Josef Brown

Josef Brown (born 8 October 1969) is an Australian actor, dancer and choreographer. Brown attended The McDonald College of the Arts and the Australian Ballet School, where he was promoted to soloist in 1994. He joined the Sydney Dance Company in 1997 and appeared in and choreographed various productions. Brown originated the role of Johnny Castle in the stage adaptation of Dirty Dancing. For his portrayal of Johnny, Brown won the Outstanding Performance in a Stage Musical accolade at the 2005 Australian Dance Awards.

In 2010, Brown was cast as Auctus in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. He also appeared in the first series of Dance Academy. In 2012, Brown originated the role of Charlie Redding in An Officer and a Gentleman, The Musical and made a guest appearance in Home and Away. From February 2013 to March 2015, Brown appeared as Matt Turner in the long-running soap opera Neighbours.

Early life Brown was born on 8 October 1969 in Woomera, South Australia. He was raised in a working-class suburb of Sydney by his parents, a secretary and an information technology manager, who later divorced. Brown was an energetic child, who was initially into sports. During his time with the company, dance choreographer Graeme Murphy created many roles for Brown, including; John the Baptist in Salome (1998), Zeus in Mythologia (2000) and the Swan Silver duet for Tivoli (2001).

Brown went with the Sydney Dance Company on its American tour of Ellipse in February 2004 and shared the lead role of Dorian in Shades of Gray with Joshua Consandine. He told Sharon Verghis from The Sydney Morning Herald that the parting was amicable, although Murphy and associate director Janet Vernon had been "a little shocked and sad" when they were told the news. Brown stated "I left on very good terms with the SDC. Graeme and I have gotten along well – we've had our ups and downs, of course, conflict, but that's part of the creative process." Brown continued to play the role of Johnny throughout the production's run in New Zealand, Germany, London's West End and the pre-Broadway tour in the United States.

2010–present On 6 August 2010, a staff writer from AfterElton reported that Brown had been cast in the role of gladiator Auctus in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Auctus was introduced as a love interest for Barca (played by Antonio Te Maioha). Brown choreographed Joana Weinberg's musical Every Single Saturday, which premiered in February 2012. He also played Lord Capulet in the Australian Ballet's Romeo and Juliet. The production ran for six weeks. On 4 November 2012, it was announced that Brown had joined the cast of the long-running soap opera Neighbours, as Sergeant Matt Turner. Matt arrived in Erinsborough with his wife and three children and Brown commented "It's a great family and a little bit different." The actor began filming his scenes at the serial's Melbourne studios in October. He reprised the role for one episode in August 2016. Brown made another guest appearance in Home and Away in 2019 as Dr. Mike. Brown has a supporting role as Bryce Anderson in the 2021 feature film Buckley's Chance.

Personal life Brown is married to fellow dancer, Katherine Griffiths. The couple have two children.

Filmography