Colin Friels
Colin Friels | |
---|---|
Born | Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland | 25 September 1952
Education | National Institute of Dramatic Art (BFA) |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1976–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Colin Friels (born 25 September 1952) is a Scottish-born Australian actor of theatre, TV, film and presenter.
Early life
Friels was born in
Career
Friels career began with work mostly in theatre and television. In 1980, Friels was a presenter on the Australian version of
His first appearance in a released film was in Hoodwink (1981), alongside his future wife, Judy Davis.[6]
In 1986, he played the title role in
From 1996 to 1999, he played Frank Holloway on
Since 2003, Friels has appeared as the main character in the
In 2021, Friels appeared as Jack Ramsay in the second season of the ABC series Total Control, a Coalition MP facing off against independent candidate Alex Irving.
Personal life
Friels has been married to actress Judy Davis since 1984; the couple have two children, Jack and Charlotte. Their relationship was briefly in the media when an argument led to a domestic violence court order against Friels: however, they remained together.[9]
In late 1997, Friels was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. However, his treatment was successful, and he is one of the very few sufferers of this disease to go into long-term remission.[1] During his treatment he continued to work on the set of Water Rats, until eventually the impact of the chemotherapy stopped him working, and he chose to have his character written out of the series by sending him on a sailing journey around the world. At this time, however, he also continued his stage work, and was performing in Sydney Theatre Company's Macbeth.
Political views
Friels believes that social and political awareness comes with acting, and is known for his engagement in policy debates, including industrial issues such as workplace relations and free trade.
Filmography
Film
- Big Toys (TV movie) (1980)
- Hoodwink (1981) – Robert
- Monkey Grip (1982) – Javo
- Prisoners (1982) - Nick
- Buddies (1983) – Mike
- The Coolangatta Gold (aka The Gold & the Glory) (1984) – Adam Lucas
- The Man in the Iron Mask(animated) (1985) - Phillipe (voice)
- Kangaroo (1986) – Richard Somers
- Malcolm (1986) – Malcolm Hughes
- Ground Zero (1987) – Harvey Denton
- Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train (1988) - The Man
- Grievous Bodily Harm (1988) - Tom Stewart
- High Tide (1988) – Mick
- Darkman (1990) – Louis Strack Jr
- Weekend with Kate (1990) – Richard Muir
- Class Action (1991) – Michael Grazier
- Dingo (1992) – John ‘Dingo’ Anderson
- The Last Man Hanged (1992) - Ronald Ryan
- The Nostradamus Kid (1993) - American Preacher
- The Burning Piano: A Portrait of Patrick White (TV movie) (1993)
- A Good Man in Africa(1994) – Morgan Leafy
- Angel Baby (1995) – Morris
- Back of Beyond (1995) - Connor
- Cosi (1996) – Errol Grier
- Mr. Reliable (aka My Entire Life) (1996) – Wally Mellish
- Dark City (1998) – Eddie Walenski
- Marriage Acts (TV movie) (2000) - David McKinnon
- The Man Who Sued God (2001) – David Myers
- My Husband, My Killer (TV movie) (2001) - Bob Inkster
- Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story (TV movie) (2001) - George Temple
- Black and White (2002) – Father Tom Dixon
- Temptation (TV movie) (2003) - Robert Francobelli
- Max’s Dreaming (2003) - Mark Bryce
- BlackJack(2003-2007) – Jack Kempson
- The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004) - Nick Gurdin
- Tom White (2004) – Tom White
- The Illustrated Family Doctor (2005) - Ray Gill
- Solo (2006) - Jack Barrett
- The Book of Revelation (2006) - Olsen
- Bom Bali (documentary film) (2006) - Narrator
- The Informant (TV movie) (2008) – Doug Lamont
- Australia: Land of Parrots (documentary film) (2008) - Narrator
- Blind Company (2009) - Geoff Brewster
