Welcome back, after an extended hiatus, to my series on the film careers of certain Australian actresses and actors. This page looks at 50 of the best Australian actors who made their first feature film in the 2000s*. (It only looks at male actors, since we previously looked at the best new Australian film actresses of the 2000s here.) It includes actors born in Australia, as well as those who migrated to live in Australia (from NZ, Canada, the UK and elsewhere). While many of these actors also have important careers in television (and theatre), we will concentrate on the film roles these actors have played.
The 2000s saw two trends which affected new Australian actors:
America became a bigger option for young Australian actors. The success of the best of the 90s Aussie actors in America (Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Heath Ledger, Hugh Jackman and others) blazed the trail, which many other Australian actors (the rest of the 90s generation, as well as younger actors here) were able to follow. Some of the young actors established themselves in Australian film and television before they moved to Hollywood, but others headed for Hollywood to start their careers in US television or movies. America became a magnet which was much harder to ignore.
Television, which had always been an important career path for actors, became more accessible, more rewarding, more prestigious and more lucrative, throughout the 2000s, as the rise in streaming services, with their proliferation of new shows, accompanied by the rise in quality drama series made by HBO (and later Netflix and others), created many more opportunities for actors. Australian actors found themselves landing good roles in prestigious American TV series in greater numbers than ever, and many used their television exposure to create film careers for themselves.
- For information on the following actors who made their film debuts before 2000: Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Heath Ledger, Hugh Jackman, Eric Bana, David Wenham, Joel Edgerton, Richard Roxburgh, Simon Baker, Jason Clarke, William McInnes, Damon Herriman, David Roberts, Aden Young, Andrew S. Gilbert, John Brumpton, Paul Mercurio, Julian McMahon, Alex Dimitriades, Nicholas Hope, Robert Taylor, Matt Day, Jeremy Sims, Tom Long, Anthony Hayes, Stephen Curry, Aaron Pedersen, Sullivan Stapleton, Steve Le Marquand, Ewen Leslie, and Russell Dykstra; see Australian Film Actors of the 1990s.
- For information on Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Paul Hogan, Yahoo Serious, Ben Mendelsohn, Noah Taylor, Anthony LaPaglia, Colin Friels, but Barry Otto, Vince Colosimo, John Howard, Gary Sweet, Kim Gyngell, Robert Menzies, Mark Lee, David Argue, Tony Martin, Vernon Wells, Tom Burlinson, Steve Bastoni, Peter Phelps, Steven Vidler, John Polson, Ernie Dingo, and David Field, see Australian Film Actors of the 1980s.]
I realise that this page is very long. The reason is that, not only are there more actors covered (since it covers two decades instead of one), but I have also included details about the television careers of each actor as well as their film careers. I expect many people will skim the page, looking only for certain actors of interest, rather than reading everything. I hope you find something of interest here. If you spot any mistakes, or omissions, please let me know.
The Top Ten
Chris Hemsworth
Chris Hemsworth was born in Melbourne in 1983, and grew up in Melbourne and the Northern Territory outback. His brothers, Liam and Luke, are also successful actors (see below). He started acting on Australian television, appearing in several shows from 2002, and became well known as a regular in 171 episodes of the popular soap opera Home and Away from 2004 to 2007.
Hemsworth then moved to the US, making his film debut as Captain Kirk’s father in the 2009 film Star Trek. It was however his 2011 role in the title role of the fantasy blockbuster Thor that made Hemsworth a big star. The film made over $400 million and Hemsworth’s performance was widely praised. Hemsworth has since gone on to make three successful sequels to Thor, and has also played the character in three Avengers films. He has also starred as the very successful Huntsman in Snow White and the Huntsman and The Huntsman: Winter’s War, as well as a dozen other US films. He is reportedly one of Hollywood’s highest paid stars.
Films: Star Trek (2009), A Perfect Getaway (2009), Ca$h (2010), Thor (2011), The Cabin in the Woods (2012), The Avengers (2012), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Red Dawn (2012), Rush (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Blackhat (2015), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Vacation (2015), In the Heart of the Sea (2015), The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016), Ghostbusters (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017 (12 Strong (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Bad Times at the El Royale (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Men in Black: International (2019), Extraction (2020), Spiderhead (2022), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Extraction 2 (2023)
Significant TV Series: Home and Away (2004-07)
More Information: Chris Hemsworth at IMDb, Chris Hemsworth at Wikipedia
Sam Worthington
Sam Worthington was born in England in 1976, before moving to Perth with his family in 1977. Worthington graduated from NIDA (Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art) in Sydney in 1998. Worthington made his film debut in 2000 with a small part in Bootmen. He had larger parts in the two crime-comedies: Dirty Deeds with Bryan Brown and Toni Collette, and Gettin’ Square with David Wenham. Worthington then had a major role in the AFI-winning drama Somersault with Abbie Cornish, for which he won the AFI Award for Best Lead Actor.
In 2009, Worthington won the lead role in the fantasy film Avatar, which became the highest grossing film of all time. He followed this by playing Perseus in two action fantasy blockbusters Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans, which were successful financially but not critically. Aside from action films, Worthington has played in a lot of serious dramas (Last Night, Cake, Drift, The Shack), and thrillers (such as The Debt (with Helen Mirren), and Fractured).
Films (Australian films in red): Bootmen (2000), Hart’s War (2002), Dirty Deeds (2002), Gettin’ Square (2003), Somersault (2003), Thunderstruck (2003), The Great Raid (2005), Fink! (2005), Macbeth (2006), Rogue (2007), Terminator Salvation (2009), Avatar (2009), Clash of the Titans (2010), Last Night (2010), Love & Distrust (2010), The Debt (2010), Texas Killing Fields (2011), Man on a Ledge (2012), Wrath of the Titans (2012), Drift (2013), Sabotage (2014), Cake (2014), The Keeping Room (2014), Paper Planes (2015), Kidnapping Freddy Heineken (2015), Everest (2015), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), The Shack (2017), The Hunter’s Prayer (2017), The Titan (2018), Fractured (2019), Lansky (2021), The Last Son (2021), 9 Bullets (2022), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), Transfusion (2023), Simulant (2023)
Significant TV Series: Love My Way (2004-5), The Surgeon (2005), Deadline Gallipoli (2015), Manhunt (2017), Fires (2021), Under the Banner of Heaven (2022)
More Information: Sam Worthington at IMDb, Sam Worthington at Wikipedia
Liam Hemsworth
Liam Hemsworth was born in Melbourne in 1990, and grew up in Melbourne and the Northern Territory outback. His brothers, Chris (above) and Luke (below), are also successful actors. He began acting on Australian television in 2007, and had a regular role on the popular soap opera Neighbours, as well as other shows. Hemsworth made his film debut in 2009, alongside Nicolas Cage and Australian actors Rose Byrne and Ben Mendelsohn in Alex Proyas’ American sci-fi thriller Knowing which was filmed in Australia.
In 2010 Hemsworth moved to the US, where his first film was a romance, The Last Song, where he played the lead opposite Miley Cirus. His breakthrough role came next, when he played Gale Hawthorne in the hugely successful The Hunger Games. He has reprised this role in three successful sequels in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In 2015 Hemsworth returned to Australia to play opposite Kate Winslet and an array of Australian acting talent in the locally successful The Dressmaker. Since then Hemsworth has made a variety of American films from action to comedy, and starred in an American TV series, Most Dangerous Game.
Films (Australian films in red): Knowing (2009), Triangle (2009), The Last Song (2010), The Hunger Games (2012), The Expendables 2 (2012), Love and Honor (2013), Paranoia (2013), Empire State (2013), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), Cut Bank (2014), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014), The Dressmaker (2015), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016), The Duel (2016), Isn’t It Romantic (2019), Killerman (2019), Arkansas (2020), Poker Face (2022)
Significant TV Series: Neighbours (2007-08), The Elephant Princess (2008-09), Most Dangerous Game (2020)
More Information: Liam Hemsworth at IMDb, Liam Hemsworth at Wikipedia
Dominic Purcell
Dominic Purcell was born in England in 1970 and came to Sydney in 1972 with his family. He attended the Australian Theatre for Young People and then enrolled at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He appeared in various Australian television shows through the 1990s, and had a small part in a minor Australian film in 1997.
Purcell’s first major film was a small part in 2000 in Mission: Impossible II which was partly filmed in Australia. He then moved to the US and had increasingly large roles in several action films, including the hit films Equilibrium and Blade: Trinity, before he was chosen in the lead roles for the US television series John Doe (2002-03) and the neo-noir thriller Three Way (2004). Since 2004, Purcell has starred in 24 other mainly US and Canadian films, both big and small, having the lead role in ten and the co-lead in several more. He also had the lead role in the 2014 remake of the Australian ozploitation classic Turkey Shoot. He also played the lead role in 90 episodes of the US TV series Prison Break (from 2007-09 and again in 2017) and a major role in 97 episodes of the US TV superhero series DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (2016-21).
Films (Australian films in red): Dust Off the Wings (1997), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), Scenes of the Crime (2001), Equilibrium (2002), Visitors (2003), Three Way (2004), Blade: Trinity (2004), The Gravedancers (2006), Primeval (2007), Blood Creek (2009), Escapee (2011), Straw Dogs (2011), Killer Elite (2011), House of the Rising Sun (2011), Bad Karma (2012), Hijacked (2012), Officer Down (2013), Assault on Wall Street (2013), Vikingdom (2013), Suddenly (2013), Breakout (2013), Ice Soldiers (2013), In the Name of the King 3: The Last Mission (2014), The Ganzfeld Haunting (2014), The Bag Man (2014), A Fighting Man (2014), Turkey Shoot (2014), Abandoned (2015), Gridlocked (2015), Isolation (2015), Blood Red Sky (2021), Assassin (2023)
Significant TV Series: Raw FM (1997-98), Heartbreak High (1999), Beastmaster (2001), John Doe (2002-03), North Shore (2004-05), Prison Break (2005-17), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (2016-21)
More Information: Dominic Purcell at IMDb, Dominic Purcell at Wikipedia
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Kodi Smit-McPhee was born in 1996 in Adelaide. Both his father and older sister were actors, and Smit-McPhee started early, making the Australian film Stranded in 2006, when he was only ten, and appearing in a number of US television productions made in Australia and New Zealand in the same year. He played a major role in Richard Roxburgh’s award-winning film Romulus, My Father with Eric Bana. His performance won him the 2007 AFI Award for Best Young Actor.
Smit-McPhee’s next major film was the co-lead role in John Hillcoat’s 2009 adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel, The Road, about a father and son struggling to survive in a hostile world. Smit-McPhee’s performance was widely praised and nominated for awards. Similarly his performance in his next role as the co-lead in the romantic horror Let Me In was praised by critics. Smit-McPhee has made another 20 films since 2010, a mixture of lead roles in small, critically-acclaimed, indie dramas, like Slow West and A Birder’s Guide to Everything, and parts in big ensemble blockbusters such as the two X-Men films. He had a co-lead role as the son in Jane Campion’s award-winning psychological western The Power of the Dog in 2021. He won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.
