TonyCurrie
- Actor
As Close to Home’s stern Don Hearte, Tony Currie became one of local television’s best known faces in the mid-1970s. The Scottish-born ex policeman got his start in historical dramas, including an award-winning portrayal of prime minister Richard Seddon. After signing on for Close to Home, Currie stayed with the soap for all of its eight years and 818 episodes, turning his hand to writing scripts along the way.
Screenography
Biography
By the time Close to Home introduced the permanently gruff Don Hearte to the nation in 1975, Tony Currie had already racked up an impressive list of television credits.
In a few years, the former London policeman had gone from playing a NZ Land Wars foot soldier to portraying Richard 'King Dick' Seddon in a telefilm about the early New Zealand prime minister. Currie’s gentle Scottish accent proved handy in those colonial period roles. The historical dramas also led to Close to Home, with his lead character Don Hearte appearing in the show for all of its eight years on screen.
Awards
1974 Feltex Television Awards
Best Actor: for Richard John Seddon: Premier
“It was eight years out of my life that I wouldn’t have missed for all the tea in China — a tremendous experience in a field I have been in and out of all my life.”
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