Richard Roxburgh
{{Short description|Australian actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Richard Roxburgh 2013.jpg
| caption = Roxburgh in 2013
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1962|01|23}}
| birth_place = Albury, New South Wales, Australia
| spouse = {{Marriage|Silvia Colloca|2004}}
| children = 3
| education = Australian National University (BEc)
National Institute of Dramatic Art (BFA)
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|filmmaker}}
| years_active = 1987–present
}}
Richard Roxburgh (born 23 January 1962) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including several AFI and AACTA Awards, Logie Awards, and Helpmann Awards.
He began his career working with the Sydney Theatre Company. He went on to appear in Australian and international productions such as Baz Luhrmann's films Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Elvis (2022), the ABC series Rake (2010–2018), and the action films Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), and Van Helsing (2004).
Early life and education
Richard Roxburgh was born on 23 January 1962. His parents were John, an accountant, and Mary Roxburgh. He grew up in Albury, New South Wales.{{Cite web|url=http://www.media-courses.com/blog/australian-actor-richard-roxburgh/ |title= Australian actor Richard Roxburgh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816130552/http://www.media-courses.com/blog/australian-actor-richard-roxburgh/ |archive-date=16 August 2011 |author= Doherty, Shaun |website= London Academy of Media Film & TV |date=24 March 2011}}
Roxburgh studied economics at the Australian National University in Canberra,{{cite news|title=Richard Roxburgh|author=Harvey, Shannon|newspaper=The Sunday Times|date=19 May 2007|url=http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,21760843-5005364,00.html}} where he resided at Garran Hall and graduated with a B.Ec. in 1984.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/talkingheads/txt/s2620043.htm|title=Richard Roxburgh|work=Talking Heads|publisher=ABC}}{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/anualumni/posts/494368953943167 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/235435289818659/494368953943167 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=ANU Alumni – Congratulations to alumnus Richard Roxburgh|author=ANU Alumni|publisher=Facebook}}{{cbignore}}
After graduating from ANU, he decided to become an actor and was admitted to the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) on his second audition attempt,{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/richard-roxburgh-plays-cleaver-greene-with-conspicuous-conviction/story-e6frg8h6-1226814074171|title=Richard Roxburgh plays Cleave Greene with conspicuous conviction|first=Megan|last=Lehmann|newspaper=The Australian|date=1 February 2014}} graduating in 1986.
Career
File:Silvia Colloca and Richard Roxburgh AACTA 2012 (1).jpg, at the AACTA Awards 2012, Sydney ]]
Roxburgh began working with the Sydney Theatre Company as soon as he graduated from NIDA,{{cite journal|title=Archive: Richard Roxburgh|journal=Sydney Theatre Company Magazine|date=15 October 2014|url=https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/magazine/posts/2014/october/archive-rox|access-date=20 October 2014|archive-date=21 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021100224/https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/magazine/posts/2014/october/archive-rox|url-status=dead}} and also worked with Belvoir St Theatre.
He came to public attention for his portrayal of New South Wales Police Force detective Roger Rogerson in the 1995 television miniseries Blue Murder. Through the 1990s, he appeared in several Australian film and stage productions including a critically acclaimed turn as Hamlet alongside Geoffrey Rush, Jacqueline McKenzie and David Wenham in the 1994 Company B production at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney. In December 2007, he played the lead character, Roland Henning, who suffered writer's block in Michael Gow's play, Toy Symphony, at the Belvoir St Theatre, winning the 2008 Helpmann Award for best male actor in a play.
In 2000, Roxburgh appeared in the first of several international blockbuster films as the main villain's henchman Hugh Stamp in the John Woo-directed Mission: Impossible 2, which was filmed in Sydney. Also filmed in Sydney was Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! (2001), in which Roxburgh played the Duke of Monroth.