- Matching Jack (2010) - Professor Nelson
- The Nothing Men (2010) - Jack Simpson
- Tomorrow, When The War Began (2010) - Dr Clements
- A Heartbeat Away (2011) - Mayor Riddick
- Ned’s Head (TV movie) (2011) - Narrator
- The Eye of the Storm (2011) – Athol Shreve
- The Man Who Jumped (2011) - Narrator
- Mabo (documentary film) (2012) - Justice Moynihan
- Jack Irish: Bad Debts (2012) - Garth Bruce
- The Turning (Segment: Ash Wednesday) (2013) - Narrator
- Schapelle(2013) - Mick Corby
- Interceptor (2022) - Frank Collins
Short films
- The Cavity Caper (1979)
- Distinguished Guests (1983) - Christopher
- Lest We Forget (2010) - Sam
- Sweat (2013) - Ramon, the farmer
- The Crossing (2016) - The Captain
- Snared (2017)
- Fences (2022)- the farmer
Television
- Play School (1980-81) - Presenter
- For the Term of His Natural Life (1983) - Rufus Dawes/Richard Devine (3 episodes)
- Police Rescue (1992) – Lew Campbell (1 episode)
- Seven Deadly Sins (Episode: Pride) (miniseries) (1993) - Roger Pascoe (1 episode)
- Stark(1993) – Sly Morgan (3 episodes)
- Halifax f.p. (1995) – Kevin Tait (1 episode)
- Space: Above and Beyond (1995) – Lt. Colonel Fouts (1 episode)
- Water Rats – Frank Holloway (1996-99) (91 episodes)
- The Farm (miniseries) (2001) - Tom Cooper (3 episodes)
- Life at 1 (documentary miniseries) (2006) - Narrator (2 episodes)
- Bastard Boys (2007) – John Coombs
- Air Australia (miniseries) (2007) - Narrator
- Gangs of Oz (2009) – Narrator
- Killing Time (2010) – Lewis Moran (8 episodes)
- Wild Boys (TV series) (2011) - Mad Dog Morgan (1 episode)
- Sydney Sailboat aka Bubble Bath Bay (2015) - Terry the Tug (voice)
- Go Back to Where You Came From (2015) - Narrator (3 episodes)
- Changed Forever:The Making of Australia (miniseries) (2016) - Narrator
- DNA Nation (2016) - Narrator (3 episodes)
- The Secret Daughter (2016) - Jack Norton
- First Contact (2016) - Narrator (3 episodes)
- Filthy Rich and Homeless (2017-20) - Narrator
- Mystery Road (2018) – Tony Ballantyne (6 episodes)
- Total Control (2019) - Jack Ramsay MP (6 episodes)
- Wakefield (miniseries) (2021) - Baz Madden (1 episode)
- Pieces of Her (2022) - Older Eli Wexler
- Underbelly: Vanishing Act (miniseries) (2022) - George K
Theatre
- Macbeth (1977) - Macduff (STCSA)
- Annie Get Your Gun (1977) (STCSA)
- Henry IV, Part 1 & Henry IV, Part 2 (1978) - Poins (STCSA)
- A Manual of Trench Warfare (1978) - Barry Moon (STCSA / Seymour Centre)
- The Les Darcy Show (1978) - Les Darcy (STCSA)
- Cedoona (1978) (STCSA)
- Cymbeline (1978) - Cloten (STCSA)
- The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1979) (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Oresteia (1980) - Orestes (Nimrod)
- Hamlet (1981) - Hamlet (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Inside the Island (1980) (Nimrod)
- The Man from Mukinupin (1981) - Harry / Jack (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Butterflies of Kalimantan (1982) (Women in Arts Festival)
- King Lear (1984) - Edmund (Nimrod)
- Il Magnifico (1985) - Lorenzo Medici (Nimrod)
- Sweet Bird of Youth (1985) - Chance Wayne (Davis Morley, Harold Pinter Productions)
- The Winter’s Tale (1987) - Leontes (Nimrod)
- Orphans (1988) - Treat (Gary Penny Productions)
- The Cherry Orchard (1991) - Lapakhin (Queensland Theatre)
- Shadow & Splendour (1992) - Viktor Sager (Queensland Theatre)
- The Temple (1994) - Laurie Blake (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Macbeth (1994)- Macduff (Sydney Theatre Company)
- The Incorruptible (1995) - Ion Stafford (Playbox)
- Macbeth (1999) - Macbeth (Sydney Theatre Company)
- The School for Scandal (2001) - Sir Peter Teazle (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Dom Juan (2001) - (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Copenhagen (2002) - Heisenberg (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Victory (2004) - Charles II (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Zebra (2011) - Larry (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Red (2012) - Mark Rothko (Melbourne Theatre Company)
