In 1982 Whitten returned to
New Zealand and began acting in theatre. Two years later, he appeared as an exploitative guru of a commune in
Trespasses, the movie spin off of police show ''
Mortimer's Patch. The same year, Whitten played the enigmatic farmer who strides into the isolated rural world of a young child in Vigil, the first feature directed by Vincent Ward. In the mid-1980s he joined the serial Heroes
, playing roadie to a group of young musicians. He followed this role by playing one of the main roles on historical drama Heart of the High Country'', based on the novel by English author
Elizabeth Gowans. Whitten had a role in the short film
Accidents, and small roles in the romance
Arriving Tuesday,
Zilch!,
The Returning, and two international thrillers,
Chill Factor and
Hot Target. In 2003, he appeared in P.J. Hogan's live action remake of
Peter Pan. On television, he made guest appearances on
Erebus: The Aftermath,
Gloss,
The Chosen,
Ray Bradbury Theatre and
Mysterious Island, and a lead role in the award-winning miniseries
The Leaving of Liverpool. In 2007, his ongoing role on as "Grandpa"
Ted West on
Outrageous Fortune won him a best supporting actor award at the
New Zealand Screen Awards. For twelve years, he played the older man in the
Speight's "Southern Man" series of television commercials, well known for his character's catchphrase, "Good on ya, mate!" ==Theatre==