Colin Friels
Encyclopedia
Background and training
Friels was born in KilwinningKilwinning
Kilwinning is a historic town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is known as The Crossroads of Ayrshire. The 2001 Census recorded it as having a population of 15,908.-History:...
, Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, Scotland. His mother was a mill worker and his father a joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
. He lived in Kilbirnie
Kilbirnie
Kilbirnie is a small town of 7280 inhabitants situated in North Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland...
until 1963, when his family moved to Australia, arriving in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Northern Territory before settling in the Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows
Broadmeadows, Victoria
Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume...
. He worked as a bricklayer's labourer before studying at the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. It is supported by the federal Office for the Arts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. NIDA is located adjacent...
(NIDA), alongside actors such as Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, and his future wife Judy Davis
Judy Davis
Judy Davis is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Husbands and Wives, Barton Fink, A Passage to India and in the TV miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows....
. Friels graduated from NIDA in 1976.
Acting career
Friels career began with work mostly in theatre and television. In 1980 Friels was a presenter on the long-running children's series Play SchoolPlay School (Australian TV series)
Play School is an Australian educational television show for children produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is the longest-running children's show in Australia, and the second longest running childrens show in the world. An estimated 80% of pre-school children under six watch the...
. His first film role was in the unreleased Prisoners (1981), starring with Tatum O'Neal
Tatum O'Neal
Tatum Beatrice O'Neal is an American actress best known for her film work as a child actress in the 1970s. She is the youngest to win a competitive Academy Award, at the age of 10, which she won for her performance as Addie Loggins in Paper Moon opposite her father Ryan O'Neal...
. The film was allegedly so bad that Tatum's father Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O'Neal
Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
purchased the rights to the film to prevent it from ever screening. His first actual appearance in film was in Monkey Grip (1982), an adaptation of a novel by Helen Garner
Helen Garner
Helen Garner is an award-winning Australian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist.-Life:Garner was born in Geelong, Victoria, the eldest of six children. She attended Manifold Heights State School, Ocean Grove State School and then The Hermitage in Geelong...
, where he starred alongside Noni Hazlehurst.
In 1986, he played the title role in Malcolm
Malcolm (film)
Malcolm is a 1986 Australian cult film, written by David Parker and directed by Nadia Tass. The film stars Colin Friels as the titular tram enthusiast who becomes involved with petty crime. The film won the 1986 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film.At the start of the film Malcolm is...
, about a shy mechanical genius, for which he was awarded the 1986 AFI Award
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
for Best Actor
Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
The AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role is an award in the annual AACTA Awards, presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts...
. Friels was also nominated for the Best Actor award the following year, for his role in Ground Zero
Ground Zero (1987 film)
Ground Zero is an Australian drama-thriller about a cinematographer who, prompted by curiosity about some old film footage taken by his father, embarks on a quest to find out the truth about British nuclear tests at Maralinga...
, but did not win: the film receiving mixed reviews, with one describing him as "a proficient enough actor, but...miscast". Friels later won another AFI Award
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
in 1995 for his starring role in the 1994 Halifax f.p.
Halifax f.p.
Halifax f.p. is an Australian television drama series produced by Nine Network from 1994 to 2001. The series stars Rebecca Gibney as Doctor Jane Halifax, a forensic psychiatrist investigating cases involving the mental state of suspects or victims...
telemovie Hard Corps. Friels has played a wide range of other roles. He was a megalomaniacal corporate executive in the 1990 feature film Darkman
Darkman
Darkman is a 1990 superhero action film directed by Sam Raimi. It is based on a short story Raimi wrote that paid homage to Universal's horror films of the 1930s...
.
From 1996 to 1999, he played Frank Holloway on Water Rats
Water Rats (TV series)
Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney...
, a role which won him the Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
for Most Outstanding Actor at the 1997 awards
Logie Awards of 1997
The 39th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Sunday 18 May 1997 at Crown Casino in Melbourne and broadcast on the Nine Network. Daryl Somers from Hey Hey It's Saturday was the Master of Ceremonies for the second year in a row...
. In his acceptance speech he said "I'm very flattered for this and it's all rather silly, isn't it? So, thank you very much."
Since 2003, Friels has appeared as the main character in the BlackJack
BlackJack (telemovie)
BlackJack is a series of Australian television movies created by Shaun Micallef and Gary McCaffrie, and starring Colin Friels. The movies began airing on Network Ten in 2003 and concluded in 2007. They were shown in the United Kingdom on the BBC and UKTV Drama.After blowing the whistle on his...
series of telemovies.
Personal life and views
In late 1997, Friels was diagnosed with pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
. However, his treatment was successful and he is one of the very few victims of this disease to go into long-term remission. During his treatment he even continued to work on the set of Water Rats, until eventually the impact of the chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
stopped him from 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
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
.
Friels has been married to actress Judy Davis
Judy Davis
Judy Davis is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Husbands and Wives, Barton Fink, A Passage to India and in the TV miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows....
since 1984, and they have two children, Jack and Charlotte. They were briefly separated, but later reconciled. The relationship was briefly in the media when an argument led to a court order against Friels – however they remained together at that time.