Films (Australian films in red): Stranded (2006), Romulus, My Father (2007), The Tender Hook (2008), The Road (2009), Tinytown (2009), Let Me In (2010), Matching Jack (2010), Dead Europe (2012), A Birder’s Guide to Everything (2013), The Congress (2013), Romeo & Juliet (2013), All the Wilderness (2014), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), Young Ones (2014), Slow West (2015), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Alpha (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), Dolemite Is My Name (2019), 2067 (2020), The Power of the Dog (2021), Elvis (2022)
Significant TV Series: Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America (TV film) (2006), The King (TV film) (2007), The Adventures of Charlotte and Henry (TV Movie) (2008), Gallipoli (2015), Interrogation (2020)
More Information: Kodi Smit-McPhee at IMDb, Kodi Smit-McPhee at Wikipedia
Ryan Kwanten
Ryan Kwanten was born in Sydney in 1976. He started acting on various Australian television shows in the 1990s, and had a regular role as Vinnie Patterson on the popular Australian soap opera Home and Away from 1997 to 2002, a total of 223 episodes. He made his film debut playing a surfer in the lead role of the minor Australian film Liquid Bridge in 2003. He moved to America in 2003 to play in the US television series Summerland which ran for two seasons. He had lead roles in a coming-of-age drama, America Brown, in 2004 and a horror film, Dead Silence, in 2007.
In 2007, Kwanten won the major role of Jason Stackhouse in the HBO vampire series True Blood, which aired from 2008 until 2014. He appeared in a total of 81 episodes. Between 2010 and 2013, Kwanten made five films in Australia, and had the lead role in three of them: the comedy Griff the Invisible, the Western thriller Red Hill, and the rom-com Not Suitable for Children. He returned again to Australia in 2020 for lead roles in 2067, an Australian science fiction film, and Expired (aka Loveland), a 2022 science fiction film.
Kwanten has had lead roles in a number of US and Canadian films: The Right Kind of Wrong, a 2013 Canadian rom-com, Knights of Badassdom, a 2013 American comedy horror film, Blunt Force Trauma, a 2015 American-Colombian action film, Who Gets the Dog?, a 2016 American rom-com, Supercon, a 2018 American action comedy, Glorious, a 2022 American comedy horror film, and Section 8, a 2022 American action film. He also had major roles in seven other films, and has starred in three more US television series since 2018.
Films (Australian films in red): Liquid Bridge (2003), American Brown (2004), Flicka (2006), Dead Silence (2007), Red Hill (2010), Griff the Invisible (2010), Don’t Fade Away (2010), Not Suitable for Children (2012), Mystery Road (2013), The Right Kind of Wrong (2013), Knights of Badassdom (2013), Flight 7500 (2014), Northmen: A Viking Saga (2014), Reach Me (2014), Kidnapping Freddy Heineken (2015), Blinky Bill the Movie (2015), Blunt Force Trauma (2015), Who Gets the Dog? (2016), Supercon (2018), The Hurricane Heist (2018), Kill Chain (2019), 2067 (2020), Expired (aka Loveland) (2022), Glorious (2022), Section Eight (2022)
Significant TV Series: Echo Point (1995), Home and Away (1997-2002), Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord (1997), 2002 The Junction Boys (TV Movie), Summerland (2004-05), True Blood (2008-14), The Oath (2018-19), Them (2021), Kindred (2022)
More Information: Ryan Kwanten at IMDb, Ryan Kwanten at Wikipedia
Travis Fimmel
Travis Fimmel was born near Echuca, Victoria in 1979. He tried to become a professional Australian Rules football player, but after breaking a leg, became a model instead. He found success as a model in the US, before switching to acting, winning the lead role in the TV series Tarzan (2003). His first film roles were a small part in an unsuccessful 2008 Matthew McConaughey comedy Surfer, Dude, and a co-lead role in an Australian thriller, Restraint, with Teresa Palmer.
Fimmel played in several more small films for the next few years, but in 2012 was cast as Ragnar Lodbrok, the main character in a new Canadian television series, The Vikings, which premiered in 2013. The series was a critical and ratings success, and Fimmel played the character for four seasons of the show, making him much better known. Fimmel co-starred in a romantic comedy Maggie’s Plan with Ethan Hawke in 2015, played the lead role as a military commander in the blockbuster action fantasy Warcraft in 2016, played the lead role in an Australian war film, Danger Close in 2019, and played a main role in a thriller with Margot Robbie, Dreamland, in 2019. Since then he has made another six films with mixed success. He has also had lead roles in two more television series, one American and one Australian, with his performance in both generally praised.
Films (Australian films in red): Surfer, Dude (2008), Restraint (2008), Pure Country 2: The Gift (2010), Needle (2010), Ivory (2010), The Experiment (2010), The Baytown Outlaws (2012), Harodim (2012), Maggie’s Plan (2015), Warcraft (2016), Lean on Pete (2017), Finding Steve McQueen (2019), Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (2019), Dreamland (2019), Here Are the Young Men (2020), Die in a Gunfight (2021), Zone 414 (2021), Delia’s Gone (2022), One Way (2022)
Significant TV Series: Tarzan (2003), The Beast (2009), Vikings (2013-17), Raised by Wolves (2020-22), Black Snow (2022-23)
More Information: Travis Fimmel at IMDb, Travis Fimmel at Wikipedia
Rhys Wakefield
Rhys Wakefield was born in Cairns in 1988, and later took classes at the McDonald College of Performing Arts in Sydney, graduating in 2006. He had a small role as a dance kid in the Australian dance film Bootman in 2000, then started acting in Australian television shows. He played Lucas Holden in 363 episodes of the popular Australian television soap opera Home and Away from 2005 to 2008, which increased his fame within Australia. In 2008 he played in the award-winning drama film The Black Balloon, with Toni Collette, and was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He also played a lead role in the action film Sanctum.
Wakefield shifted to America in 2011, and has played in 13 films and four television series in the last 11 years. He had a major role in the hit horror film, The Purge, as well as lead roles in +1s and After the Dark. On television, Wakefield had major roles in True Detective (season 3 2019), and Reprisal (2019), as well as playing Dick Cheney in The First Lady (2022).
Films (Australian films in red): Bootmen (2000), The Black Balloon (2008), Broken Hill (2009), Sanctum (2011), Nobody Walks (2012), The Purge (2013), +1 (2013), After the Dark (2013), Endless Love (2014), Echoes of War (2015), Cardboard Boxer (2015), Paint It Black (2016), You Get Me (2017), The Grand Son (2018), Berserk (2019), Bliss (2019)
Significant TV Series: Home and Away (2005-2008), True Detective (2019), Reprisal (2019), From Now (2020-21), The First Lady (2022)
More Information: Rhys Wakefield at IMDb, Rhys Wakefield at Wikipedia
Brendan Cowell
Brendan Cowell was born in Sydney in 1976. He completed a BA in Theatre/Media at Charles Sturt University. He has worked extensively in the theatre in Australia and the UK, and is also a produced playwright, scriptwriter and film director. His first film roles were small parts in the small Australian film Kick, and an American TV movie, filmed in Australia, Monster. He followed these with roles in a number of other small Australian films, plus a small role in an American war film, To End All Wars. Cowell had better luck on Australian television initially, becoming known through his roles in the SBS cult comedy Life Support (2001-02), followed by the ABC comedy Fat Cow Motel (2003), and then the award-winning Foxtel drama Love My Way (2004-07), with Claudia Karvan. Cowell also wrote 6 episodes of Love My Way.
In 2007, Cowell played the lead role in the highly praised film Noise, about a policeman with tinnitus. Cowell was nominated for the AFI best actor award for his performance. He also had the lead role in the World War One film Beneath Hill 60 in 2010, and was again nominated for the AFI best actor award. Since then he has made eight more Australian films, and had a small part in Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022. Cowell has spent several years in the UK since 2013, mainly working in the theatre. He has played in 5 episodes of The Borgias and 3 episodes of Game of Thrones as well as having a major role in the BBC series Press in 2018. Most recently he had a main role in the Australian series The Twelve.
Films (Australian films in red): Kick (1999), City Loop (2000), The Monkey’s Mask (2000), To End All Wars (2001), Floodhouse (2004), Deck Dogz (2005), Noise (2007), Three Blind Mice (2008), Ten Empty (2008), Beneath Hill 60 (2010), I Love You Too (2011), Save Your Legs! (2012), The Darkside (2013), Last Cab to Darwin (2015), Observance (2015), Broke (2015), The Current War (2017), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Significant TV Series: Monster! (TV film) (1999), Life Support (2001-02), Fat Cow Motel (2003), Love My Way (2004-07), Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away (TV film) (2011), The Outlaw Michael Howe (TV film) (2013), The Borgias (2013), Brock (2016), Game of Thrones (2017), Press (2018), The End (2020), The Twelve (2022)
More Information: Brendan Cowell at IMDb, Brendan Cowell at Wikipedia
Luke Hemsworth
Luke Hemsworth was born in Melbourne in 1981, and grew up in Melbourne and the Northern Territory outback. His brothers, Chris and Liam (see above), are also successful actors. Hemsworth trained in acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, and appeared on numerous Australian television shows between 2001 and 2012. He made his film debut in 2014 in The Reckoning, a crime thriller, in the lead role alongside Anthony LaPaglia.
Hemsworth made three more Australian films and one British film, before heading to the US to play a main role in the sci-fi television series Westworld, which has run for four seasons so far from 2016-22. He has also played in a number of US films, starting with the lead role in the Western film, Hickok in 2017. He then had a small role in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) which starred his brother Chris. In 2022, he returned to Australia to play the lead role in the drama Bosch & Rockit (called Ocean Boy in the US).
Films (Australian films in red): The Reckoning (2014), The Anomaly (2014), Kill Me Three Times (2014), Infini (2015), Science Fiction Volume One: The Osiris Child (2016), Hickok (2017), We Are Boats (2018), River Runs Red (2018), Encounter (2018), Crypto (2019), Death of Me (2020), Asking for It (2021), Bosch & Rockit (aka Ocean Boy) (2023)
Significant TV Series: Neighbours (2001-02), Last Man Standing (2005), Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms (2012), Westworld (2016-22)
More Information: Luke Hemsworth at IMDb, Luke Hemsworth at Wikipedia
The Rest in order of first film
These actors are presented chronologically in the order they made their debut feature film.
