Bryan Brown

Bryan Neathway Brown AM (born 23 June 1947) is an Australian actor. He has performed in over eighty film and television projects since the late 1970s, both in his native Australia and abroad. Notable films include Breaker Morant, Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984), F/X (1986), Tai-Pan (1986), Cocktail (1988), Gorillas in the Mist (1988), F/X2 (1991), Along Came Polly (2004), Australia (2008), Kill Me Three Times (2014) and Gods of Egypt (2016). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for his performance in the television miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983).

Early life Brown was born in Panania, a south-western Sydney suburb, the son of salesman John "Jack" Brown and Molly Brown, a pianist in the early days of the Langshaw School of Ballet and a drama student at the Edith Paull Drama School, who also worked as a house cleaner. He grew up with his younger sister, Kristine, in Panania, and began working at AMP as an actuarial student. He started to act in amateur theatre performances, where he discovered a passion for acting.

Career Theatre Brown went to Britain in 1972 and eventually won minor roles at the Old Vic. He returned to Australia and became a member of the Genesian Theatre, Sydney. He appeared in Colleen Clifford's production of A Man for All Seasons, before joining the Queensland Theatre Company in 1975 for a tour of The Rainmaker.

Early films He made his cinema debut in Scobie Malone (1975) as a policeman. He delivered two lines and was listed last in the credits as "Brian Bronn".

In 1977, he had the lead in a short feature, The Love Letters from Teralba Road (1977), which was written and directed by Stephen Wallace.

Brown had small roles in The Irishman (1978), which was directed by Donald Crombie, Weekend of Shadows (1978) from Tom Jeffrey, and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978), which was directed by Fred Schepisi.

He had a bigger part in Newsfront (1978), which was directed by Phillip Noyce, the miniseries Against the Wind (1978), which was directed by Simon Wincer, and Money Movers (1978), which was directed by Bruce Beresford.

Brown had the lead in the low budget film Third Person Plural (1979) from James Ricketson and a key role in Jeffrey's The Odd Angry Shot (1979) and Crombie's Cathy's Child (1979). He played the lead in a short for Wallace, Conman Harry and the Others (1979), and had a leading role in Albie Thoms' Palm Beach (1980).

In 1980, Brown became known to international audiences for his performance in Breaker Morant, directed by Beresford. This was a significant turning point in his career.

Stardom Brown played the leading role in Wallace's Stir (1980). He had starring roles in Blood Money (1980), a thriller, and Winter of Our Dreams (1981), a relationship drama with Judy Davis written and directed by John Duigan.

Brown had a huge international success playing the lead role in the TV miniseries, "A Town Like Alice" (1981), which won popularity in the United States. This co-starred Helen Morse and the two of them were reteamed in Far East (1982), written and directed by Duigan.

Brown had another big success internationally with his role as Luke O'Neil in The Thorn Birds (1983), starring Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward (whom he later married). Brown was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie for his work.

This led to a number of international offers for Brown. He had the lead in a British TV film, Kim (1984) (playing a British agent in Imperial India) and supported Paul McCartney in Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984).

Brown returned to Australia for another miniseries from the makers of Alice, as Peter Lalor in Eureka Stockade (1984).

In the UK, Brown played an Australian hitman in Parker (1984) and he returned home to play Cliff Hardy in The Empty Beach (1985). He supported Matt Dillon and Debra Byrne in Rebel (1985).

US career Brown was given the lead role in the US action film F/X (1986), which was a hit. However Tai-Pan (1986), directed by Daryl Duke from The Thorn Birds, was not a financial success, despite being based on a best seller by James Clavell.

Brown returned to Australia to make The Umbrella Woman (1987) with Ward and then a new version of The Shiralee (1987). He supported Tom Cruise in Cocktail (1988) and Sigourney Weaver in Gorillas in the Mist (1989).

In Australia he played the lead in a World War Two drama, Blood Oath (1990), directed by Wallace and did a romantic comedy based on a story by him and Tony Morphett, Sweet Talker (1991), directed by Mike Jenkins.

In the US he did F/X2 (1991), a sequel to F/X, where he was also executive producer, and the TV film Dead in the Water (1991).

