Alexander Fernando facts for kids

Joseph Manuel Alexander Fernando (Sinhala: ඇලෙක්‌සැන්ඩර් ප්‍රනාන්දු Æleksænḍar Pranāndu; 25 August 1940 – 29 April 2020) was a famous Sri Lankan actor and stunt director. He worked in Sinhala movies. Many people thought he was one of the best actors who played "bad guys" in Sinhala films. Alexander Fernando acted in over 120 Sinhala movies, six Tamil movies, and one English movie.

Personal Life and Sports

Alexander Fernando was born on August 25, 1940, in Kotahena, Colombo. He went to St. Benedict's College, Colombo, and St. Anthony's Boys College. He was a really good athlete in school. He was great at wrestling, boxing, and swimming.

When he was 15, he joined the Armstrong Wrestling Club. He even came in second place in the Western Province Schools wrestling championship. He also trained in karate, judo, and physical fitness.

In 1959, he started working at the harbour authority. He became famous as the national wrestling champion in 1961. He even represented Sri Lanka at the 1962 Commonwealth Games. Alexander Fernando also qualified for the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He took part in the 1966 Bangkok Nippon Asian Games too. Sadly, a knee injury later stopped him from joining more big sports events. He is the only actor in Sri Lanka who has represented his country in sports!

Later in his life, he received an award from the Ministry of Sports in 2009. This was for all his great contributions to sports.

Alexander Fernando married Anoma Lumbini in 1978. They had two daughters, Anushka and Asha, and one son, Anojan Sudharshana. He passed away on April 29, 2020, when he was 79 years old.

Cinema Career

Alexander Fernando started his acting journey in Tamil stage plays. He performed in plays like Shalomi and Julius Caesar.

His first movie role was in the 1963 film Wena Swargayak Kumatada?. In this movie, he worked as a stuntman for actor Henry Jayasena. Even though his fight scene was cut from the final movie, it was his start in cinema. After that, he acted in many popular movies. Some of these included Haara Lakshaya, Sri Madara, and Pasa Mithuro. He was good friends with famous singer H. R. Jothipala and other film professionals.

In 1963, another stuntman and actor, Robin Fernando, asked him to act in the film Ruhunu Kumari. He also appeared in Ataweni Pudumaya (1968) and Kohomada Wade (1969). After Ruhunu Kumari became very popular, actor Joe Abeywickrama introduced him to filmmaker Titus Thotawatte. This led to his role in Haara Lakshaya. This film was special because it was the first time Alexander Fernando had many speaking lines, not just fight scenes.

In 1973, he became a stunt director for the film Matara Achchi. He also played the main role in the 1977 film Sri Madara. He often played "bad guy" roles and had many fight scenes with actor Gamini Fonseka. Once, during a fight scene, Gamini accidentally injured him, and he couldn't open his eyes for three days!

In 1976, he played the main character in the film Saradielge Putha. A big moment in his career was the 1983 film Pasa Mithuro. In this movie, he played a realistic role as a Tamil prisoner. For this role, he won the Presidential Award in 1984.

Alexander Fernando often acted alongside actress Sonia Disa. They played lovers in many films, such as Sahayata Danny, Sri Madara, and Kawuda Raja. Besides Sinhala films, he also acted in Tamil movies like Yar Aval and Engleil Oruvan, and an English film called Reincarnation.