Curtis Manning of CTU was one hell of a patriot, but that ended up being his downfall. Curtis was a loyal member of CTU and a loyal friend of Jack Bauer, but it was his friend Jack Bauer who had to murder him for the greater good earlier in this season. This was an unfortunate blow for 24 fans who had come to love Curtis Manning as a character, and also was a blow to the actor who played Curtis Manning, Roger Cross.
Roger Cross sat down for an exclusive interview with Roger Cross recently, and Mr. Cross seems like an all-around genial fellow. He started his career in life as a commercial pilot, but ended up in Hollywood as a stunt man. Born in Jamaica, Cross spent his first 11 years of life there before emigrating to North America for good with his parents. It became clear to him that his path was going to end up in the acting realm and so he pursued it fully.
He got his role on 24 and, although it was originally slated to only be a 6 episode arc for the Curtis character, the show ended up keeping him for full two seasons and the beginning of this last one. His death had nothing to do with how the show felt about him, but just was meant to give Jack Bauer more torment, as if he needed any more. Roger Cross will continue to act in Hollywood, although he doesn't know where he'll end up next. Wherever it is, we'll be watching.