Shane Jacobson
Shane Jacobson was born in Melbourne in 1970, and started in amateur theatre as a child. He became a stand-up comedian and theatre actor as an adult, and started to appear on Melbourne radio, music videos and small television pieces from the late 1990s. In 2006 Jacobson starred in the hit comedy Kenny, which he co-wrote with his brother Clayton. The film made nearly $8 million at the box office (making it the most successful Australian film of the year after George Miller’s Happy Feet), and was nominated for six Australian Film Institute awards. Jacobsen won the AFI Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Since Kenny, Jacobson has gone on to a successful acting career in Australian film, television and theatre, starring in 14 Australian films, one international film and numerous ABC television films and series. He again combined with his brother Clayton in 2018 in the comedy-thriller Brothers’ Nest. He was also awarded the 2008 Helpmann Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, for his role in the stage production Guys and Dolls.
Films (Australian films in red): Narcosys (2000), Kenny (2006), Cactus (2008), Newcastle (2008), Charlie & Boots (2009), Surviving Georgia (2011), The Bourne Legacy (2012), Oddball (2015), The Dressmaker (2015), The BBQ (2018), Guardians of the Tomb (2018), Brothers’ Nest (2018), That’s Not My Dog! (2018), Ladies in Black (2018), Never Too Late (2020)
Significant TV Series: Kenny’s World (2008), Jack Irish: Bad Debts (TV film) (2012), Jack Irish: Black Tide (TV film) (2012), Beaconsfield (TV film) (2012), The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (TV film) (2012), Jack Irish: Dead Point (TV film) (2014), The Time of Our Lives (2013–2014), It’s a Date (2013), Fat Tony & Co. (2014), Open Slather (2015), Jack Irish (2016-2021)
More Information: Shane Jacobson at IMDb, Shane Jacobson at Wikipedia, shanejacobson.com.au/
Robert Rabiah
Robert Rabiah was born in Australia, and studied acting in LA. He started appearing in Australian television shows such as Neighbours in 1998-99, and made his feature film debut in two successful films in 2000, playing Pietro in The Wog Boy, and Nick in Chopper. He has gone on to play in another 12 Australian films, being best known for his performances in Face to Face (2011), and Ali’s Wedding (2017), and receiving an AACTA nomination for the Best Actor Award for Face to Face.
Rabiah has also appeared in many quality Australian television series and received a nomination for Best Actor in an ensemble at the annual Australian Equity Ensemble Awards (the only actor-voted awards in Australia) for his performance in SBS’s Safe Harbour (2018), which went on to win for Best TV Movie/Mini-Series at the International Emmy Awards.
Films (Australian films in red): The Wog Boy (2000), Chopper (2000), On the Beach (2000), Under the Radar (2004), Four of a Kind (2008), Killing Time (2011), Face to Face (2011), Blood Brothers (2015), Down Under (2016), The Perfect Nonsense (2016), Neighbours (2017), Ali’s Wedding (2017), Below (2019), Trail Blazers (2022), Tennessine (2023)
Significant TV Series: Stingers (1998, 2004), Neighbours (1999), Tribe (1999), Underbelly (2008), Killing Time (2010), Fat Tony & Co. (2014), Deadline Gallipoli (2015), Tomorrow, When the War Began (2016), Franco’s World (2018), Secret City (2018), Safe Harbour (2018), Jack Irish (2021), Irreverent (2022), Last King of the Cross (2023)
More Information: Robert Rabiah at IMDb, Robert Rabiah at Wikipedia
Jesse Spencer
Jesse Spencer was born in Melbourne in 1979, and is both an actor and a musician. His acting career started in the television show Neighbours where he played Bill Kennedy for over six years appearing in over 400 episodes. After Neighbours, he played in the British mini-series Lorna Doone (2000), and made his film debut as a major co-star in the American film Winning London with the Olsen Twins. He made his only Australian film next playing the champion swimmer Tony Fingleton in Swimming Upstream (2003), with Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis.
Spencer has played in eight more American films, but is best known for his major roles as Dr Robert Chase in the US series House (2004–2012), and Matthew Casey in Chicago Fire (2012–2023).
Films (Australian films in red): Winning London (2001), Curse of the Talisman (2001), Stranded (2002), Swimming Upstream (2003), Uptown Girls (2003), Death in Holy Orders (2003), Flourish (2006), Tell-Tale (2010), Skum Rocks! (2013), The Girl Is in Trouble (2015)
Significant TV Series: Neighbours (1994–2000), Lorna Doone (2000), Death in Holy Orders (2003), House (2004–2012), Chicago Fire (2012–2023), Chicago P.D. (2014–2021), Chicago Med (2017–2021)
More Information: Jesse Spencer at IMDb, Jesse Spencer at Wikipedia
Wayne Blair
Wayne Blair was born in Taree in 1971, and is an Aboriginal Australian. He grew up in Queensland and played rugby league in Sydney before completing an acting course at the Queensland University of Technology. He appeared in various Australian television series and films from the late 1990s. His first feature film was David Caesar’s Mullet (2001), where he played a support role, followed by a larger role in Ana Kokkinos’s acclaimed Blessed (2008). He has played in six other films, but is better known for his television roles in such series as Redfern Now (2012–13) and Mystery Road (2018). He won the AACTA award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Drama for Mystery Road.
Blair is also a director and has directed four films, including the hit films The Sapphires and Top End Wedding, as well as many television shows.
Films (Australian films in red): Mullet (2001), Blessed (2009), X: Night of Vengeance (2011), Emu Runner (2018), The Turning (2018), Wish You Were Here (2018) , Rams (2020), Extraction (2020)
Significant TV Series: The Tower (TV movie) (1997), Small Claims (2004), Small Claims: The Reunion (TV movie) (2006), Jackie Jackie (TV movie) (2007), Redfern Now (2012–13), The Broken Shore (TV movie) (2013), The Letdown (2017), Squinters (2018-19), Mystery Road (2018), SeaChange (2019), Total Control (2021), Wakefield (2021), Irreverant (2022), Aftertaste (2021-22)
More Information: Wayne Blair at IMDb, Wayne Blair at Wikipedia
Damien Garvey
Damien Garvey was born in Australia in the 1960s and finished school in Brisbane in 1982. Garvey had guest roles in several drama series in his early part of his acting career, and most of his best work has been for the small screen. He made his feature film debut in the unsuccessful film Spudmonkey in 2001, and has gone on to play support roles in 20 other films since then.
In 2010 Garvey won an AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama for his performance in Channel Nine’s Underbelly: The Golden Mile, where he played Graham “Chook” Fowler, corrupt head of the Kings Cross detectives. Since then he has played in numerous Australian and American TV series.
Films (Australian films in red): Spudmonkey (2001), Blurred (2002), Under the Radar (2004), The Marine (2006), In Her Skin (2009), Accidents Happen (2009), Storage (2009), Daybreakers (2009), Beauty and the Beast (2010), Lou (2010), A Heartbeat Away (2011), Mental (2012), Bait 3D (2012), Drive Hard (2014), Manny Lewis (2015), The Fear of Darkness (2015), Bleeding Steel (2017), Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019), Ride Like a Girl (2019), Love and Monsters (2020)
Significant TV Series: Beastmaster (1999–2001), Water Rats (2000), Green Sails (TV film) (2000), Finding Hope (TV film) (2001), McLeod’s Daughters (2001–2007), All Saints (2001–2008), Seconds to Spare (TV film) (2002), The Alice (TV film) (2004), Big Reef (TV film) (2004), Answered by Fire (TV film) (2006), Spy Shop (2007), Sea Patrol (2007–2011), East of Everything (2008–2009), Heartbeat (2009), Underbelly (2010), Terra Nova (2011), Purged (TV film) (2011), Mabo (TV film) (2012), Jack Irish: Black Tide (TV film) (2012), Jack Irish: Bad Debts (TV film) (2012), Rake (2012–2018), Reef Doctors (2013), Secrets & Lies (2014), Jack Irish: Dead Point (TV film) (2014), The Killing Field (TV film) (2014), Texas Rising: The Lost Soldier (2015), Ash vs Evil Dead (2015), The Kettering Incident (2016), Jack Irish (2016–2021), Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story (2017), The Leftovers (2017), Safe Harbour (2018), Tidelands (2018), Gezus (TV film) (2018), Harrow (2018–2020), Reef Break (2019), Nevernight (TV film) (2019), The End (2020), Nine Perfect Strangers (2021), Troppo (2022), Joe vs. Carole (2022)
More Information: Damien Garvey at IMDb, Damien Garvey at Wikipedia
Nathaniel Dean
Nathaniel Dean was born in Australia and grew up in Victoria. He graduated from NIDA in 1999. He appeared first in live theatre in Sydney, and then in the Australian TV series Always Greener for two years. He made his feature film debut in the award-winning Tony Ayes drama Walking on Water (2002). Dean won the AFI Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of the younger brother of a gay man who dies of AIDS.
Dean then had small roles in two Aussie comedies (Ned and The Rage in Placid Lake), before another substantial role in the award-winning drama Somersault (2004), where he played the best friend of the main male character played by Sam Worthington. He played in the drug drama Candy (2006) with Health ledger, and the sports drama The Final Winter (2007), before appearing in his first US feature, the sci-fi action horror film Alien: Covenant (2017) which was mainly filmed in New Zealand. Returning to Australia he had a good role in Jennifer Kent’s award-winning period film The Nightingale (2018), before playing the lead role in the small action film Locusts (2019).
Dean has also played in a number of Australian television series, of which Wild Boys (2011) and Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms (2012) have been his major roles.
Films (Australian films in red): Walking on Water (2002), Ned (2003), The Rage in Placid Lake (2003), Somersault (2004), Candy (2006), The Final Winter (2007), Alien: Covenant (2017), The Nightingale (2018), Locusts (2019)
Significant TV Series: Always Greener (2001–2003), Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (2004), Heartbreak Tour (TV Film) (2005), All Saints (2005–200), HeadLand (2006), Hammer Bay (TV Film) (2007), Rain Shadow (2007), Rush (2009–2010), Satisfaction (2010), Wild Boys (2011), Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms (2012), Parer’s War (TV Film) (2014), Old School (2014), ANZAC Girls (2014), Secret City (2019)
More Information: Nathaniel Dean at IMDb, Nathaniel Dean at Wikipedia
Nathan Phillips
Nathan Phillips was born in Sunbury, Victoria in 1980. He made his acting debut on the popular Australian television soap opera Neighbours in 1999, and became a regular on many Aussie television shows over the next five years. He made his film debut in one of the lead roles in the Australian fantasy martial arts film Warriors of Virtue: The Return to Tao (2002), which was filmed in China. He followed by playing the lead role in the sports drama Australian Rules in 2002, a performance for which he was nominated for the Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Actor Award. Phillips then had good roles in three more small Australian films before playing one the main roles in the hit outback horror film Wolf Creek (2005). Following this Phillips played a major role in the hit Hollywood action film Snakes on a Plane (2006), with Samuel L. Jackson. He had good roles in two more US films which were less successful, but then went travelling before returning to his Australian career.
