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 soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

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

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

''. 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 ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

suburb of

Upper Riccarton Upper Riccarton is a suburb of Christchurch. It is due west of Riccarton. Upper Riccarton is made up of residential, retail and education areas. It includes a major intersection known as "Church Corner" (the intersection of Riccarton, Main Sout ...

, 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 in Christchurch in 1980, aged 23.

''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 the key anchors of the show.

''Get Ready, Get Thru'' campaign

Elliott also fronts the ''Get Ready, Get Thru'' campaign for NZ Civil Defence. This is a highly visible campaign on national TV, for which he was chosen to be 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 NZ drama/ soap opera, one of the first local productions to achieve NZ-wide fame & audience. In 1987 he appeared in the

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

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. Elliott also has a strong & long-standing career on stage, performing for over 23 years. He covers the range from Shakespeare to pantomime, and works frequently with notable directors such as Simon Prast. He was also the corporate voice for New Zealand's leading talk radio station Newstalk ZB up until 2011. 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 rend ...

, for services to the performing arts and baseball.

References

External links

*
Peter Elliott at NZ On Screen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Peter 1950s births Living people People 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