Damon Herriman

Damon Herriman (born 31 March 1970) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Dewey Crowe on the FX neo-western crime series Justified (2010–15), and Romeo on the Starz drama miniseries Flesh and Bone. He is also known for having played cult leader Charles Manson twice, first on the second season of the Netflix psychological crime thriller series Mindhunter, and later in the comedy drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (both 2019).

Herriman won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as Punch in the black comedy film Judy and Punch (2019), and was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as Ruse in the historical psychological thriller film The Nightingale (2018).

Early life and education Herriman was born in Adelaide, South Australia to parents Noel and Margaret. When he was three, the family relocated to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory for five years, when his father, an insurance manager, was transferred for work.

Herriman's father, recognising his son's acting potential, wrote to director Peter Weir (the 'most famous person he could think of') and Weir wrote back, suggesting he sign with an agent. Soon thereafter, Herriman began appearing in TV commercials. On a trip to Melbourne, the pair visited several production houses to try to secure an audition for Herriman. and For The Term of His Natural Life (1983), an adaptation of Marcus Clarke's 1894 novel, featuring Colin Friels. He also had a role in Grundy's soap opera Taurus Rising. before being cast as Mark Jorgensen, the bespectacled best friend of Ben Mendelsohn's Danny Clark in his first feature, the Australian cult comedy classic The Big Steal (1990).

When his appearance in The Big Steal didn't lead to further film work, Herriman began scripts and plays, including Soar. He took his play to newly-formed theatre group, Tamarama Rock Surfers, gaining the attention of other creative up-and-comers including Joel and Nash Edgerton. Intent on acting and writing full time, he quit his insurance job at the age of 27 and made two short films, the Tropfest finalists They and The Date.

Over the next couple of years, Herriman had guest roles in American and Australian series alike, including The Loop, Cold Case, Chandon Pictures, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Satisfaction, Offspring and Rake.

Herriman then landed his breakthrough role as redneck Dewey Crowe in crime drama series Justified in 2010, going on to work on the show for six years.

In 2012, Herriman co-starred as Reg in Australian comedy-horror film 100 Bloody Acres alongside Angus Sampson before taking on another recurring role as hitman Mr. Jones on the CBS crime series Vegas. He also appeared as Ray, a member of the Cavendish gang in Gore Verbinski's 2013 film The Lone Ranger, opposite Johnny Depp.

In demand back in Australia, Herriman played the main role of titular bushranger in 2013 ABC telemovie, The Outlaw Michael Howe. That same year, he was also a performer and contributing writer on the ABC sketch comedy series The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting. In 2014, he had a main role in Josh Lawson's debut feature The Little Death. He also played music executive Chris Murphy in biographical miniseries INXS: Never Tear Us Apart

In 2015, Herriman appeared in the CBS series Battle Creek, played the homeless Romeo in Starz miniseries Flesh and Bone and also the violent hitman Buddy in the first season of the HBO/Cinemax series, Quarry. In 2016, he appeared in Australian feature film Down Under winning an AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama for his portrayal. He also played a role in 2018 Australian film, The Nightingale.

2019 saw Herriman play Charles Manson twice, beginning with an episode of crime series Mindhunter, followed by Quentin Tarantino's feature film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, with Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie. Nicholas Hammond (Freidrich from The Sound of Music) who was also appearing in the film, had previously played Herriman's father in a stage production of Lost in Yonkers in 1992. When he learned that Herriman was playing Manson in Mindhunter, he put forth his name for the role of the cult leader in the film. After seeing Herrimann's name written down, Timothy Olyphant, who'd played opposite him in Justified also recommended him to Tarantino, leading to an audition that secured Herriman the role.