Since 2006, Phillips has played in seven more Australian films, the most significant being the war film Balibo (2009) and apocalyptic thriller These Final Hours (2014). He has also played in two more US horror films Chernobyl Diaries (2012), and The Devil Below (2021). He has also played in two US television series.
Films: Warriors of Virtue: The Return to Tao (2002), Australian Rules (2002), Take Away (2003), Under the Radar (2004), One Perfect Day (2005), Wolf Creek (2005), You and Your Stupid Mate (2005), Snakes on a Plane (2006), West (2007), Redline (2007), Surfer, Dude (2008), Dying Breed (2008), Balibo (2009), Summer Coda (2010), Chernobyl Diaries (2012), These Final Hours (2014), Tom Wills (2014), Blood Vessel (2019), The Devil Below (2021)
Significant TV Series: Neighbours (1999), The Saddle Club (2001), Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story (Disney TV movie) (2001), The Bridge (2014), Hunters (2016), Halifax: Retribution (2020)
More Information: Nathan Phillips at IMDb, Nathan Phillips at Wikipedia
Tom Budge
Tom Budge was born in Melbourne in 1982. From the late 1990s, Budge has appeared in a number of Australian television shows, including Neighbours, Round the Twist, and Shock Jock. Budge He made his feature film debut in the drama Australian Rules (2002), set in small-town South Australia. Since then he has appeared in eleven more Australian features and had small parts in two US features.
His most significant roles have been in the films The Proposition, where he plays a bushranger; Kokoda, where he plays a digger on the Kokoda Track in World War Two; Candy, where he plays a friend of Dan the junkie; Last Train to Freo, where he plays one of the two playfully threatening thugs on the train, and Bran Nue Dae, where he plays a German hippy. Budge was nominated for the best-supporting actor award by both the Australian Film Institute and the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards for his performance in Last Train to Freo.
Films (Australian films in red): Australian Rules (2002), Take Away (2003), The Honourable Wally Norman (2003), The Night We Called It a Day (2003), Crash (2004), The Proposition (2005), Three Dollars (2005), Last Train to Freo (2006), Kokoda (2006), Candy (2006), $9.99 (2008), Ten Empty (2008), Bran Nue Dae (2010), Larry Crowne (2011), Mabo 2012), Son of a Gun (2014), Judy and Punch (2019)
Significant TV Series: Neighbours (1999/2000), Shock Jock (2001/02), East of Everything (2008-09), Round the Twist (2000/01), The Pacific (2009), Gallipoli 2015), The Wrong Girl (2017), Secret Bridesmaids’ Business (2019), Bloom 2019-20), Upright (2022)
More Information: Tom Budge at IMDb, Tom Budge at Wikipedia
Matthew Le Nevez
Matthew Le Nevez was born in Canberra in 1979 and studied acting at NIDA, graduating in 1999. He appeared on several Australian TV shows from 2000, and made his feature film debut in Alex Proyas’s teen comedy-drama Garage Days (2002). He had a larger role in the drama Peaches (2004), alongside Hugo Weaving, and then played the lead in an American creature-feature Man-Thing (2005), which was filmed in Sydney with a mainly Australian cast. He had another major role in the period gangster film The Tender Hook (2008), alongside Hugo Weaving and Rose Byrne, but unfortunately the film was a flop. His only other film was a small part in Kriv Stenders’s Australia Day (2017), which made little impact.
Le Nevez has had better fortune on the small screen, with major roles in the popular Australian TV series Offspring (2011–2016), as the colleague/boyfriend of Asher Keddie, Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War (2012), as Dennis Lillee, The Kettering Incident (2015), as Detective Brian Dutch alongside Elizabeth Debicki; and Love Child (2015). He played the lead role as the World War II front-line cameraman Damien Parer, in the TV film Parer’s War (2014). Since 2015, Le Nevez has begun to win parts in various US television series, most notably in the thriller series Absentia (2019–2020).
Films (Australian films in red): Garage Days (2002), Peaches (2004), Man-Thing (2005), Feed (2005), The Tender Hook (2008), Australia Day (2017)
Significant TV Series: Farscape (2000), Head Start (2001), MDA (2002), The Postcard Bandit (TV Film) (2003), Marking Time (TV Film) (2003), The Society Murders (TV Film) (2006), Sea Patrol (2007), Legend of the Seeker (2010), Offspring (2011–2016), Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War (2012), Parer’s War (TV Film) (2014), The Kettering Incident (2015), The Lizzie Borden Chronicles (2015), Love Child (2015), Runner (TV Film) (2015), Brock (2016), Unit Zero (TV Film) (2017), The Widow (2019), Absentia (2019–2020)
More Information: Matthew Le Nevez at IMDb, Matthew Le Nevez at Wikipedia
Damon Gameau
Damon Gameau was born and grew up in Adelaide. He studied acting at NIDA, graduating in 1999. He started out working in Australian television, becoming a regular in SBS’s Going Home (2001). He then appeared in his first feature film, playing one of the three policemen in Rolf de Heer’s powerful The Tracker (2002). His next major film role was in Balibo (2009), the political film set during the East Timor war in 1975, where Gameau played Greg Shackleton, one of the five Australian journalists executed by the Indonesian military. Gameau was nominated for the AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. He then played the star bowler Stavros in the cricket comedy Save Your Legs! (2012). At the same time, Gameau was appearing in numerous popular Australian television series, such as Love My Way (2004), Raw (2008), Underbelly (2009), Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War (2012), Puberty Blues (2012), and The Kettering Incident (2016).
In 2014, Gameau wrote, produced and directed a documentary about the dangers of sugar consumption, That Sugar Film. The documentary was very successful, making $1.5 million at the box office, and winning the AACTA award for Best Feature Length Documentary. He has also made another documentary, this time on the subject of climate change, called 2040 (2019).
Films (Australian films in red): The Tracker (2002), The 13th House (2003), Thunderstruck (2004), Court of Lonely Royals (2006), Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance (2007), Balibo (2009), Save Your Legs! (2012), Patrick: Evil Awakens (2013), Charlie’s Country (2013)
Significant TV Series: Going Home (2001), Love My Way (2004), How I Met Your Mother (2007), Raw (2008), Underbelly (2009), Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War (2012), Puberty Blues (2012), Secrets & Lies (2014), Barracuda (2016), The Kettering Incident (2016)
More Information: Damon Gameau at IMDb, Damon Gameau at Wikipedia
Callan Mulvey
Callan Mulvey was born in New Zealand in 1975 and moved to Sydney with his family when he was seven. He started acting on Australian television in 1997, and made his feature film debut as one of a group of AC/DC fans in the small film Thunderstruck in 2004. Mulvey returned to television acting until 2011, when he had a part in the award-winning Australian film The Hunter (2011). In 2012, he appeared in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty as Saber. The next year, he starred in a segment of The Turning, based on Tim Winton’s stories.
Since 2013, Mulvey has appeared in 18 US films, many of those action blockbusters that saw huge box offices. In addition he has had significant roles in the Australian crime thriller Kill Me Three Times (2014), the Errol Fly biopic, In Like Flynn (2018), and a much praised period film about the frontier wars in Australia, High Ground (2020). He has also appeared in a number of television series in both USA and Australia.
Films (Australian films in red): Thunderstruck (2004), The Hunter (2011), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), The Turning (2013), 300: Rise of an Empire (2014), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Miss Meadows (2014), Kill Me Three Times (2014), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Warcraft (2016), Beyond Skyline (2017), Bleeding Steel (2017), Delirium (2018), Outlaw King (2018), In Like Flynn (2018), Desolate (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), The F**k-It List (2020), Shadow in the Cloud (2020), Children of the Corn (2020), High Ground (2020), Breach (2020), Till Death (2021), Poor Boy (2022), The Gray Man (2022)
Significant TV Series: Heartbreak High (1997–1999), Pizza (2000), The Finder (TV movie) (2001), Head Start (2001), Code Red (TV movie) (2001), Home and Away (2006–2008), McLeod’s Daughters (2007), Underbelly (2008), Rush (2008–2011), Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms (2012), Power (2016), Too Old to Die Young (2019), The Luminaries (2020), Mystery Road (2020), Last King of the Cross (2023)
More Information: Callan Mulvey at IMDb, Callan Mulvey at Wikipedia
Xavier Samuel
Xavier Samuel was born in Victoria in 1983, and grew up in Adelaide. He attended Flinders University Drama Centre and graduated in 2006. Samuel made his debut on the Australian TV show McLeod’s Daughters in 2003, and his feature film debut in Murali Thalluri’s controversial high school drama 2.37 in 2006. He then had the lead or co-lead role in three interesting films: the coming-of-age drama September (2007), the surfing-buddy film Newcastle (2008), and the horror film The Loved Ones (2009), before landing a good support role in the international blockbuster The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), filmed in Canada.
Since 2010, Samuel has appeared in eleven more Australian films, playing the lead or co-lead role in most. They ranged from comedy to action to romantic drama. He has also appeared in eight more British and American films, including the period films Anonymous (2011), and Love & Friendship (2016), as well as Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and Blonde, based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. He has also appeared in two recent Australian television series and one US series Tell Me Your Secrets (2021).
Films (Australian films in red): 2:37 (2006), Angela’s Decision (2006), September (2007), Newcastle (2008), The Loved Ones (2009), Further We Search (2009), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), Road Train (a.k.a. Road Kill) (2010), Anonymous (2011), A Few Best Men (2011), Bait 3D (2012), Adore (2013), Drift (2013), Plush (2013), Healing (2014), Fury (2014), Frankenstein (2015), Love & Friendship (2016), Mr. Church (2016), Spin Out (2016), The Death and Life of Otto Bloom (2016), Bad Blood (2017), A Few Less Men (2017), Riot (2018), Elvis (2022), Blonde (2022)
Significant TV Series: Seven Types of Ambiguity (2017), Tell Me Your Secrets (2021), The Clearing (2023)
More Information: Xavier Samuel at IMDb, Xavier Samuel at Wikipedia
Josh Lawson
Josh Lawson was born in Brisbane in 1981. He grew up there, before attending NIDA in Sydney from which he graduated in 2001. He started appearing on Australian television from 1997, and made his film debut with a small part in the Australian comedy Boytown in 2006. His next film roles, after 4 years starring in various Australian television shows, were the lead role in two romantic comedies The Wedding Party (2010), and Any Questions for Ben? (2012).
From 2011, Lawson began acting in the satirical US television series House of Lies, and began getting parts in several American films. His first was a support role in the hit comedy The Campaign (2012). He then had the lead role in the thriller Crave (2012), one of the main roles in the comedy Freeloaders (2012), and a support role in the hit comedy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013).
