- For the Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, see Bryan D. Brown.
| Bryan Brown | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | June 23 1947 Sydney, New South Wales, |
|||||
| Years active | 1964 - present | |||||
| Spouse(s) | Rachel Ward (m.1983) | |||||
|
||||||
Bryan Brown AM (born June 23 1947 in Sydney) is an Australian actor. Bryan grew up in the south-western Sydney suburb of Panania. He began working in insurance as an actuarial student and started to act in amateur theatre performances. There he discovered his passion for acting. In 1964 Brown went to England, eventually winning minor roles at the Old Vic, and later returned to Australia where he became a member of the Genesian Theatre (Sydney), appearing in Colleen Clifford's production of 'A Man for All Seasons', and later joined the Queensland Theatre Company. He made his first appearance in cinema in 1977, with a small role in The Love Letters From Teralba Road. During the next two years he played in several more Australian films. In 1980, Brown became known to the international audiences for his performance in Breaker Morant. Although he went on playing roles in Australian productions for several years more, he appeared also in American TV mini-series, after winning popularity in the United States in A Town Like Alice (1981). For The Thorn Birds (1983), starring Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward, he was nominated for an Emmy. Several years later he starred in several films which had international success, like Tai-Pan, with Joan Chen, Gorillas in the Mist, with Sigourney Weaver, and Cocktail, with Tom Cruise. In the 1990s and more recently, Brown went on appearing in American and Australian TV productions and occasionally also in movies. He has also appeared in British TV commercials. He has been married to actress Rachel Ward since 1983. He met her while shooting the TV miniseries The Thorn Birds in the same year. Rachel and Bryan have three children, Rosie, Matilda and Joe. Bryan Brown's production company made the series Twisted Tales & Two Twisted; both are similar to Alfred Hitchock Presents. The second series had a unique twist in that both episodes were connected in some way and the audience had to try and spot how. He is one of the rare Australian actors who rarely changes his accent for a role. In fact, Tai-Pan is the only film he appears in which he does not play an Australian.
Selected filmography
- Newsfront - 1978
- Palm Beach - 1979
- Breaker Morant - 1980
- Winter of our Dreams - 1982
- The Thorn Birds - 1983
- Give My Regards To Broad Street - 1984
- Kim - 1984
- Far East - 1985
- Tai-Pan - 1986
- F/X - 1986
- Gorillas in the Mist - 1988
- Blood Oath (a.k.a. Prisoners of the Sun) - 1990
- Cocktail - 1988
- F/X2 - 1991
- Two Hands - 1999
- Grizzly Falls - 1999
- Dirty Deeds - 2002
- Along Came Polly - 2004
- Australia - 2008
Television
- Against the Wind (TV series) - 1978
- A Town Like Alice - 1981
- The Thorn Birds - 1983
- The Wanderer - 1994
- Full Body Massage - 2005 (made for cable film)
- The Shiralee - 1987
- Two Twisted - 2006
- Joanne Lees - Murder in the Outback - 2007 (Tele-Movie)
External links
- Bryan Brown at the Internet Movie Database
- Bryan Brown - Australian Film Commission
- Bryan Brown at the National Film and Sound Archive
- Bryan Brown's Official Website - New Town Films