He did a comedy with Dudley Moore, Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), followed by some thrillers: Devlin (1992), The Last Hit (1993), and Age of Treason (1994); in the latter he was a detective in Ancient Rome.

Brown had the lead in a short lived British TV series The Wanderer (1994) and starred in the popular cable film Full Body Massage (1995).

Return to Australia Brown returned to Australia to star in Dead Heart (1996), which he also produced. He produced and starred in Twisted Tales (1996) which led to an anthology TV series. He played Ned Land in the 1997 miniseries 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with Michael Caine, then did a TV film for Ken Russell, Dogboys (1998) and a thriller On the Border (1998). In 1999 Brown starred in the romantic comedy Dear Claudia and had a support role in Two Hands (1999) with Heath Ledger and Rose Byrne.

Brown starred in Grizzly Falls (1999), and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1999). In Australia he had a support role in Risk (2000) and the lead in On the Beach (2000) and Dirty Deeds (2002) which he also produced. He produced a short film by his wife, The Big House (2001). Brown had support roles in Footsteps (2003), Along Came Polly (2004), Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman (2005), Spring Break Shark Attack (2005), and The Poseidon Adventure (2005). He produced a short feature directed by his wife, Martha's New Coat (2005) and made Two Twisted (2005). Back in Australia Brown was in Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback (2007), and Cactus (2008), which he also co produced. He was in Dean Spanley (2008), and had a small role in Australia (2008).

Brown produced and had a small role in Beautiful Kate (2009), directed by his wife. He was in Limbo (2010) and Love Birds (2011) and guest starred on The Good Wife. He had the lead in Better Man (2013) and appeared in An Accidental Soldier (2013) also directed by his wife. He and his daughter did a series of shorts, Lessons from the Grave (2013). He starred in the ghost film The Darkside (2013) and had the lead in a TV series Old School (2013). In 2014 he appeared on stage for the Sydney Theatre Company at the Wharf Theatre with Alison Whyte in David Williamson's play Travelling North.

He was in Kill Me Three Times (2013), Cocktails & Dreams (2015), Deadline Gallipoli (2015), Gods of Egypt (2015), The Light Between Oceans (2016), and Red Dog: True Blue (2016). He had roles in Australia Day (2017), and Sweet Country (2017) and is in Palm Beach directed by his wife, and the 2019 TV series Bloom.

Brown appeared in the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

In June 2024, Brown would return to Darby and Joan (TV series) after the show was renewed for a second series.

Writing His 2021 crime novel, Sweet Jimmy, was published by Allen & Unwin in print and as audio book, narrated by Brown. Sweet Jimmy was highly praised by film historian and author Brian McFarlane, who called it "an extraordinary piece of work". and as audio book, narrated by Brown. Brown published his third book, The Hidden, a crime novel set on the New South Wales North Coast, in 2025.

Production work Brown's production company made the series Twisted Tales and Two Twisted (similar to Alfred Hitchcock Presents). The second series had an additional twist: both stories in each episode were connected in some way, and the audience was invited to try to spot the connection.

Honours and awards Brown was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame in 1989. He received the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Breaker Morant (1980) and for Two Hands (1999). In 2024, Brown was nominated and won a Logie for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Boy Swallows Universe..

In June 2005, Brown was made a Member of the Order of Australia "for service to the community through a range of charitable organisations committed to providing assistance and support to families and young people and to the Australian film and television industry."

The Bryan Brown Theatre & Function Centre in Bankstown, Sydney, was named after him in 2013. He won Longford Lyell Award at the AACTA Awards in 2018.