Friels believes that social and political awareness comes with the territory of acting, and is known for his engagement in policy debates, including industrial issues such as workplace relations and free trade. He publicly criticised Bush administration policy in the Middle East, and supported the Sydney Peace Foundation. His engagement with social issues has also been evident in his acting work, with two prominent examples being his lead role in Ground Zero, in which he played a cameraman investigating British nuclear testing in South Australia, and his appearance in ABC television drama Bastard Boys, in which he played union official John Coombs.
Filmography
- HoodwinkHoodwink (1981 film)Hoodwink is a 1981 Australian thriller film directed by Claude Whatham and written by Ken Quinnell. It stars John Hargreaves and Judy Davis. The film is based on the true story of a well-publicized Australian con artist...
(1981) - Robert - Monkey GripMonkey Grip (film)Monkey Grip is a 1982 Australian drama film directed by Ken Cameron. It is based on the novel, also titled Monkey Grip, by Helen Garner...
(1982) – Javo - BuddiesBuddies (1983 film)Buddies is a 1983 Australian comedy/drama film directed by Arch Nicholson and written by John Dingwall. Dingwall won the Best Original Screenplay AFI Award for the script...
(1983) – Mike - The Coolangatta GoldThe Coolangatta GoldThe NIB Coolangatta Gold is one of the premier events in the Australian sport of Ironman . The event is organised by Surf Life Saving Australia.-The Event:...
(1984) – Adam Lucas - KangarooKangaroo (novel)Kangaroo is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, first published in 1923. It is set in Australia.-Description:Kangaroo is an account of a visit to New South Wales by an English writer named Richard Lovat Somers, and his German wife Harriet, in the early 1920s...
(1986) – Richard Somers - MalcolmMalcolm (film)Malcolm is a 1986 Australian cult film, written by David Parker and directed by Nadia Tass. The film stars Colin Friels as the titular tram enthusiast who becomes involved with petty crime. The film won the 1986 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film.At the start of the film Malcolm is...
(1986) – Malcolm Hughes - Ground ZeroGround Zero (1987 film)Ground Zero is an Australian drama-thriller about a cinematographer who, prompted by curiosity about some old film footage taken by his father, embarks on a quest to find out the truth about British nuclear tests at Maralinga...
(1987) – Harvey Denton - High Tide (1988) – Mick
- DarkmanDarkmanDarkman is a 1990 superhero action film directed by Sam Raimi. It is based on a short story Raimi wrote that paid homage to Universal's horror films of the 1930s...
(1990) – Louis Strack Jr - Weekend with Kate (1990) – Richard Muir
- Class ActionClass ActionClass Action may refer to:*Class action, a form of lawsuit where a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court*Class Action , a 1991 film starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio...
(1991) – Michael Grazier - DingoDingo (film)Dingo is a 1991 Australian film directed by Rolf de Heer and written by Marc Rosenberg. It traces the pilgrimage of John Anderson , an average guy with a passion for jazz, from his home in outback Western Australia to the jazz clubs of Paris, to meet his idol, jazz trumpeter Billy Cross...
(1992) – John Anderson - StarkStark (TV miniseries)Stark is a 1993 British-Australian television miniseries, based on the bestselling novel Stark by comedian Ben Elton. The three-episode series, directed by Nadia Tass, was an international coproduction between the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting...
(1993) – Sly Morgan - A Good Man in AfricaA Good Man in Africa (film)A Good Man in Africa is a 1994 film, based on the novel A Good Man in Africa , and directed by Bruce Beresford.-Synopsis:...
(1994) – Morgan Leafy - CosiCosi (film)Cosi is a 1996 Australian comedy-drama-musical film directed by Mark Joffe. Louis Nowra wrote both the screenplay and the play it is based on.-Plot summary:...
(1996) – Errol - Mr Reliable (1996) – Wally Mellish
- Water RatsWater Rats (TV series)Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney...
– Frank Holloway (91 episodes, 1996–1999) - Dark City (1998) – Eddie Walenski
- The Man Who Sued GodThe Man Who Sued GodThe Man Who Sued God is a 2001 Australian film, starring Billy Connolly and directed by Mark Joffe.-Plot:Advocate Steve Myers is a disillusioned lawyer who becomes fed-up with the perceived corruption within the judicial system. He quits the law business and buys a small fishing boat and takes up...
(2001) – David Myers - Black and WhiteBlack and White (2002 film)Black and White is a 2002 Australian film, directed by Craig Lahiff and starring Robert Carlyle, Charles Dance, Kerry Fox, David Ngoombujarra, and Colin Friels.Louis Nowra wrote the screenplay and Helen Leake and Nik Powell produced the film...
(2002) – Father Tom Dixon - BlackJackBlackJack (telemovie)BlackJack is a series of Australian television movies created by Shaun Micallef and Gary McCaffrie, and starring Colin Friels. The movies began airing on Network Ten in 2003 and concluded in 2007. They were shown in the United Kingdom on the BBC and UKTV Drama.After blowing the whistle on his...