Roxburgh appeared as three iconic characters over the next three years: he played Sherlock Holmes in 2002's The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes's nemesis Professor Moriarty in 2003's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Count Dracula in 2004's Van Helsing. He is one of only two actors to have played all three of these characters, the other being Orson Welles, who played them in separate radio programs.
Roxburgh directed his first film, Romulus, My Father starring Eric Bana, released in 2007. This film won the AFI Award in December 2007 and was nominated for several more. In 2008 and 2009, he played the lead role of Art Watkins in the ABC drama series East of Everything.{{cite news|title=Richard Roxburgh in East of Everything, and Bob Hawke|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=26 August 2009|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/tv/richard-roxburgh-in-east-of-everything-and-bob-hawke/story-e6frf9ho-1225766401511}}
In July 2010, Roxburgh played former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke in a telemovie based on Hawke's life. He reprised the role in the 2020 episode "Terra Nullius" of the Netflix series The Crown.{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/bringing-the-drama-down-under-the-crown-breaks-the-spell-of-a-royal-moment-in-time-20201113-p56ehk.html |title=Bringing the drama down under, The Crown breaks the spell of a royal moment in time |first=Michael |last=Idato |date=15 November 2020 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=16 November 2020}}
In November 2010, Roxburgh co-created and began starring in the critically acclaimed ABC1 television comedy-drama series Rake as the brilliant but self-destructive Sydney criminal barrister Cleaver Greene, a role for which he won the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama in 2012. He stars in Matching Jack, which was released in August 2010, and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, released in September 2010.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}
Returning to the stage, Roxburgh played Vanya opposite Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and John Bell in Sydney Theatre Company's 2010 production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya.[http://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/stced/2010-schools-days/uncle-vanya Uncle Vanya] at the Sydney Theatre Company In 2013, he again performed at the STC with Weaving as the protagonists in Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot, Weaving as Vladimir and Roxburgh as Estragon.{{cite web|last=Roxburgh|first=Richard|title=Waiting for Tamas|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/waiting-for-tamas-20131107-2x4k7.html|date=9 November 2013|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=26 November 2013}} In 2014, Roxburgh played the title role in Edmond Rostand's 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac at the STC.[https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2014/cyrano-de-bergerac Cyrano de Bergerac], performance details, Sydney Theatre Company In 2015, Roxburgh appeared in Andrew Upton's adaptation of Chekhov's play Platonov, titled The Present, for the STC. It was directed by John Crowley and featured Cate Blanchett, Jacqueline McKenzie, Marshall Napier, and Toby Schmitz.[https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2015/the-present The Present], production details, Sydney Theatre Company That production moved in 2016/17 to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City for the Broadway debut of Roxburgh and the rest of the cast.[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/broadway-season-gives-cate-blanchett-her-shot-at-a-tony/news-story/7ea9b32d71085cbbebd4458095f47671 "Broadway season gives Cate Blanchett her shot at a Tony"] by Michaela Boland, The Australian, 10 December 2016
In 2023, he appeared in Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe as a parody of his previous role in Rake.{{Cite news |last=Buckmaster |first=Luke |date=2023-04-11 |title=Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe review – sketch comedy trio scramble for laughs in new show |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/apr/12/aunty-donnas-coffee-cafe-review-sketch-comedy-trio-scramble-for-laughs-in-new-show |access-date=2023-04-13 |issn=0261-3077}}
In 2024 Roxburgh appeared in the Stan series Prosper, a thriller set in the megachurch community.{{cite web |last=Buckmaster |first=Luke |date=17 January 2024 |title=Prosper review – Richard Roxburgh leads a sizzling and sharp megachurch thriller |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/jan/17/prosper-review-stan-richard-roxburgh-church-leader-thriller-hillsong |access-date=28 February 2024 |website=The Guardian}}{{cite web |title=New drama series Prosper announced for Stan |url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2022/09-27-new-drama-series-prosper}}
Roxburgh played the lead role in the feature film The Correspondent, as journalist Peter Greste.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-15 |title=The Correspondent: Richard Roxburgh film wraps production |website=ScreenHub Australia |url=https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/news/production-wraps-on-richard-roxburgh-film-the-correspondent-2636903/ |access-date=2024-05-29 }} The Correspondent, directed by Kriv Stenders, was screened as the opening film of the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2024,{{cite web |title=Opening Night Gala |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=24 October 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2024/the-correspondent-opening-night-gala |access-date=28 October 2024}} along with the animated feature Lesbian Space Princess, in which he was one of the cast of voice actors.{{cite web |title=Lesbian Space Princess |website=Adelaide Film Festival |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2024/lesbian-space-princess |access-date=28 October 2024}}
Children's literature
Roxburgh wrote and illustrated the well-received, 240-page children's adventure fiction title, Artie and the Grime Wave, published by Allen & Unwin in October 2016 ({{ISBN| 9781760292140}}).