Returning to Australia in 2014, Lawson directed and starred in a comedy he also wrote, The Little Death (2014) which consisted of several stories the topic of sex. The film met with mixed reviews and was nominated for several AACTA awards. Back in the US again, Lawson played James Murdoch in the hit drama Bombshell (2019), and then the lead role in yet another rom-com, Holly Slept Over (2020). In 2021, Lawson directed his second film, the fantasy rom-com Long Story Short (2021), which he also wrote and starred in. His most recent films have been a US martial arts film Mortal Kombat (2021), which was filmed in Australia, and the Australian yachting film True Spirit (2023). Lawson has continued to work in both Australian and American television, playing in many shows over the years.
Films: BoyTown (2006), The Wedding Party (2010), Any Questions for Ben? (2012), The Campaign (2012), Crave (2012), Freeloaders (2012), Free Birds (2013), Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), Growing Up and Other Lies (2014), Border Protection Squad (2014), The Little Death (2014), Bombshell (2019), Holly Slept Over (2020), Long Story Short (2021), Mortal Kombat (2021), True Spirit (2023)
Significant TV Series: The Wayne Manifesto (1997), Medivac (1998), The Day of the Roses (1998), TwentyfourSeven (2002), Home and Away (2004), Blue Heelers (2006), Thank God You’re Here (2006–09), Sea Patrol (2007), The Librarians (2007), Chandon Pictures (2007–09), Wilfred (2010), Hawke (TV film) (2010), Romantically Challenged (2010), Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away (TV film) (2011), House of Lies (2012–16), Lowdown (2012), Kinne (2014), Superstore (2015–2018), Wrecked (2016), Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story (2017)
Don Hany
Don Hany was born in Sydney in 1975, and completed a degree in Dramatic Arts at the University of Western Sydney Nepean in the 1990s. Hany is most famous for his Australian television roles, and has appeared in a variety of television series since 1998. He made his feature film debut with a small part in the US film The TV Set (2006), but had a more substantial role as an army reservist searching for refugees lost in Australia in the much-praised Lucky Miles (2006). He then played an escaped convict in Tasmania in The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce (2008), a prison inmate in Healing (2014), and an Iraqi Shia cleric in the Muslim rom-com Ali’s Wedding (2016). He was nominated for several awards for his performance in Ali’s Wedding.
His television roles have kept him much busier, and brought him more recognition than his film work. He has had leading and substantial roles in White Collar Blue (2003), East West 101 (2007-11), Underbelly (2008), Tangle (2010-12), Offspring (2010-11), The Broken Shore (TV Movie) (2013), Serangoon Road (2013), Devil’s Playground (2014), Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018), Secret City (2019), Bad Mothers (2019), and Neighbours (2020-21). He also had a main role in the short-lived American medical drama series Heartbeat (2016). He was nominated for the Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actor in a TV series three times for East West 101 and once each for Offspring and Tangle, and won the award in 2010 for East West 101.
Films (Australian films in red): The TV Set (2006), Lucky Miles (2007), The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce (2008), Healing (2014), Ali’s Wedding (2016)
Significant TV Series: Crash Palace (2002), Heroes’ Mountain (2002), White Collar Blue (2003), East West 101 (2007-11), Underbelly (2008), Dirt Game (2009), False Witness (TV Movie) (2009), Tangle (2010-12), Offspring (2010-11), Tell Them Lucifer Was Here (TV Movie) (2011), Jack Irish: Bad Debts (TV Movie) (2012), Jack Irish: Black Tide (TV Movie) (2012), The Broken Shore (TV Movie) (2013), Warriors (TV Movie) (2014), Serangoon Road (2013), Warriors (TV Movie) (2014), Devil’s Playground (2014), Heartbeat (2016), Strike Back (2017-18), Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018), Secret City (2019), Bad Mothers (2019), Neighbours (2020-21)
More Information: Don Hany at IMDb, Don Hany at Wikipedia
Fayssal Bazzi
Fayssal Bazzi was born in Lebanon in 1982. He made his film debut in Jonathon Ogilvie’s low-budget drama Emulsion (2006), which was only shown at various festivals. He then played in the crime-thriller Cedar Boys (2009), Abe Forsythe’s black comedy on race relations Down Under (2016), Damian Callinan’s comedy on multiculturalism The Merger (2018), and the drama Measure for Measure (2020). He had a good role in the more widely seen Australian-American action-thriller film Black Site (2022), and has most recently played in the Australian horror film Late Night with the Devil (2023) He also had a small part in the British thriller 6 Days (2017). He was nominated for the 2018 AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in The Merger and again in 2020 for Measure for Measure.
Bazzi has appeared in many Australian television shows since 2007, and won the 2020 AACTA Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama Award for his role as a refugee in Stateless
Films (Australian films in red): Emulsion (2006), Cedar Boys (2009), Down Under (2016), 6 Days (2017), Peter Rabbit (2018), The Merger (2018), Measure for Measure (2020), We’re Not Here to Fuck Spiders (2020), Mother Mountain (2022), Black Site (2022), Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Significant TV Series: East West 101 (2007), The Strip (2008), Chosen (2018), The Commons (2019), Mr Inbetween (2019), Stateless (2020), Significant Others (2022), Shantaram (2022)
More Information: Fayssal Bazzi at IMDb, Fayssal Bazzi at Wikipedia
Luke Ford
Luke Ford was born in Canada in 1981 and raised in Sydney. Ford studied acting at The Actor’s Pulse in Sydney, then started to win roles in Australian television shows from 2000. He made his film debut in the war film Kokoda, before playing an autistic teenager in The Black Balloon (2008), with Toni Collette. Ford won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Following that Ford had a good role in a blockbuster American action film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), filmed in Canada and China.
Ford then played one of the criminal brothers in the award-winning Animal Kingdom (2010), with Jacki Weaver. He followed this with a part in the very popular Red Dog (2011), and then played a troubled worker in David Williamson’s gripping Face to Face (2011). Since then he has played in seven more Australian features. On television, Ford is best known for his roles in McLeod’s Daughters (2001), Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms (2012), Underbelly: Squizzy (2013) and Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch Story (2013), where he played Kerry Packer.
Films (Australian films in red): Kokoda (2006), The Black Balloon (2008), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), Ghost Machine (2009), Animal Kingdom (2010), Red Dog (2011), Face to Face (2011), The King is Dead (2012), Charlie’s Country (2013), Infini (2015), The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One (2016), What If It Works? (2017), A Suburban Love Story (2018), Avarice (2022)
Significant TV Series: Home and Away (2000), McLeod’s Daughters (2001), Junction Boys (TV movie) (2002), Hercules (TV movie) (2005), headLand (2005), 3 Acts of Murder (TV movie) (2009), Nomads (TV movie) (2010), Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms (2012), Underbelly: Squizzy (2013), Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch Story (2013), Cleverman (2017), The Other Guy (2017), Amazing Grace (2021)
More Information: Luke Ford at IMDb, Luke Ford at Wikipedia
Matthew Nable
Matthew Nable was born in Sydney in 1972, and was a professional rugby league player in Sydney and the UK until 1997. After various other jobs, he wrote the screenplay for the critically acclaimed rugby league-centred drama The Final Winter (2007) in which he played the lead role. He continued acting and has played in 17 Australian films so far, as well as two American action films: Killer Elite (2011), where he played alongside Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro, and Riddick (2013), in which he had a lead role alongside Vin Diesel.
Nable has also appeared in many Australian and US television shows, including Gallipoli, Underbelly, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Mr Inbetween.
Films (Australian films in red): The Final Winter (2007), 33 Postcards (2011), Killer Elite (2011), K-11 (2012), Around the Block (2013), The Turning (2013), Riddick (2013), Fell (2014), Son of a Gun (2014), Bluey (2015), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Incarnate (2016), Jasper Jones (2017), 1% (2017), Standing Up for Sunny (2019), The Dry (2021), Poker Face (2022), Transfusion (2023)
Significant TV Series: S.I.S. (TV film) (2008), East West 101 (2011), Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms (2012), Underbelly: Badness (2012), Arrow (2014–15), Winter (2015), Gallipoli (2015), Legends of Tomorrow (2016), Quarry (2016), Barracuda (2016), Hyde & Seek (2016), Blue Murder: Killer Cop (2017), Dead Lucky (2018), Mr Inbetween (2018–21), The Sounds (2020), The Twelve (2022), Last King of the Cross (2023), Year Of (2023)
More Information: Matt Nable at IMDb, Matt Nable at Wikipedia
Keiynan Lonsdale
Keiynan Lonsdale was born in Sydney in 1991. He is an Australian actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. He made his debut as a dancer in the comedy Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance (2007), with Ben Miller and Kerry Armstrong. He went on to become a regular in the popular Australian television series Dance Academy from 2012-13. Lonsdale then appeared in two US science fiction films in the Divergent series playing Uriah Pedrad as well as the historical drama The Finest Hours (2016).
After returning to Australia to play in Dance Academy: The Movie (2017), Lonsdale has had good roles in four more US films, as well has four US TV series, of which The CW series The Flash (2015–2020) and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (2017–2018) have been the most significant. Lonsdale has also worked as an MTV VJ and released original music recordings, including a studio album in 2020.
Films (Australian films in red): Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance (2007), The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015), The Finest Hours (2016), The Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016), Dance Academy: The Movie (2017), Like. Share. Follow. (2017), Love, Simon (2018), Work It (2020), My Fake Boyfriend (2022)
Significant TV Series: All Saints (2008), Dance Academy (2012–2013), The Flash (2015–2018, 2020-2023), Legends of Tomorrow (2017–2018), Eden (2021), Step Up: High Water (2022)
More Information: Keiynan Lonsdale at IMDb, Keiynan Lonsdale at Wikipedia
Rahel Romahn
Rahel Romahn is a Kurdish-Australian actor, who was born in Iraq about 1993 and came to Australia four years later. He made his screen debut with a small part in the comedy Battle Therapy Too (2007). Since then he has played in ten more Australian films, including crime films, comedies, dramas and a couple of ethnic rom-coms. His best roles have been in Alex & Eve (2015), Down Under (2016), Here Out West (2022), and Streets of Colour (2023).
Romahn has also played in many Australian TV series as well as, more recently, US TV series. For his performance in the high school drama series The Principal (2015) he was nominated for the 2016 AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama, and the 2016 Logie Award for Most Outstanding Newcomer. He also appeared in the award-winning Mr Inbetween (2018), and more recently in the big US series Shantaram (2022), based on the best-selling novel by Gregory David Roberts.
Films (Australian films in red): Battle Therapy Too (2007), The Combination (2009), The Day Hollywood Died (2011), Alex & Eve (2015), Down Under (2016), Ali’s Wedding (2017), The Combination: Redemption (2019), Little Monsters (2019), Moon Rock for Monday (2020), Here Out West (2022), Streets of Colour (2023)
Significant TV Series: Underbelly (2010), The Principal (2015), Ready for This (2015), Hyde & Seek (2016), Janet King (2014), Plans (2017), Mr Inbetween (2018), Australian Gangster (2021), God’s Favorite Idiot (2022), Shantaram (2022)
More Information: Rahel Romahn at IMDb, Rahel Romahn at Wikipedia
Luke Mitchell
Luke Mitchell was born in Queensland in 1985. Mitchell trained at the Film and Television Studio International and made his screen debut on the popular soap opera Neighbours in 2008. He made his feature film debut in the lead role of the low-budget gay rom-com Performance Anxiety (2008). He made another low-budget Aussie film Cryptopticon (2010), and, after moving to the US in 2013, three US films, none of which set the world on fire.
