Brandon Walters

Born in Broome, Western Australia, Walters was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 6, but overcame the cancer after spending a year in a Perth hospital in 2003.{{cite news|url=http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=23&ContentID=26307 |title=Broome boy rides high in Aussie blockbuster |accessdate=22 November 2008 |date=18 April 2007 |newspaper=The West Australian |first=Katie |last=Hampson |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602024225/http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=23&ContentID=26307 |archivedate=2 June 2008 |url-status=dead }}

Australia director Baz Luhrmann had been searching for a young aboriginal boy to fill the role of "Nullah" for over 12 months when one of the film's casting directors saw Walters with his father at a Broome swimming pool in 2007;{{cite news| url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/new-face-of-australia/2007/05/26/1179601728174.html| title = New face of Australia| accessdate = 22 November 2008| date = 27 May 2007| newspaper = The Sydney Morning Herald| first = Christine| last = Sams}} he also responded to an Australia-wide radio callout for auditions.{{cite press release |title= 'AUSTRALIA' welcomes BRANDON WALTERS|publisher= Bazmark Film II|date= 18 April 2007|url= http://www.westernaustralia.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF's/Australia%20Welcomes%20Brandon%20Walters.pdf|accessdate= 22 November 2008}} He later received a letter from Luhrmann saying that he was "very, very interested" in him.

Walters, who had never before left Western Australia, and a group of other boys who had auditioned for the role were flown to Sydney to attend acting workshops at Fox Studios Australia. He and his family went camping with Luhrmann at Broome's Eighty Mile Beach, which was when Walters decided to take the role and become involved in the film.{{cite web| url = http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2007/04/17/1899661.htm| title = Broome boy lands lead role in movie with Nicole| accessdate = 22 November 2008| date = 17 April 2007| publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation| first = Vanessa| last = Mills}}

When Walters joined the cast, he had never heard of the film's stars Nicole Kidman or Hugh Jackman. Walters had only ever seen a few films, but was nevertheless quoted by Luhrmann as having "natural cinematic chemistry". Though Kidman and Walters were shy upon their first meeting with each other, she said that they bonded on the set of the film and "I feel very protective of him... [and] if the film does really well he's going to need a lot of protection";{{cite news| url = http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article5177965.ece| title = Brandon Walters – the real star of Australia| accessdate = 22 November 2008| date = 18 November 2008| newspaper = The Times| first = Sophie| last = Tedmanson | location=London}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} reportedly, Kidman and Luhrmann set up a trust fund for Walters to secure his future.{{cite news| url = https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE4AH1M120081118| title = Brandon Walters – the real star of Australia| accessdate = 22 November 2008| date = 18 November 2008| agency = Reuters| first = Belinda| last = Goldsmith}}

Luhrmann, who also cast Walters in a Tourism Australia advertising campaign, claimed, "Our next leading man is about four-foot high, [with] long, sort of gold hair, and is an Aboriginal boy."{{cite news| url = http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24467481-5006023,00.html| title = Baz Luhrmann tips big things for Australia star Brandon Walters| accessdate = 22 November 2008| date = 9 October 2008| newspaper = Herald Sun}} For his performance as Nullah, Walters won a Satellite Award for New Talent{{cite magazine| title = 'Slumdog,' 'Happy' top Satellite nods| date = 15 December 2008| magazine = The Hollywood Reporter| first = Gregg| last = Kilday}} and received nominations for Best Young Actor at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards{{cite news| url = http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24786893-5013178,00.html| title = Brandon Walters US Critic's Choice Best Young Actor nominee| accessdate = 29 January 2009| date = 12 December 2008| newspaper = The Daily Telegraph|location=Sydney}} and Most Promising Performer at the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.{{cite press release|title= Chicago Film Critics Association Announces 2008 Nominees|publisher= Chicago Film Critics Association|date= December 2008|url= http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/index.php?view=article&catid=3%3Anewsflash&id=60%3Achicago-film-critics-association-announce-2008-nominees&option=com_content&Itemid=65|accessdate= 29 January 2009|archive-date= 6 February 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090206230939/http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60:chicago-film-critics-association-announce-2008-nominees&catid=3:newsflash&Itemid=65|url-status= dead}}

He also starred in the first (2012) season of the ABC3 series Bushwhacked!, but was replaced in the second (2014) season by Kamil Ellis.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In 2020, Walters appeared in two television series: the comedy-drama Operation Buffalo and the murder mystery series Mystery Road.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Walters has two children with his former partner. In 2020, he was convicted of several offences in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia, including drink driving, driving on a suspended licence, and smashing his former partner's car window.{{cite news|url=https://thewest.com.au/news/broome-advertiser/broome-child-actor-brandon-walters-24-fined-for-drink-driving-and-smashing-exs-car-window-ng-b881665988z|title=Broome child actor Brandon Walters fined for drink driving and smashing ex’s car window|newspaper=Broome Advertiser|first=Carly|last=Laden|date=14 September 2020|access-date=28 October 2024}}

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{{Satellite Award for Outstanding New Talent}}

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Category:Living people

Category:1996 births

Category:Australian male child actors

Category:Australian male film actors

Category:Indigenous Australian male actors

Category:Indigenous Australians from Western Australia

Category:Male actors from Western Australia

Category:People from Broome, Western Australia

Category:21st-century Australian male actors