Personal life
Roxburgh met Miranda Otto after meeting on the set of Doing Time for Patsy Cline in 1997; they were in a relationship until 2000.
He married Italian-born opera singer, actress, blogger, cookbook author, and television cookery show personality Silvia Colloca in 2004. They met on the set of Van Helsing, playing Count Dracula and his bride, respectively. They have three children.{{cite news|title=Proud father|last=Maddox|first=Gary|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=19 May 2007|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/proud-father/2007/05/17/1178995311292.html}}{{cite web | url=https://ecelebritymirror.com/celebrity-babies/miro-roxburgh-raphael-roxburgh-richard-roxburgh-children/ | title=Meet Miro Roxburgh and Raphael Roxburgh - See How Richard Roxburgh's Children Are Growing up | date=2 December 2021 }}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1991
| Johnny | |
| 1994
| Talk | Jack / Harry | |
| rowspan="3" | 1995
| Lessons in the Language of Love | Harry | Short film |
| Billy's Holiday
| Rob McSpedden | |
| Hayride to Hell
| George Weygate | Short film |
| 1996
| Joe | |
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Boyd | |
| Thank God He Met Lizzie
| Guy Jamieson | |
| rowspan="3" | 1998
| Mr. Jeffries | |
| A Little Bit of Soul
| Sir Samuel Michael | Voice |
| In the Winter Dark
| Murray Jacob | |
| rowspan="2" | 1999
| {{sortname|The|Last September}} | Captain Daventry | |
| Passion
| |
| 2000
| Hugh Stamp | |
| 2001
| {{sortname|The|Duke|nolink=yes}} | |
| rowspan="2" | 2002
| {{sortname|The|Touch|The Touch (2002 film)}} | Karl | |
| {{sortname|The|One and Only|The One and Only (2002 film)}}
| Neil | |
| 2003
| {{sortname|The|League of Extraordinary Gentlemen|The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)}} | {{sortname|The|Fantom / "M" / Professor Moriarty|nolink=yes}} | |
| 2004
| |
| rowspan="2" | 2005
| Stealth | Dr. Keith Orbit | |
| Fragile
| Robert Kerry | |
| 2006
| Martin McKenzie | |
| 2007
| {{n/a}} | Director and producer |
| rowspan="2" | 2010
| David | |
| Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
| Boron | Voice |
| 2011
| Sanctum | Frank McGuire | |
| 2013
| Vic Lang | |
| 2014
| Flip | rowspan="2"| Voice |
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| Blinky's dad |
| Looking for Grace
| Dan | |
| 2016
| Colonel Stelzer | |
| 2017
| Breath | Mr. Pike | |
| rowspan="2" | 2018
| Adult Jeff Marsh | Narrator only |
| Maya the Bee: The Honey Games
| Flip | Voice |
| rowspan="3" | 2019
| Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan | Brigadier David Jackson | |
| H Is for Happiness
| Jim Phee | |
| Angel of Mine
| Bernard | |
| 2020
| Go Karts | Patrick | |
| 2022
| Elvis | Vernon Presley | |
| 2023
| Daniel Bailey | |
| rowspan="3"| 2024
| Eden | Allan Hancock | |
| The Correspondent
| |
| Lesbian Space Princess
| | Voice |
| 2025
| Otto |Also served as executive producer{{cite news |last1=Croot |first1=James |title=Forgive Us All: Richard Roxburgh on making a post-apocalyptic horror in Aotearoa |url=https://www.thepress.co.nz/culture/360680607/forgive-us-all-richard-roxburgh-making-post-apocalyptic-horror-aotearoa |access-date=27 May 2025 |work=The Press |date=8 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250527123455/https://www.thepress.co.nz/culture/360680607/forgive-us-all-richard-roxburgh-making-post-apocalyptic-horror-aotearoa |archive-date=27 May 2025 |url-status=live}} |
| TBA
| Fing | {{TBA}} | Filming |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1987