Herriman had several other roles in 2019, including playing Paul Allen Brown in Steven Conrad's neo-noir thriller series Perpetual Grace, LTD, opposite Ben Kingsley. He appeared as a menacing priest in Australian drama series Lambs of God and had a role in climate change drama series The Commons. He also featured in Netflix crime miniseries The Serpent as a boozy Australian diplomat, voiced the claymation character 'Street Hustler Boy' in stop-motion series Ultra City Smiths and played against type, as a 'nice guy' in historical miniseries The Underground Railroad, based on the book of the same name. The following year, he played Captain Gaines in Disney+ series The Artful Dodger, a series designed aa a sequel to Oliver Twist, following the titular character as he adjusts to his new life as a surgeon in Australia. He also had a supporting role in Australian psychological horror Run Rabbit Run, opposite Sarah Snook and played Brucie in American crime drama film The Bikeriders with Austin Butler and Tom Hardy.

In 2024, Herriman played British band manager Nigel Martin-Smith in Robbie Williams biopic Better Man and Roger in Australian drama film How to Make Gravy, inspired by the song by Paul Kelly. The following year he had a supporting role in the body-horror film Together, with Dave Franco and Alison Brie. He then starred in Australian director Dario Russo's 2025 debut feature The Fox, together with Jai Courtney, Emily Browning, and featuring the voices of Sam Neill and Olivia Colman. That same year he joined the main cast of American horror-comedy series The Bondsman, alongside Kevin Bacon, playing the role of crime mogul Lucky Callahan.

In 2026, Herriman, together with Richard Roxburgh and Toby Schmitz embarked on a national Australian tour of Yasmina Reza's comic play Art, playing the role of Serge.

Herriman is due to appear in upcoming American action thriller film Subversion, alongside Chris Hemsworth, Lily James, Michael Peña, David Wenham and Teresa Palmer.

Herriman has also made acting appearances in music videos for Bernard Fanning's “Wasting Time” (2016)

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes Ref. 1979 Pesticides: Friend or Foe Performer Short film (documentary) 1986 Push Start TV film 1989 Police State Parker's Son TV film 1990 Call Me Mr. Brown Bowser Boy TV film The Big Steal Mark Jorgensen 1998They Five Short film Meteorites! Nick TV film Praise Skinhead 2001 South Pacific Professor TV film The Hitch Hitchhiker Short film2003 Ned Steve Hart / Orderly Fuel The Attendant Short film2004 Soar Jack Short film Chipman Chipman Short film Post 1st AD Short film Sold Out Voice/Commentary Short film2005 A Family Legacy Australian Commentary Short film Son of the Mask Animagine Employee House of Wax Lester Sinclair 2006 Candy Roger Moylan Fainting Your Way to the Top The Presenter Short film Can I Call You Julian Short film 2007 Lens Love Story Len Short film 2008 Bella Short film Redbelt Official at Arena The Square Eddie Winged Creatures TV Minister Released as Fragments on DVD 2009 The News Daniel Short film Lost & Found Anthony Eckel TV film 2010 Shock Radio Announcer Short film Call Centre Hugo Short film 2011 Commercialisms Director Short film Monkeys Bartender Short film Pet Daniel Short film J. Edgar Bruno Hauptmann The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg Curtis Preest 2012 100 Bloody Acres Reg Morgan Rabbit Dentist Short film 2013 The Lone Ranger Ray Wishart Andy Wishart Short film Record Jamie Short film The Broken Shore Jamie Bourgoyne TV film The Outlaw Michael Howe Michael Howe TV film 2014 Smithston Mr Jones Short film The Water Diviner Father McIntyre Son of a Gun Wilson The Little Death Dan 2016 Down Under Jason The Eleven O’Clock Nathan Klein Short film 2018 The Nightingale Ruse Riot Lance Gowland TV film 2019 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Charles Manson Judy and Punch Punch 2021 Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway Tom Kitten (voice) Mortal Kombat Kabal (voice) 2022 Nude Tuesday Bruno/husband Monolith Voice 2023 Run Rabbit Run Peter The Portable Door Monty Smith-Gregg The Bikeriders Brucie 2024 Better Man Nigel Martin-Smith How to Make Gravy Roger 2025 Together Jamie The Fox Derek Directed by Dario Russo; premiered on 19 October 2025 at the Adelaide Film Festival 2026 Mortal Kombat II Quan Chi Post-production