(2003,04,05,06,07) – Jack Kempson - Tom White (2004) – Tom White
- Bastard BoysBastard BoysBastard Boys is an Australian television miniseries broadcast on the ABC in 2007. It tells the story of the 1998 Australian waterfront dispute.-Plot:...
(2007) – John Coombs - The Informant (2008) – Doug Lamont
- Gangs of OzGangs of OzGangs of Oz is an Australian television documentary series on the Seven Network narrated by actor Colin Friels. The show looks at real stories of Australia's criminal underworld with accounts from criminals, their families and the police who risk their lives to catch them.-Episodes:Season 1*Episode...
(2009) – Narrator - Blind CompanyBlind CompanyBlind Company is a 2009 feature film directed by Melbourne auteur Alkinos Tsilimidos and starring Colin Friels. It premiered at the 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival.- Development :...
(2009) - Geoff Brewster - Killing TimeKilling Time (TV series)Killing Time is an Australian television drama series for TV1 subscription television channel that first screened in 2011. It is based on the true story of disgraced lawyer Andrew Fraser. In New Zealand it screens on Prime Television....
(2010) – Lewis Moran - Matching Jack (2010)
- The Nothing Men (2010)
- Tomorrow, When The War BeganTomorrow, When the War Began (film)Tomorrow, When the War Began is a 2010 Australian adventure film written and directed by Stuart Beattie and based on the novel of the same name by John Marsden. The film is produced by Andrew Mason and Michael Boughen. The story follows Ellie Linton, one of eight teenagers waging a guerrilla war...
(2010) - Dr. Clements - The Eye of the StormThe Eye of the Storm (2011 film)The Eye of the Storm is an Australian drama film directed by Fred Schepisi. It is an adaptation of Patrick White's novel of the same name. It stars Geoffrey Rush, Charlotte Rampling and Judy Davis...
(2011) – Athol Shreve
Won
- 2004 Film Critics Circle of AustraliaFilm Critics Circle of AustraliaThe Film Critics Circle of Australia is a group of cinema critics that judge Australian films.-External links:**...
Best Actor – Male (Tom White) - 2004 Lexus IF Award Best Actor (Tom White)
- 2003 Australian Entertainment "Mo" AwardMo AwardsThe Mo Awards are long running annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia....
Best Actor – Play (CopenhagenCopenhagen (play)Copenhagen is a play by Michael Frayn, based around an event that occurred in Copenhagen in 1941, a meeting between the physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. It debuted in London in 1998...
) - 2003 Helpmann AwardHelpmann AwardThe Helpmann Awards recognize distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in Australia's live performing arts sectors. The recognized disciplines include musical and physical theatre, contemporary and classical music, opera, and dance, with a comedy category introduced in 2006...
Best Male Actor – Play (CopenhagenCopenhagen (play)Copenhagen is a play by Michael Frayn, based around an event that occurred in Copenhagen in 1941, a meeting between the physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. It debuted in London in 1998...
) - 1997 Logie AwardLogie AwardThe TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
Most Outstanding Actor (Water RatsWater Rats (TV series)Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney...
) - 1995 Australian Film Institute AwardAustralian Film Institute AwardsThe Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Drama (Halifax f.p.Halifax f.p.Halifax f.p. is an Australian television drama series produced by Nine Network from 1994 to 2001. The series stars Rebecca Gibney as Doctor Jane Halifax, a forensic psychiatrist investigating cases involving the mental state of suspects or victims...
: Hard Corps) - 1986 Australian Film Institute AwardAustralian Film Institute AwardsThe Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
Best Actor in a Lead Role (MalcolmMalcolm (film)Malcolm is a 1986 Australian cult film, written by David Parker and directed by Nadia Tass. The film stars Colin Friels as the titular tram enthusiast who becomes involved with petty crime. The film won the 1986 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film.At the start of the film Malcolm is...
)
Nominated
- 2006 Film Critics Circle of AustraliaFilm Critics Circle of AustraliaThe Film Critics Circle of Australia is a group of cinema critics that judge Australian films.-External links:**...
Best Actor (Solo) - 2006 Film Critics Circle of AustraliaFilm Critics Circle of AustraliaThe Film Critics Circle of Australia is a group of cinema critics that judge Australian films.-External links:**...
Best Supporting Actor (The Book of Revelation) - 2004 Australian Film Institute AwardAustralian Film Institute AwardsThe Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
Best Actor in a Lead Role (Tom White) - 2000 Logie AwardLogie AwardThe TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
Most Outstanding Actor in a Series (Water RatsWater Rats (TV series)Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney...
) - 1991 Australian Film Institute AwardAustralian Film Institute AwardsThe Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
Best Actor in a Lead Role (DingoDingo (film)Dingo is a 1991 Australian film directed by Rolf de Heer and written by Marc Rosenberg. It traces the pilgrimage of John Anderson , an average guy with a passion for jazz, from his home in outback Western Australia to the jazz clubs of Paris, to meet his idol, jazz trumpeter Billy Cross...
) - 1987 Australian Film Institute AwardAustralian Film Institute AwardsThe Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
Best Actor in a Lead Role (Ground ZeroGround zeroThe term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
)