Mitchell has been more successful with his television roles. Following a long apprenticeship with 673 episodes as Romeo Smith in Home and Away, he has had main roles and recurring roles in a string of US television series for the last ten years (see below).
Films (Australian films in red): Performance Anxiety (2008), Cryptopticon (2010), 7 Minutes (2015), Mothers and Daughters (2016), Black Water: Abyss (2020), Without Remorse (2021)
Significant TV Series: Neighbours (2008), H2O: Just Add Water (2009–2010), Home and Away (2009–2013), The Tomorrow People (2013–2014), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2015–2016), Blindspot (2016–2020), The Code (2019), The Republic of Sarah (2021), Legacies (2022), Big Sky (2022)
More Information: Luke Mitchell at IMDb, Luke Mitchell at Wikipedia
Mark Leonard Winter
Mark Leonard Winter grew up in Australia and the US, and studied acting at Victorian College of Arts. He has acted in Australian theatre since 2006 in various Australian cities. He made his film debut in the minor Australian drama Playing for Charlie (2008), but soon had roles in the more widely seen historic dramas Van Diemen’s Land and Balibo. Since then Winter has played in eleven more films, of which the best known are Healing (2014), The Dressmaker (2015), Disclosure (2020), Little Tornadoes (2021), and Elvis (2022).
Winter has also played in a large number of Australian television series, plus the US series The Pacific (2010), which was filmed in Australia.
Films (Australian films in red): Playing for Charlie (2008), Van Diemen’s Land (2009), Balibo (2009), Further We Search (2009), One Eyed Girl (2013), The Boy Castaways (2013), Healing (2014), The Dressmaker (2015), The Fear of Darkness (2015), Measure for Measure (2019), Escape from Pretoria (2020), Disclosure (2020), Little Tornadoes (2021), Elvis (2022)
Significant TV Series: Rush (2008), Killing Time (2010), The Pacific (2010), Winners & Losers (2011), Cop Hard (2011), Dangerous Remedy (2012 TV Movie), Cleverman (2016), Top of the Lake (2013), Pine Gap (2018), Halifax: Retribution (2020), Fires (2021), The Newsreader (2021), Eden (2021)
More Information: Mark Leonard Winter at IMDb, Mark Leonard Winter at Wikipedia
Ryan Corr
Ryan Corr was born in 1989 in Melbourne, and graduated from NIDA in 2009. He began appearing on Australian television as a child and was a regular on several teen series, Sleepover Club (2003), Silversun (2004), and Blue Water High (2006), while still at school. Corr’s first feature film appearance was a small part in the popular children’s fantasy Where the Wild Things Are (2009), which was filmed in Melbourne. His first significant film role was in the romantic comedy Not Suitable for Children (2012), where Corr was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the friend of a man with cancer.
Corr then had good parts in two big films, as a victim of a serial killer in Wolf Creek 2 (2013) and as one of Russell Crowe’s sons in The Water Diviner (2014), before playing the lead in Neil Armfield’s Holding the Man (2015), where he was nominated for the AACTA Best Lead Actor Award for his performance as a gay man whose partner gets AIDS. Since then, he has played in seven more films playing a wide variety of roles, from American soldier to bikie gang member to Hungarian immigrant. He was again he was nominated for the AACTA Best Lead Actor Award for his performance in 1%.
Corr has also continued to appear in popular Australian television series, most recently with the lead role in the ABC’s In Limbo (2023).
Films (Australian films in red): Where the Wild Things Are (2009), Before the Rain (2010), Not Suitable for Children (2012), 6 Plots (2013), Wolf Creek 2 (2013), The Water Diviner (2014), Holding the Man (2015), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Ali’s Wedding (2016), A Few Less Men (2017), Outlaws (aka 1%) (2017), Ladies in Black (2018), Mary Magdalene (2018), High Ground (2020)
Significant TV Series: Sleepover Club (2003), Silversun (2004), Blue Water High (2006), Underbelly (2010), Tangle (2010), Packed to the Rafters (2009-13), Banished (2015), Love Child (2014-15), Cleverman (2016), Bloom (2019), The Commons (2019), Hungry Ghosts (2020), Wakefield (2021), The Secrets She Keeps (2020-22), House of the Dragon (2022), In Limbo (2023)
More Information: Ryan Corr at IMDb, Ryan Corr at Wikipedia
Jai Courtney
Jai Courtney was born in Sydney in 1986, and after school, attended the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, graduating in 2008. He appeared in a couple of Australian television shows and had a small part in one Australian film, and then won a good role in the US television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010). In America, he then played good support or co-lead roles in a number of high profile action films, starting with Jack Reacher (2012) with Tom Cruise. He then played Bruce Willis’s CIA agent son in A Good Day to Die Hard (2013), the leader of the gargoyle army in I, Frankenstein (2014), and a faction leader in the science fiction blockbuster Divergent (2014).
Courtney returned to Australia to play in the crime thriller Felony (2014), and Russell Crowe’s war epic The Water Diviner (2014). He was nominated for several awards for his performance in Felony. Since then he has established himself as a quality actor in the US, appearing in 13 more American films, notably two Suicide Squad movies, and Insurgent, a sequel to Divergent. Most of his films have been action films, though he has also played in some comedies, and in a romantic war drama with Lily James, The Exception (2016). On television, his most significant roles have been in the Australian drama series Stateless (2020), and the US heist anthology Kaleidoscope (2023) on Netflix.
Films (Australian films in red): Stone Bros. (2009), Jack Reacher (2012), A Good Day to Die Hard (2013), I, Frankenstein (2014), Divergent (2014), Felony (2014), The Water Diviner (2014), Unbroken (2014), The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015), Terminator Genisys (2015), Man Down (2015), Suicide Squad (2016), The Exception (2016), Storm Boy (2019), Alita: Battle Angel (2019), Semper Fi (2019), Buffaloed (2019), 100% Wolf (2020), Honest Thief (2020), Jolt (2021), The Suicide Squad (2021), Black Site (2022)
Significant TV Series: All Saints (2008), Packed to the Rafters (2008–2009), Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010), Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017), Stateless (2020), The Terminal List (2022), Kaleidoscope (2023)
More Information: Jai Courtney at IMDb, Jai Courtney at Wikipedia
James Frecheville
James Frecheville was born in Melbourne in 1991. He took several acting courses and had his first role in a low-budget sci-fi film in 2009. His first big role was in David Michod’s award-winning 2010 film about a Melbourne crime family, Animal Kingdom, where Frecheville plays the grandson of crime matriarch Janine “Smurf” Cody, who comes to live with the family when his mother dies. Frecheville was nominated for the AACTA Best Actor and Best Young Actor awards for his performance. Like many other actors in the film, the film’s success overseas gave him chances to appear in American films, and his next film was the US romantic comedy The First Time (2012). He then played one of the sons in the controversial Australian son-swapping drama Adore (aka Adoration) (2013), with Naomi Watts.
Since 2013, Frecheville has appeared in a wide variety of US, British, Irish and Australian films, often in a main role, and three British television series.
Films (Australian films in red): The Fourth Pillar (2009), Animal Kingdom (2010), The First Time (2012), Adore / Adoration (2013), Mall (2014), The Drop (2014), The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015), About Scout (2015), I.T. (2016), Highly Functional (2017), Requiem (2018), Black ’47 (2018), The Dry (2021), The Pursuit of Love (2021), Zátopek (2021)
Significant TV Series: Requiem (2018), The Pursuit of Love (2021), Peaky Blinders (2022)
More Information: James Frecheville at IMDb, James Frecheville at Wikipedia
Toby Wallace
Toby Wallace was born in the UK in 1995, and moved to Australia when he was eight. He made his film debut as a 13-year-old in Kriv Stender’s Lucky Country in 2009. He has played in seven more Australian films so far, of which the last two, Acute Misfortune (2018) and Babyteeth (2019), have been the most significant. In the critically-acclaimed Acute Misfortune, he played one of the two main roles as a journalist trying to write a biography of a mentally volatile artist. He then played a homeless young man who begins an affair with a terminally-ill teenager in the award-winning drama Babyteeth (2019). He won the AACTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role as well as the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the 2019 Venice Film Festival for his performance in this film.
Wallace has also appeared in a number of Australian and overseas television series and TV movies. He played the young Michael Hutchence in the miniseries about the rock band INXS, called INXS: Never Tear Us Apart (2014). He has recently played in the American series The Society (2019), and the British series Pistol (2022), about the Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, where he played the main character.
Films (Australian films in red): Lucky Country (aka Dark Frontier) (2009), Surviving Georgia (2011), Return to Nim’s Island (2013), Galore (2013), The Turning (2013), Boys in the Trees (2016), Acute Misfortune (2018), Babyteeth (2019)
Significant TV Series: Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away (TV movie) (2011), INXS: Never Tear Us Apart (TV movie) (2014), Parer’s War (TV movie) (2014), The Society (2019), Pistol (2022)
More Information: Toby Wallace at IMDb, Toby Wallace at Wikipedia
Hunter Page-Lochard
Hunter Page-Lochard, whose parents were both professional dancers, was born and grew up in Sydney. He attended the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, and the National Institute of Dramatic Art. He has appeared as a dancer for the Bangarra Dance Theatre and other theatres, and began working as an actor on Australian television in 2001. Page-Lochard made his feature film debut in the Aboriginal-themed musical-comedy Bran Nue Dae in 2009. He then played in Wayne Blair’s hit Vietnam war musical The Sapphires (2012). Page-Lochard had his first lead role in the high school film Around the Block (2013), alongside American actress Christina Ricci. He had his next lead role in the Aboriginal dance-drama Spear (2015), written and directed by his choreographer father Stephen Page and based on an earlier Bangarra Dance Theatre production. Since then Page-Lochard has appeared mainly on television, apart from a supporting role in Streamline (2021).
Page-Lochard has appeared in many Australian television shows over the years, the most significant being the Aboriginal magical series Cleverman (2016–2017), where he played the main character Koen West; Wentworth (2016–2017), Harrow (2018–21), Les Norton (2019), Fires (2021), and Barons (2022).