- Death of a Salesman (2012) - Willy Loman (Belvoir)
- Red (2013) - Mark Rothko (Queensland Theatre)
- Moving Parts (2013) - Sean (Revolver)
- Endgame (2015) - Hamm (Melbourne Theatre Company)
- Mortido (2015) - Detective Grubbe (Belvoir)
- Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (2015) - Roo (STCSA)
- Skylight (2016) - Tom Sergeant (Melbourne Theatre Company)
- Faith Healer (2016) - Francis Hardy (Belvoir)
- Dance of Death (2016) - Edgar (Belvoir / STCSA)
- Scaramouche Jones (2018) - Scaramouche Jones (Arts Centre Melbourne)
- Life of Galileo (2019) - Galileo Galilei (Belvoir)
- Hedda Gabler - Ejlert Løvborg (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Zastrossi - Zastrossi (Nimrod)
- Miss Julie / The Bear (Nimrod)
- Cloud 9 (Nimrod)
- Volpone (Sydney Theatre Company)
- Traitors - Rubin (Nimrod)
- American Buffalo - Bobby (STCSA)
- Hamlet - Laertes (STCSA)
- Oedipus the King (Part I & II) - Jocasta (STCSA)
- Family Love - The Son (STCSA)
Awards
Australian Film Institute Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Colin Friels | Best Actor in a Lead Role | Won |
1987 | Colin Friels (for Ground Zero) | Nominated | |
1991 | Colin Friels (for Dingo) | Nominated | |
1995 | Colin Friels (for Halifax f.p.: Hard Corps) | Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Drama | Won |
2004 | Colin Friels (for Tom White) | Best Actor in a Lead Role | Nominated |
Film Critics Circle
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Colin Friels (for Tom White) | Best Actor – Male | Won |
2006 | Colin Friels (for Solo) | Nominated | |
Colin Friels (for The Book of Revelation) | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
Helpmann Award
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Colin Friels (for Copenhagen) | Best Male Actor | Won |
Logie Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Colin Friels (for Water Rats) | Most Outstanding Actor | Won |
2000 | Nominated | ||
2022 | Colin Friels (for Wakefield) | Most Outstanding Supporting Actor | Won |
Mo Awards
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Colin Friels won one award in that time.[12]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Colin Friels | Male Actor in a Play | Won |
References
- ^ a b c Interview with Colin Friels, George Negus Tonight (ABC Television), 26 August 2004. http://www.abc.net.au/gnt/profiles/Transcripts/s1186644.htm Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved May 2007.
- ^ Doreian, Robyn (9 July 2018). "Colin Friels: What I know about women". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Colin Friels Biography (1952–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
- ^ "All alumni". National Institute of Dramatic Art. Kensington NSW. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Prisoners". Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. The New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Battiata, Mary (15 May 1987). "Dining out on 'Kangaroo'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Hinson, Hal (1988). Ground Zero (review), Washington Post, 30 September 1987.
- ^ Australian Television Information Archive: Water Rats http://www.australiantelevision.net/water_rats/waterrats.html
- ^ Graeme Webber and Anthony Stavrinos, "Judy Davis takes out violence order against Colin Friels", The Age, 31 October 2002, http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/10/30/1035683474314.html
- ^ Sydney Peace Foundation, Tell Me the Truth About Peace (event), 2005, http://www.spf.arts.usyd.edu.au/events_2005.shtml#TruthAboutPeace, retrieved May 2007.
- ^ Bastard Boys (Biography, Drama), Darren K. Hawkins, Ivan Topic, Lynne McGregor, 13 May 2007, retrieved 6 September 2023
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "MO Award Winners". Mo Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
External links
- Colin Friels at IMDb