Television Year Title Role NotesRef. 1976 The Sullivans Frank Errol 1981 The Patchwork Hero Hardy Jamieson 6 episodes 1982 Taurus Rising Phil Drysdale Sara Dane David Miniseries - 3 episodes 1983 For the Term of His Natural Life Blinker Miniseries - 1 episode 1984 Carson's Law Jimmy 2 episodes 1987 Camera Script episode "Second Star On The Right" 1988 The Flying Doctors Tod White 2 episodes 1989 E Street Dean ‘Dino’ Connors 2 episodes 1990 Elly & Jools Liam O'Farrell Miniseries - 12 episodes 1991 The Miraculous Mellops Felix 3 episodes Brides of Christ Grant Miniseries - 1 episode 1998 Murder Call Lindsay Cramer Season 2, episodes 10-11: “Deadline“ (parts 1 & 2) 1998–1999 All Saints Danny Bucknell 2 episodes 2001 Flat Chat Unknown Episode: "The Old Flame" Water Rats Todd Grierson / Gerry Bourke 4 episodes 2004 Stingers Dale Kemp Episode: "The Weakest Link" The Cooks Nigel Episode: "Beef with You" 2006 Love My Way George Wagstaffe 18 episodes The Unit Sgt. Parker Episode: "Old Home Week" Stupid, Stupid Man Pippy Episode: "The Cobra" 2007 The Loop Harald Juvlunktinston Episode: "The Windows" 2008 Cold Case John Smith Episode: "The Road" 2009 Chandon Pictures Scotty Cornish Episode: "Rockstar" 2010 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Dwayne Simmons Episode: "Wild Life" Satisfaction Dominic Episode: "Bug Crush" Offspring Boyd Carlisle 3 episodes Rake Detective Maraco 2 episodes 2010–2015 Justified Dewey Crowe 22 episodes 2011 Breaking Bad Scary Skell Episode: "Cornered" Wilfred Jesse Episode: "Fear" 2012 Laid Marcus Dwyer 6 episodes The Strange Calls Adrian Miniseries - Episode: "Roots" 2012–2013 Vegas Mr. Jones 4 episodes 2013 The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting Various characters Miniseries - 6 episodes Almost Human Lucas Vincent impersonator Episode: "Are You Receiving?" 2014 INXS: Never Tear Us Apart Chris Murphy 2 episodes 2015 Battle Creek Detective Niblet 9 episodes Flesh and Bone Romeo Miniseries - 8 episodes Scorpion Gleason Episode: "US vs. UN vs. UK" 2016 No Activity Bernie 5 episodes Quarry Buddy 8 episodes Secret City Kim Gordon 6 episodes 2016–2017 Incorporated Jonathan Hendrick 9 episodes 2017 Top of the Lake: China Girl Toni Bolloti Episode: "Surrogate" 2018 Squinters Miles 4 episodes 2018–2021 Mr Inbetween Freddy Main cast 2019 Perpetual Grace, LTD Paul Allen Brown Main cast Lambs of God Father Bob Miniseries - 2 episodes Mindhunter Charles Manson Episode #2.5 The Commons Ben Childers 3 episodes 2021 The Serpent Laver Miniseries - 3 episodes The Underground Railroad Martin Miniseries - 2 episodes Ultra City Smiths Various Characters 6 episodes2022 The Tourist Detective Inspector Lachlan Rogers Miniseries - 5 episodes Thai Cave Rescue Doctor Craig Challen Netflix limited series 2023 The Artful Dodger Captain Gaines 8 episodes 2025 The Bondsman Lucky Callahan Main Cast

Music video appearances Year Title Artist Role Ref. 2015 "Raining Gold" ARO (Aimee Osbourne) 2016 “Wasting Time” Bernard Fanning Wayne, Gary & Terry 2020 “Unreal” Julia Stone Self

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