Films (Australian films in red): Bran Nue Dae (2009), The Sapphires (2012), Around the Block (2013), Spear (2015), Streamline (2021)
Significant TV Series: Water Rats (2001), East West 101 (2007), Woollo (TV film) (2012), Cleverman (2016–2017), Wentworth (2016–2017), Harrow (2018–21), Tidelands (2018), Les Norton (2019), Fires (2021), Eden (2021), Barons (2022)
More Information: Hunter Page-Lochardat IMDb, Hunter Page-Lochardat Wikipedia
Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan was born in South Africa in 1995, and came to live in Perth two years later. He is a singer as well as an actor, and his singing career started to take off before in 2007 before he began to be recognised for his acting. It was through his singing appearances that he won a role in the Marvel Comics blockbuster X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), that was filmed in Sydney and New Zealand in 2008. Sivan played the young Wolverine. Sivan then played the lead role in the 2010 South African comedy-drama film Spud, based on a popular South African novel about a schoolboy John ‘Spud’ Milton. The film was a big success in South Africa, and Sivan has returned to make two more sequels in 2013-14. Sivan was nominated for a South African Film and Television Award for his performance.
Since then, Sivan has played an American film by an Australian director, Boy Erased (2018), and had the lead role in a US romantic comedy Three Months (2022).
Films (Australian films in red): X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Spud (2010), Spud 2: The Madness Continues (2013), Spud 3: Learning to Fly (2014), Boy Erased (2018), Three Months (2022)
More Information: Troye Sivan at IMDb, Troye Sivan at Wikipedia
Patrick Brammall
Patrick Brammall was born in Canberra in 1976. He began acting in Australian television in 2004 when he became a regular character in the series The Alice. Brammall made his feature film debut as the brother of the main character in the comedy Griff the Invisible (2010). He later played one of the main characters in the sex-comedy anthology The Little Death (2014), winning a nomination for the AACTA Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance. He then played the title role in Brendan Cowell’s Ruben Guthrie (2015), as a man trying to give up drinking to win his girlfriend back. Brammall received another nomination for an AACTA award, this time for Best Lead Actor, for his performance.
Brammall’s main career has been in television, chiefly in Australia comedies, although he has recently also played in several US series. He has won two AACTA awards for Best Performance in a Television Comedy, for A Moody Christmas (2012) and No Activity (2015). Brammall helped make an American version of No Activity, where he reprised his role as detective Nick Cullen. This series ran for four seasons.
Films (Australian films in red): Griff the Invisible (2010), The Little Death (2014), Super Awesome! (2015), Ruben Guthrie (2015), Fun Mom Dinner (2017), Overlord (2018),
Significant TV Series: The Alice (TV Movie) (2004), The Alice (2005-06), Home and Away (2007), Canal Road (2008), I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better (TV Movie) (2009), Hawke (TV Movie) (2010), The Strange Calls (2012), A Moody Christmas (2012), The Moodys (2012, 2014), The Elegant Gentleman’s Guide to Knife Fighting (2013), Upper Middle Bogan (2013-16), Offspring (2014-16), Glitch (2015-19), No Activity (2017-21), Evil (2019-23), Call Your Mother (2021), Colin From Accounts (2022)
More Information: Patrick Brammall at IMDb, Patrick Brammall at Wikipedia
Mark Coles Smith
Mark Coles Smith was born in Broome around 1989. He made his acting debut on a children’s television show when he was 14 and later attended the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Aboriginal Theatre. Coles Smith made his feature film debut with a small part in Jeremy Sim’s war drama Beneath Hill 60 (2010). He had a larger role in the high school drama Around The Block (2013), and then one of the main roles in Jeremy Sim’s local hit film Last Cab to Darwin (2015), alongside Michael Caton and Jacki Weaver. Coles Smith won the Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) award for Best Supporting Actor, and was also nominated for the AACTA award in the same category. He was again nominated for both these awards for his performance in the inner-Melbourne comedy-drama Pawno (2015), Since then he has played in an Australian sci-fi action film, Occupation: Rainfall (2021), a low-budget refugee drama Akoni (2021) and a youth drama set in the Pibara region, near his hometown of Broome, Sweet As (2022), where he plays a policeman.
Coles Smith has also played in a number of television series, including a main role in a Canadian series Hard Rock Medical, which ran for four seasons from 2013 to 2018. Most recently he played the main role in the third series of Mystery Road (2022), as well as one of the main roles in Savage River (2022). He won the AACTA award for Best Lead Actor in a TV Drama for his performance in Mystery Road.
Films (Australian films in red): Beneath Hill 60 (2010), Around The Block (2013), Last Cab to Darwin (2015), Pawno (2015), Occupation: Rainfall (2021), Akoni (2021), Sweet As (2022)
Significant TV Series: Ocean Star (2003), Blue Heelers (2005), The Circuit (2007–2010), Hard Rock Medical (2013–2018), The Gods of Wheat Street (2014), Old School (2014), Airlock (2015), Hunters (2016), Doctor Doctor (2017), Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018), Halifax: Retribution (2020), Savage River (2022), Mystery Road: Origin (2022)
More Information: Mark Coles Smith at IMDb, Mark Coles Smith at Wikipedia
Alex Russell
Alex Russell was born in Brisbane in 1987, grew up in Queensland and studied acting at NIDA, graduating in 2008. Russell made his film debut with one of the lead roles in the low-budget thriller Wasted on the Young in 2010. Russell then moved to the US and after a couple of small parts, had one of the main roles in a major sci-fi film Chronicle (2012), which made $126 million at the box office. Since then, he has played support roles in several other big US films The Host (2013), Carrie (2013), and Unbroken (2014), and lead or main roles in several smaller films Believe Me (2014), Blood in the Water (2016), Only the Brave (2017), Jungle (2017), Brampton’s Own (2018), and Under My Skin (2020). He also played in major roles in the Australian films Cut Snake (2014), Goldstone (2016), and Rabbit (2017).
Russell has also played Officer Jim Street, one of the main characters, in six seasons of the US television crime drama S.W.A.T. from 2017 to 2023.
Films (Australian films in red): Wasted on the Young (2010), Almost Kings (2010), Chronicle (2012), Bait 3D (2012), The Host (2013), Carrie (2013), Believe Me (2014), Cut Snake (2014), Unbroken (2014), Prisoner of War (2015), Goldstone (2016), Blood in the Water (2016), Only the Brave (2017), Jungle (2017), Rabbit (2017), Brampton’s Own (2018), and Under My Skin (2020)
Significant TV Series: Galyntine (TV Film) (2015), S.W.A.T. (2017–present)
More Information: Alex Russell at IMDb, Alex Russell at Wikipedia
Chris Pang
Chris Pang was born in Melbourne in 1984 and studied acting at The Australian Film & Television Academy in Melbourne. He is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, and started doing voice-overs for Chinese characters in films. His first film acting role was in the Australian adaptation of the novel, Tomorrow, When the War Began in 2010. He later played in I, Frankenstein (2014), which was filmed in Australia and had a support role in the Australian comedy The Mule (2014).
Pang went to America and played in the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2016. His biggest role to date came with the hit comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2018), where he played Colin Khoo, Nick’s childhood best friend. Since then he has played in another five US films and the Australian-American fantasy The Portable Door (2023).
Films (Australian films in red): Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010), Citizen Jia Li (2011), I, Frankenstein (2014), Fist of the Dragon (2014), The Mule (2014), Superfast! (2015), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Empty by Design (2019), Charlie’s Angels (2019), Palm Springs (2020), Blade of the 47 Ronin (2022), The Portable Door (2023), Joy Ride (2023)
Significant TV Series: Marco Polo (2016), As We See It (2022)
More Information: Chris Pang at IMDb, Chris Pang at Wikipedia
T.J. Power
T.J. Power was born in Australia and studied acting at Western Australian Academy Of Performing Arts (WAPPA), graduating in 2008. He made his film debut with a support role in the low-budget Australian thriller Wasted on the Young in 2010. In the same year he played Javier Bardem’s Australia-raised son in the smash US romantic drama Eat, Pray, Love, in the Bali segment of the film. He then played in the award-winning Australia musical drama The Sapphires (2012), and played a deaf man using an interpreter service to call an erotic sexline in the critically admired sex-comedy The Little Death (2014), winning a nomination for the AACTA Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance.
Since 2014, Power has played in two more US films, as well as having the co-lead role in the Australian sci-fi film OtherLife (2017). He has also appeared in several Australian television shows, and is known for his roles in Underbelly: Razor (2011), and Offspring (2016–17). He has also had several small roles so far in US television series.
Films (Australian films in red): Wasted on the Young (2010), Eat Pray Love (2010), Vulnerable (2010), The Sapphires (2012), The Little Death (2014), Halfway (2016), OtherLife (2017), Resort to Love (2021)
Significant TV Series: Underbelly: Razor (2011), Parer’s War (2014) TV movie, Checked Out (2014) TV movie, Molly (2016), Offspring (2016–17), Criminal Minds (2019), Insecure (2021)
More Information: T.J. Power at IMDb, T.J. Power at Wikipedia, T.J. Power at Showcast
Callan McAuliffe
Callan McAuliffe was born in Sydney in 1995. He started appearing on Australian television shows as a child. When visiting the USA, McAuliffe auditioned for a Rob Reiner film, and won the lead role in the US rom-com Flipped (2010). Though the reviews for that film were mixed, McAuliffe won a major role in the sci-fi action film I Am Number Four (2011), which was much more successful, making $150 million at the box office. He followed this by playing the young Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby (2013). Since then he has had a number of lead or main roles in a series of films which did not find success with the public, though some, like Robot Overlords (2014), had quite substantial budgets, He has played in one Australian film, The Legend of Ben Hall (2017).
Callan McAuliffe has continued to appear in Australian and US television shows, most notably the award winning adaption of Tim Winton’s novel Cloudstreet in 2011, and four seasons of the hit US series The Walking Dead from 2017 to 2022.
Films (Australian films in red): Flipped (2010), I Am Number Four (2011), The Great Gatsby (2013), Beneath the Harvest Sky (2013), Kite (2014), Robot Overlords (2014), The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015), Hacker (2016), The Legend of Ben Hall (2017), Summer Night (2019), Him & Her (aka About Him & Her) (2021)
Significant TV Series: Comedy Inc. (2007), Blue Water High (2008), Packed to the Rafters (2009), Cloudstreet (2011), Underground: The Julian Assange Story (TV film) (2012), Homeland (2014), The Walking Dead (2017–2022), Ten: Murder Island (TV film) (2017)
More Information: Callan McAuliffe at IMDb, Callan McAuliffe at Wikipedia
Brenton Thwaites
Brenton Thwaites was born in Cairns in 1989. He studied acting at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) for three years, graduating in 2010. He made his debut in a low-budget Australian drama/thriller Charge Over You in 2010. He then played in the Australian cricket comedy Save Your Legs! (2012), before winning the lead role in the US romantic TV movie Blue Lagoon: The Awakening (2012). He next played the lead role in the US horror film Oculus (2013), which went on to make $44 million at the box office. He then had one of the lead roles in another big film, Phil Noyce’s The Giver (2014), alongside Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep.