| Proud | rowspan="2"| Television film |
| 1989
| The Saint: Fear in Fun Park | Justin |
| 1990
| 'Gracie' Fields | rowspan="3"| Miniseries |
| 1992
| Hugh Mcintosh |
| rowspan="3" | 1993
| Gluttony / Mark |
| Crimebroker
| Harrison | Television film |
| Police Rescue
| Tim Warne | rowspan="2"| 1 episode |
| rowspan="2" | 1995
| Sergeant Paul Santos |
| Blue Murder
| Miniseries |
| 1996
| Ben | 1 episode |
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Television film |
| Frontier
| Superintendent William Hobbs | |
| 2001
| Blonde | Mr. R | rowspan="4"| Television film |
| rowspan="2" | 2002
| The Road from Coorain | Bill |
| {{sortname|The|Hound of the Baskervilles|The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002 film)}} |
| 2006
| {{sortname|The|Silence|nolink=yes}} | Richard Trealoar |
| 2008–2009
| Art Watkins | |
| 2009
| Charles Van Koors | Miniseries |
| 2010
| Hawke | Television film |
| 2010–2018
| Rake | Cleaver Greene | Also co-creator and producer |
| 2011
| Ice | Thom Archer | |
| 2015
| Narrator | Voice; television docudrama |
| 2017
| Roger Rogerson | rowspan="2"| Miniseries |
| rowspan="4" | 2019
| Nick |
| The Pool
| Narrator | 1 episode |
| Catherine the Great
| Miniseries |
| Lovestruck
| Nigel Valentine | Television film |
| 2020
| Bob Hawke | Episodes: "Terra Nullius" & "48:1" |
| 2021
| Fires | Duncan Simpson | 2 episodes |
| 2022
| Miniseries |
| rowspan="2" | 2023
| Rake | |
| The PM's Daughter
| H.A.N.C. | 3 episodes |
| 2024
| Prosper | Cal Quinn | 8 episodes |
=Theatre=
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=October 2024}}
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes | |||
| 1978 | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | Albury High School |
| 1992 | The Homecoming | ||
| rowspan="2"| 1994 | That Eye, the Sky | Henry Warburton | Burning House Theatre Company, Sydney & Playhouse, Melbourne |
| Hamlet | Hamlet | Company B at Belvoir St Theatre | |
| 2007–2008 | Toy Symphony | Roland Henning | Belvoir St Theatre |
| 2010 | Uncle Vanya | Vanya | Sydney Theatre Company for Bell Shakespeare |
| 2013 | Waiting for Godot | Estragon | rowspan="3"| Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2014 | Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano de Bergerac | |
| 2015 | rowspan="2"| The Present | ||
| 2016–2017 | Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Work ! Result ! Ref |
|---|
| 1992
| rowspan="4" | Sydney Theatre Awards | Best Performance in a Supporting Role | {{won}} |
| rowspan="3" | 1994
| Freelance Director | rowspan="2" | That Eye, the Sky | {{won}} | |
| Best New Play or Musical
| {{won}} | |
| Best Performance by an Actor
| rowspan="2" | Hamlet | {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2" | 1995
| Best Actor | {{nom}} | |
| Australian Film Institute Television Awards
| rowspan="2" | Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2" | 1996
| Australian Film Institute Television Awards | rowspan="2" | Blue Murder | {{nom}} | |
| Logie Awards
| {{won}} | |
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Verona International Film Festival | Best Actor | {{won}} | |
| Australian Film Institute Awards
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | rowspan="2" | Doing Time for Patsy Cline | {{won}} | |
| 1998
| Film Critics Circle of Australia | Best Actor – Male | {{won}} | |
| 1999
| Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Passion | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2" | 2001
| Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | rowspan="2" | Moulin Rouge! | {{nom}} | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards
| Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | {{nom}} | |
| 2004
| Worst Fake Accent – Male | {{won}} |
| 2006
| Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama | rowspan="2" | The Silence | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="3" | 2007
| {{nom}} | |
| Sydney Theatre Awards
| Best Actor in a Lead Role | {{won}} | |
| Australian Film Institute Awards
| rowspan="2" | Romulus, My Father | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| Film Critics Circle of Australia | Best Director | {{nom}} | |
| Helpmann Awards
| Toy Symphony | {{won}} | |
| rowspan="3" | 2010
| colspan="2" | Equity Ensemble Awards | Rake | {{won}} | |
| Sydney Theatre Awards
| Best Actor | {{won}} |
| Australian Film Institute Awards
| Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama | rowspan="3" | Hawke | {{won}} | |
| rowspan="5" | 2011
| Seoul International Drama Awards | Best Actor | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2" | Logie Awards
| rowspan="2" | Most Outstanding Actor | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2" | Rake
| {{won}} | |
| Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels
| Actor – TV Series | {{won}} | |
| Helpmann Awards
| {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2" | 2012
| colspan="2" | Equity Ensemble Awards | rowspan="4" | Rake | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="3" | AACTA Awards
| rowspan="2" | Best Television Drama Series | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="3" | 2013
| {{nom}} | |
| Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama
| {{won}} | |
| rowspan="2" | Sydney Theatre Awards
| rowspan="2" | Best Actor | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="4" | 2014
| {{won}} | |
| Helpmann Awards
| {{won}} | |
| rowspan="2" | AACTA Awards
| Best Television Drama Series | rowspan="3" | Rake | {{nom}} | |
| Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama
| {{nom}} | |
| 2015
| {{nom}} | |
| 2016
| The Present | {{nom}} | |
| 2017
| Rake | {{nom}} | |
| 2019
| Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama | {{won}} | |
| 2020
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | {{nom}} | |
| 2021
| Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama | rowspan="2" | Fires | {{nom}} | |
| 2022
| {{won}} | |
| 2023
|Most Outstanding Actor | {{nom}} |
References
External links
{{wikiquote}}
- {{Commons category-inline|Richard Roxburgh}}
- {{IMDb name|746896|Richard Roxburgh}}
- {{IBDB name|508153}}
- [http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature.php?id=501 Eyeforfilm.co.uk] – Interview with Richard Roxburgh about Romulus, My Father
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Richard Roxburgh
|list =
{{Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role 1980–1999}}
{{AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama}}
{{AACTA Award GuestSupportingActor}}
{{EquityAward TVDramaCast 2010–2019}}
{{HelpmannAward PlayLeadActor}}
}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Film|Theatre}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roxburgh, Richard}}
Category:Australian male film actors
Category:Australian male television actors
Category:Australian male stage actors
Category:Australian film directors
Category:Best Actor AACTA Award winners
Category:Helpmann Award winners
Category:National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni
Category:Australian male voice actors
Category:20th-century Australian male actors