Richard Huggett

Richard Huggett (born 3 December 1965) is an Australian film, television and theatre actor. After graduating from NIDA in 1988, Huggett guested in an episode of Home and Away, before he was cast as villain Sonny Bennett in E Street. Huggett's character killed four of the show's regulars, before taking his own life, bringing in strong ratings for the soap. Huggett went on to win the Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent in 1991 for his portrayal of Sonny. Huggett next played Glen Donnelly in another soap Neighbours from 1990 until 1992. He only stayed for a year, as he wanted more to pursue more demanding roles. In 1994, Huggett joined short-lived soap Paradise Beach as Sam Dexter and police drama Blue Heelers as supporting character Sean Neale. He has also made guest appearances in various television shows, including Col'n Carpenter, All Saints and Out of the Blue. He appeared in the Australian film Aiyai: Wrathful Soul in 2020 and re-joined the cast of Neighbours as Glen in 2021. In addition to his television and film work, Huggett has also appeared in a number of theatre productions.

Early life Huggett's parents emigrated to Australia from London, UK. He was born in Brisbane and holds dual Australian and British nationally.

Huggett attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). He appeared in a number of theatre productions as part of the graduating classes, including The Screens by Jean Genet and Fifth of July by Lanford Wilson.

Career Huggett appeared in Home and Away in 1989. Followed by a 50-word guest role in an early episode of E Street. The soap's creator Forrest Redlich spotted Huggett in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and later cast him in the main role of villain Sonny Bennett. Sonny was introduced as the "bad seed" brother of Lisa Bennett (played by Alyssa-Jane Cook) at a time when the storylines were becoming darker in order to keep the show's male audience interested. Sonny had been to prison for robbery, took drugs, and tried to kill Constable Max Simmons (Bruce Samazan). In his final months, Sonny killed four main characters and then himself, which was a critical and ratings success for E Street. He also received a nomination for the Logie Award for Most Popular Actor in Australia.

Following his departure from E Street, Huggett joined the cast of Neighbours as Glen Donnelly, the illegitimate son of Jim Robinson (Alan Dale). Huggett had to relocate from Sydney to Melbourne for the role, which negatively impacted his personal life. He was branded the show's new "heart-throb" by the press. In September 1991, Chrissie Camp of TV Week confirmed that Huggett had decided to quit Neighbours and not renew his one-year contract, which ran out in November. Huggett stated that a year was enough and, while he enjoyed playing Glen, he wanted more demanding roles.

While he was appearing in Neighbours, Huggett made a guest appearance in an episode of Col'n Carpenter. Huggett later admitted that he was not comfortable with the level of fame he received from his two biggest roles. The day after he finished up on Neighbours, Huggett and his long-term partner Myriam Loda left Australia for Europe and the Middle East. Upon returning home, Huggett struggled to find acting work and they went to the UK. and the pantomime Sleeping Beauty in Leeds in December 1992. Huggett and Loda married in January 1993 and returned to Australia in November that same year.

Huggett later chose to step back from his acting career and he became a shearer in New South Wales. He appeared in All Saints in the early 2000s, Huggett had a supporting role in Home and Away in 2012, as Gary Reed. In 2017, Huggett had a small guest role in the Nine Network miniseries House of Bond. Two years later, Huggett appeared in the Australian mystery thriller film Aiyai: Wrathful Soul.

Huggett re-joined the cast of Neighbours in 2021. He told Fiona Byrne of the Herald Sun that it felt like he was coming home and he was looking forward to "the twists and turns ahead" for Glen. Huggett confirmed that he had been attending auditions for new roles and planning his move back to Brisbane.

Filmography + Film performances Year Title Role Notes 1989 Slipstream Emery 1997 Mr. Nice Guy Giancarlo's Man 1998 Babe: Pig in the City Cop 2003 Spoon Man Stranger in Bar Short film 2007 Gabriel Max 2008 Bella Sandman Short film 2015 Infini Montoli 2020 Aiyai: Wrathful Soul Albert Fisher

+ Television performances Year Title Role Notes 1989 E Street Gil Episode: "An Ounce of Prevention, Part 1" 1989 Home and Away Chas Guest role 1990–1991 E Street Sonny Bennett Main cast 1990–1992, 2021–2022 Neighbours Glen Donnelly Main cast 1991 Col'n Carpenter Fantasy Man Episode: "The Sacred Blurr" 1993 Paradise Beach Sam Dexter Main cast 1994 Blue Heelers Sean Neale Recurring role 1995 The Ferals Scott Scotman Episode: "Feral TV" 1998 Murder Call Peter Delaney Episode: "Fatal Charm" 2002 All Saints Murray McAllister Episode: "Swept Away" 2005 All Saints Greg Cato Episode: "Life's Lottery" 2008 Out of the Blue Jeremy Piper Episode: "Blood Alley" 2009 Rescue: Special Ops Steve Episode: "Building Site" 2010 The Pacific Major Coyle Episode: "Peleliu Airfield" 2012 Home and Away Gary Reed Recurring role 2017 House of Bond Maitre'd Miniseries 2023 NCIS: Sydney Asessor Guest role

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