "Gloss | Series | Television | NZ On Screen". www.nzonscreen.com.
  7. ^ "Peter Elliott New Zealand Actor". Archived from the original on 10 February 2004. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  8. ^ "New Zealand Radio - Page 20 - Regional, Community and International Radio - Forums - Page 20 | Media Spy". Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  9. ^ "The Art of the Architect". nzonscreen.com. NZ On Screen. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  10. ^ "New Year honours list 2021". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.