Brandon Walters facts for kids

Brandon Walters is an Indigenous Australian actor. He was born on January 16, 1996. He is well-known for playing the character Nullah in the 2008 movie Australia.

Early Life and Challenges

Brandon Walters was born in Broome, Western Australia. When he was six years old, he was diagnosed with leukaemia, a type of cancer. He spent a year in a hospital in Perth in 2003. After this time, he successfully recovered from the illness.

Becoming an Actor

How Brandon Walters Was Discovered

The director of the movie Australia, Baz Luhrmann, was looking for a young Indigenous boy to play the role of Nullah. He had been searching for over a year. In 2007, one of the film's casting directors saw Brandon with his father at a swimming pool in Broome. Brandon also responded to a radio advertisement asking for auditions from across Australia. Later, he received a letter from Baz Luhrmann, who was very interested in him for the role.

Joining the Movie Australia

Brandon Walters had never left Western Australia before. He and other boys who auditioned were flown to Sydney. There, they attended acting workshops at Fox Studios Australia. Brandon and his family also went camping with Baz Luhrmann at Broome's Eighty Mile Beach. It was during this trip that Brandon decided to take the role in the movie.

When Brandon joined the cast, he had not heard of the film's main stars, Nicole Kidman or Hugh Jackman. He had only seen a few movies in his life. However, Baz Luhrmann said that Brandon had a "natural cinematic chemistry." Nicole Kidman and Brandon were shy when they first met. But they quickly became close on the movie set. Nicole Kidman said she felt very protective of him.

Awards and Recognition

Baz Luhrmann also chose Brandon Walters for a Tourism Australia advertising campaign. For his role as Nullah, Brandon won a Satellite Award for New Talent. He was also nominated for Best Young Actor at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards. Additionally, he received a nomination for Most Promising Performer at the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Other Acting Roles

Brandon Walters also starred in the first season of the ABC3 TV series Bushwhacked! in 2012. In 2020, he appeared in two other television series. These were the comedy-drama Operation Buffalo and the mystery series Mystery Road.