Personal life When Bryan Brown was first introduced to Rachel Ward on the set of the TV miniseries The Thorn Birds in 1983, he read her palm and predicted she would have three children. They married a few months after filming wrapped. They have three children, including Matilda.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1977 The Love Letters from Teralba Road Len Short film 1978 Third Person Plural Mark Feature film The Irishman Eric Haywood Weekend of Shadows Bennett The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith Shearer Newsfront Geoff Money Movers Brian Jackson 1979 Cathy's Child Paul Nicholson The Odd Angry Shot Rogers 1980 Palm Beach Paul Kite Breaker Morant Peter Handcock Feature filmAACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Stir China Jackson Feature filmNominated for AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Blood Money Brian Shields Feature film 1981 Winter of Our Dreams Rob 1982 Far East Morgan Keefe 1984 Give My Regards to Broad Street Steve Kim Mahbub Ali TV film Parker David Parker Feature film 1985 The Empty Beach Cliff Hardy Rebel Tiger Feature filmNominated for AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role 1986 F/X Roland 'Rollie' Tyler Feature film Tai-Pan Dirk Struan 1987 The Good Wife (aka The Umbrella Woman) Sonny Hills The Shiralee Macauley TV film 1988 Cocktail Doug Coughlin Feature film Gorillas in the Mist Bob Campbell 1990 Blood Oath (aka Prisoners of the Sun) Captain Cooper 1991 Sweet Talker Harry Reynolds Dead in the Water Charlie Deegan TV film F/X2 Rollie Tyler Feature film 1992 Blame It on the Bellboy Mike Lawton / Charlton Black Devlin Frank Devlin TV film 1993 Age of Treason Marcus Didius Falco The Last Hit Michael Grant 1995 Full Body Massage Fitch 1996 Dead Heart Ray Lorkin Feature film 1997 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Ned Land TV film 1998 Dogboys Captain Robert Brown On the Border Barry Montana 1999 Dear Claudia Walter Burton Feature film Two Hands Pando Feature filmAACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Grizzly Falls Tyrone Bankston Feature film 2000 On the Beach Julian Osborne TV film 2001 Risk John Kriesky Feature film Mullet Publican (voice) Styx Art 2002 Dirty Deeds Barry Ryan Feature film 2003 Footsteps Eddie Bruno TV film 2004 Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman Hal Thorne Along Came Polly Leland Van Lew Feature film 2005 Spring Break Shark Attack Joel Gately TV film The Poseidon Adventure Jeffrey Eric Anderson 2006 Two Twisted Detective Vincent Westler 2007 Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback Rex Wild QC 2008 Dean Spanley Wrather Feature film Cactus Rosco Australia King Carney 2009 Beautiful Kate Bruce Kendall Feature filmNominated for AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role 2010 Limbo Daniel Feature film 2011 Love Birds Dr Buster 2013 An Accidental Soldier Captain Foster TV film 2014 Kill Me Three Times Bruce Jones Feature film 2016 The Light Between Oceans Septimus Potts Gods of Egypt Osiris Red Dog: True Blue Grandpa 2017 Sweet Country Sergeant Fletcher Australia Day Terry Friedman 2018 Peter Rabbit Mr Rabbit (voice) 2019 Palm Beach Frank Feature film (also producer) 2023 Anyone but You Roger Feature film 2025 The Travellers Fred

Television Year Title Role Notes 1978 Against the Wind Michael Connor TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1981 A Town Like Alice Joe Harmon TV miniseries, 3 episodes 1983 The Thorn Birds Luke O'Neill TV miniseries, 3 episodesNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television FilmNominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie 1984 Eureka Stockade Peter Lalor TV miniseries, 3 episodes 1994 The Wanderer Adam TV series, 13 episodes 1996 Twisted Tales Jack Johnson TV series, episode: "The Confident Man" 1999 Journey to the Center of the Earth Casper Hastings TV miniseries, 2 episodes 2012 The Good Wife Jack Copeland TV series, 2 episodes 2013 Better Man Lex Lasry TV miniseries, 4 episodes 2014 Old School Lennie Cahill TV series, 8 episodes 2015 Let's Talk About TV series 2019 Halal Gurls Gordon ABC iView 2019–2020 Bloom Ray Reed TV series, 12 episodes 2020 Hungry Ghosts Neil Stockton TV series 2021 The Moth Effect Ted TV series, 2 episodes 2022–2025 Darby and Joan Jack Darby TV series, 8 episodes 2023 Caught Warren Whistle 2024 Boy Swallows Universe Slim Halliday TV miniseries, 7 episodes