Thwaites then played a prince in the blockbuster fantasy Maleficent (2014), and co-lead roles in two smaller US films before returning to Australia temporarily. In Australia he shared a lead with Ewan McGregor in Son of a Gun (2014), and played one of the main roles in Alex Proyas’ big-budget fantasy failure Gods of Egypt (2016). He also had a major part in the big adventure film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), which was filmed in Australia. Since then, Thwaites has played the lead role in five more US and UK films ranging from horror to drama to romance. He has also played one of the main roles in four seasons of the US fantasy series Titans between 2018 and 2023.
Films (Australian films in red): Charge Over You (2010), Save Your Legs! (2012), Blue Lagoon: The Awakening (TV Movie) (2012), Oculus (2013), The Giver (2014), Maleficent (2014), Ride (2014), The Signal (2014), Son of a Gun (2014), Ruben Guthrie (2015), Gods of Egypt (2016), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), An Interview with God (2018), Office Uprising (2018), A Violent Separation (2019), Ghosts of War (2020), I Met A Girl (2020)
Significant TV Series: SLiDe (2011), Home and Away (2011-12), Titans (2018-23)
More Information: Brenton Thwaites at IMDb, Brenton Thwaites at Wikipedia
Luke Bracey
Luke Bracey was born in Sydney in 1989. He started his acting career with a regular role in the popular Australian TV soap opera Home and Away in 2009, where he appeared in 223 episodes in two years. His first feature film was the American rom-com Monte Carlo (2011), where he had a good role as an Aussie backpacker who meets an American girl in Europe. He moved to the USA where he had a good role in the sci-fi action blockbuster G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013). He followed this with a co-lead role in the action film The November Man (2014), where he played alongside Pierce Brosnan.
Since that, he has had a succession of good roles in a variety of films. He had the lead roles in the comedy Me Him Her (2015), the Australian Vietnam War film Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (2019), the crime film Lucky Day (2019), the rom-com Holidate (2020), the crime film American Dream (2021), the indie drama Violet (2021), the action-thriller Interceptor (2022). He also had major roles in the following successful films: the action-thiller Point Break (2015), the Mel Gibson-directed war film Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Baz Luhrmann’s epic Elvis (2022), and the rom-com Maybe I Do (2023).
Films (Australian films in red): Monte Carlo (2011), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), The November Man (2014), The Best of Me (2014), Me Him Her (2015), Point Break (2015), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (2019), Lucky Day (2019), Holidate (2020), American Dream (2021), Violet (2021), Interceptor (2022), Elvis (2022), Maybe I Do (2023), One True Loves (2023)
Significant TV Series: Home and Away (2009-10), Dance Academy (2010), Little Fires Everywhere (2020)
More Information: Luke Bracey at IMDb, Luke Bracey at Wikipedia
Daniel Henshall
Daniel Henshall was born in Sydney in 1982. He started acting on Australian television in 2007, appearing in several shows. In 2011, he made his film debut, playing the lead role as serial killer John Bunting in Justin Kurzel’s Snowtown (2011), based on the 1990s Snowtown murders in South Australia. The film won six AACTA awards and Henshall won the AACTA Best Actor Award for his chilling performance. He followed up with support roles in two Aussie rom-coms and good roles in the sci-fi apocalypse film These Final Hours (2013), and the award-winning horror film The Babadook (2014).
Henshall played in his first US film in 2017, with a support role in the action fim Ghost in the Shell (2017), filmed in New Zealand and Hong Kong. He then played in a Korean sci-fi action film, Bong Joon-ho’s Okja (2017). Returning to Australia he played an eccentric artist in Acute Misfortune (2019), and was nominated for Best Actor awards by the Film Critics Circle of Australia and the Australian Film Critics Association, for his performance. Since then he has appeared in four more films, two in Australia and two in the US. He has also appeared in a number of Australian and US television series, with Turn: Washington’s Spies (2014-17) being the most famous.
Films (Australian films in red): Snowtown (2011), Not Suitable for Children (2012), Any Questions for Ben? (2012), These Final Hours (2013), The Babadook (2014), Fell (2014), Ghost in the Shell (2017), Okja (2017), Acute Misfortune (2019), Skin (2019), Measure for Measure (2020), A Sunburnt Christmas (2020), Catch the Fair One (2021)
Significant TV Series: Out of the Blue (2008), The Beautiful Lie (2015), Turn: Washington’s Spies (2014-17), Bloom (2019), Defending Jacob (2020), Mystery Road: Origin (2022), Savage River (2022)
More Information: Daniel Henshall at IMDb, Daniel Henshall at Wikipedia
Levi Miller
Levi Miller was born in Brisbane in 2002, and appeared on Australian television commercials as a child. He had a small role in his first film in 2011 at the age of nine, but in 2015 he was chosen for the lead role as Peter Pan in the big-budget American fantasy film Pan (2015), alongside Hugh Jackman. Though the film was heavily criticised, Miller’s performance was universally praised. He then played the co-lead role in an American Christmas horror film Better Watch Out (2016), which was filmed in Sydney. Miller then played one of the main characters in the Australian family film Red Dog: True Blue (2016), and the main character in Rachel Perkins’ successful drama Jasper Jones (2017). He followed this with another good role in another big-budget US fantasy film A Wrinkle in Time (2018). His most recent roles have been a co-lead in an American drama American Exit (2019), and the lead role in an Australian drama Streamline (2021).
Films (Australian films in red): A Heartbeat Away (2011), Pan (2015), Better Watch Out (2016), Red Dog: True Blue (2016), Jasper Jones (2017), A Wrinkle in Time (2018), American Exit (2019), Streamline (2021)
Significant TV Series: None
More Information: Levi Miller at IMDb, Levi Miller at Wikipedia
Damian Hill
Damian Hill was born Australia in 1976 and died at the age of 42 in 2018. He made his debut on Australian television in 2003, and appeared in many short films before making his film debut in 2013 with a small part in a low-budget Australian action film, and a support role in The Broken Shore, a TV movie based on Peter Temple novel. His big break came in a low-budget drama about characters in a Melbourne pawnshop, Pawno (2015), which Hill also wrote. Critics loved the film and Hill’s acting, and Hill was nominated for the AACTA awards for Best Actor and Best Screenplay. His other lead role was in the drama West of Sunshine (2017), where he played a stressed father, trying to keep his job, look after his son, and repay a loan shark by the end of the day.
Films (Australian films in red): Model Behaviour (2013), The Broken Shore (TV Movie) (2013), Fell (2014), Pawno (2015), Broke (2016), Spin Out (2016), The Death and Life of Otto Bloom (2016), The Menkoff Method (2016), West of Sunshine (2017), Slam (2018)
Significant TV Series: Neighbours (2014)
More Information: Damian Hill at IMDb, Damian Hill at Wikipedia, Damian Hill at SMH
Rob Collins
Rob Collins as born and raised in Darwin, and was the national Indigenous representative for the Australasian Performing Right Association(APRA) for three years. Collins first role on screen was in the lead role of the critically-acclaimed Australian TV series Cleverman (2016–17), based on an Aboriginal Dreamtime character. His first feature film was in the Australian thriller Undertow (2018), when he played a major role as the husband of a woman losing touch with reality. He then played in two more Australian feature films, before playing in a big-budget Netflix thriller Extraction in 2020. In 2020, he had one of the main roles in Leah Purcell’s award-winning drama The Drover’s Wife: Legend of Molly Johnson (2021), and in 2023 he played a major role in Ivan Sen’s crime thriller Limbo.
Collins has been even busier on television, appearing 12 Australian TV series since Cleverman, the most important being his roles in The Wrong Girl (2016–17), Glitch (2017–19), Secret City: Under the Eagle (2019), Total Control (2019 (2024), Mystery Road (2020), Queen of Oz (2023), and Ten Pound Poms (2023).
Films (Australian films in red): Undertow (2018), Top End Wedding (2019), Angel of Mine (2019), Extraction (2020), The Drover’s Wife: Legend of Molly Johnson (2021), Limbo (2023)
Significant TV Series: Cleverman (2016–17), The Wrong Girl (2016–17), Glitch (2017–19), Secret City: Under the Eagle (2019), Reef Break (2019), Total Control (2019 (2024), Mystery Road (2020), RFDS (2020), Firebite (2021), Queen of Oz (2023), Ten Pound Poms (2023)
More Information: Rob Collins at IMDb, Rob Collins at Wikipedia
Jacob Elordi
Jacob Elordi was born in 1997 in Brisbane. His first acting role was on the Australian comedy Swinging Safari in 2018. His next role was in the popular Netflix romantic comedy film The Kissing Booth (2018), where he played one of the lead roles as bad boy Noah. The success of this film has led to Elordi playing in two sequels in 2019 and 2021. Elordi also starred in a US horror film The Mortuary Collection (2019), the romantic drama 2 Hearts (2020), and the Paul Hogan’s Australian comedy The Very Excellent Mr. Crocodile Dundee (2020), as well as three more US films in which he had good support roles.
He is also known for his role as Nate in the HBO teen drama series Euphoria.
Films (Australian films in red): Swinging Safari (2018), The Kissing Booth (2018),The Mortuary Collection(2019), 2 Hearts (2020), The Kissing Booth 2 2020), The Very Excellent Mr. Crocodile Dundee (2020), The Kissing Booth 3 (2021), Deep Water (2022), The Sweet East (2023), He Went That Way (2023)
Significant TV Series: Euphoria (2019-22)
More Information: Jacob Elordi at IMDb, Jacob Elordi at Wikipedia
(* Please note: I have also included one who had one very minor role in a very minor film before 2000)
* * *
So there we are – so many great new actors. Good luck to them all for the next ten years.
Obviously I have left some people out, and perhaps I have missed some people who have slipped under my radar. If there is someone else who should be here, please leave a comment below, or send me a message, and I’ll add them here (if they’ve appeared in more than two films). Here are several more who missed my necessarily arbitrary cutoff mark: Adam Demos, Alex O’Loughlin, Alexander Hodge, Dan Spielman, Daniel Frederiksen, Daniel Lissing, Ed Oxenbould, Eka Darville, Felix Mallard, Firass Dirani, Hunter Page-Lochard, Jacob Elordi, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Joel Jackson, Jordan Rodrigues, Jordan Rodrigues, Josh McConville, Joshua Orpin, Lincoln Lewis, Martin Dingle-Wall, Oliver Ackland, Remy Hii, Richard Wilson, Ronald Jacobson, Sebastian Gregory.
Please leave a comment and tell me who your favourite new Australian actors are.
You may also be interested in my other pages on actresses and actors:
Australian Film Actors of the 1990s
Australian Film Actors of the 1980s
Australian Film Actors of the 1970s
20 Australian Film Actors – 1940-1969
New Australian Film Actresses of the 2000s
Australian Film Actresses of the 1990s
Ozflicks 
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