According to The Hollywood Reporter, Curtis will play the main role in the series, which is set in the world of The Walking Dead but follows a different group of survivors.
His character is teacher Sean Cabrera, and his description as "a good man trying to do right by everyone in his life" is similar to that of The Walking Dead's lead Rick Grimes.
The show's other lead, Cabrera's ex-wife Andrea, is yet to be cast, THR reported.
Well-known as a film actor, Curtis was last seen on the big screen in local drama hit The Dark Horse.
He has had a string of roles on American television series, none of which seem to have stuck. They include the drama Gang Related, Missing, Body of Proof and Trauma.
He also has an extensive movie history, including roles in Once Were Warriors, Live Free or Die Hard, The Fountain and 10,000 BC.
The Walking Dead, one of America's most-watched cable shows, is based on a series of Robert Kirkman graphic novels, and screens on TV2 in New Zealand.
It finished the first half of season five on Monday, and will be back in February.
