Bruce Spence facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bruce Spence
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Spence in 2010
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| Born |
Bruce Robert Spence
17 September 1945 Auckland, New Zealand
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| Nationality | New Zealander Australian |
| Occupation | Actor, voice artist |
| Years active | 1970–present |
Bruce Robert Spence (born 17 September 1945) is a New Zealand-born Australian actor. Spence has amassed over 100 film and television credits and has also acted in theatre.
Contents
Career
Spence won an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1971 comedy Stork.
Spence's best known film role is as the gyrocopter pilot in Mad Max 2 (1981). He also played the lead role in Werner Herzog's Where the Green Ants Dream (1984) and portrayed Jedediah the pilot in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).
In the 21st century, Spence played the Mouth of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), the Trainman in The Matrix Revolutions (2003), and Baxter in Disney's Inspector Gadget 2 (2003), and voiced the character Chum in Finding Nemo (2003). He also portrayed Tion Medon in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) and played Lord Rhoop in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010).
Spence portrayed the palaeontologist (Huxley) in the Australian performance of BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs: The Live Experience. In his role, Spence narrated the activities of life-sized mechanical dinosaurs operated by teams of puppeteers and drivers.
In 2008, Spence joined the television series Legend of the Seeker, which was based on the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. He played the role of Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander, co-starring with Craig Horner and Bridget Regan. The show ran for two seasons.
In 2014, Spence played prison inmate George Corella in episode 3.1 of Rake.
In 2024, Spence was named as the recipient for the Equity Lifetime Achievement award.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Stork | Graham 'Stork' Wallace | |
| 1974 | Moving On | Road Worker | |
| The Cars That Ate Paris | Charlie | ||
| 1975 | The Firm Man | Messenger | |
| The Great Macarthy | Bill Dean | ||
| 1976 | Let the Balloon Go | Chief Gifford | |
| Oz | Bass player/Blondie the Surfie | ||
| Mad Dog Morgan | Heriot | ||
| Eliza Fraser | Bruce McIver | ||
| 1978 | Newsfront | Redex trial driver | |
| 1979 | Dimboola | Morrie McAdam | |
| 1981 | Mad Max 2 | The Gyro Captain | |
| 1983 | Double Deal | Doug Mitchell | |
| The Return of Captain Invincible | Midnight's Doctor | ||
| Midnite Spares | Wimpy | ||
| Buddies | Ted | ||
| 1984 | Pallet on the Floor | Basil Beaumont-Foster | |
| Where the Green Ants Dream (aka Wo die grünen Ameisen träumen) | Lance Hackett | ||
| 1985 | Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome | Jedediah the Pilot | |
| 1987 | Bullseye | Purdy | |
| The Year My Voice Broke | Jonah | ||
| 1988 | Bachelor Girl | Alistair Dredge Jr | TV movie |
| Rikky and Pete | Ben | ||
| 1990 | Wendy Cracked a Walnut (aka ...Almost) | Ronnie | |
| The Shrimp on the Barbie | Wayne | ||
| 1991 | Sweet Talker | Norman Foster | |
| 1993 | Hercules Returns | Sprocket | |
| 1995 | Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls | Gahjii | |
| 1996 | The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas | Mr. Gateman | TV movie |
| 1998 | Dark City | Mr. Wall | |
| 2002 | Queen of the Damned | Khayman | |
| 2003 | Inspector Gadget 2 | Professor Baxter | |
| Finding Nemo | Chum (voice) | ||
| The Matrix Revolutions | Trainman | ||
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Mouth of Sauron (Extended edition only) | ||
| Peter Pan | Cookson | ||
| 2005 | Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | Tion Medon | |
| 2006 | Aquamarine | Leonard | |
| Solo | Kennedy | ||
| 2008 | Australia | Dr. Barker | |
| 2010 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader | Lord Rhoop | |
| 2013 | Mystery Road | Jim the Coroner | |
| 2014 | I, Frankenstein | Molokai | |
| 2015 | Backtrack | Felix | |
| 2016 | Gods of Egypt | Head Judge | |
| Blue World Order | Whippett | ||
| 2017 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales | Mayor Dix | |
| 2018 | Winchester | Augustine | |
| Occupation | Alien Leader | ||
| 2020 | Love and Monsters | Old Pete | |
| Children of the Corn | Pastor Penny | ||
| The Dry | Gerry Hadler | ||
| 2021 | The Drover's Wife | Father McGuiness | |
| 2023 | Cold Water | Murray | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972-73 | Division 4 | Various | 2 episodes | |
| 1973 | Boney | Sawyer's Ron | 1 episode | |
| 1973-75 | Certain Women | Julius 'Big Julie' | 19 episodes | |
| 1974 | Ryan | Wally Scott | 1 episode | |
| 1974-75 | Matlock Police | Johnny / Maxie | 2 episodes | |
| 1978 | Case for the Defence | Alfred | 2 episodes | |
| 1979 | Barnaby and Me | Tall Baddie | TV movie | |
| 1979 | Shirl's Neighbourhood | Bruce the gardener | ||
| 1979 | Skyways | David Howard | 1 episode | |
| 1979 | Cop Shop | Student Counsellor | 1 episode | |
| 1981 | And Here Comes Bucknuckle | Series | ||
| 1982 | Deadline | Towie | TV movie | |
| 1981-82 | Kingswood Country | Dentist / Samson | 2 episodes | |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Professor | 1 episode | |
| 1984 | Carson's Law | Vernon | 2 episodes | |
| 1985 | Zoo Family | George | 1 episode | |
| 1987 | Great Expectations: The Untold Story | Joe Gargery | TV movie | |
| 1988 | The Dirtwater Dynasty | Lonely Logan | 5 episodes | |
| 1988 | Australians | Cecil Cook | 1 episode | |
| 1987-89 | Rafferty's Rules | Triggs | 2 episodes | |
| 1989 | Sugar | Robert Flemming | TV movie | |
| Tanamera – Lion of Singapore | Hammond | 7 episodes | ||
| 1989–92 | Dearest Enemy | Lenny | 14 episodes | |
| 1992 | Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left | The Chief | 18 episodes | |
| 1994–95 | Over the Hill | Tall Bob | ||
| 1996 | After the Beep | 7 episodes | ||
| 1997 | Return to Jupiter | Ed Unit | 13 episodes | |
| Bullpitt! | Darcy Kelso | 26 episodes | ||
| Twisted Tales | Colin | 1 episode | ||
| Good Guys, Bad Guys | Squirt Man | 1 episode | ||
| 1998 | Moby Dick | Elijah | 1 episode | |
| Halifax f.p.: Isn't It Romantic | Eric Washburn | 1 episode | ||
| 1999 | Chuck Finn | Heinz | 1 episode | |
| 2000 | Tales of the South Seas | Naari | 1 episode | |
| 2001 | Beastmaster | Annubis | 1 episode | |
| 2002 | Farscape | Prefect Falaak | 1 episode | |
| 2002 | Short Cuts | Mr Coxon | 5 episodes | |
| 2001-03 | Always Greener | Rev Millburn | 3 episodes | |
| 2004 | The Brush Off | Philip Veale | TV movie | |
| 2005 | Grange | TV movie | ||
| 2006 | RAN (Remote Area Nurse) | Vince | 6 episodes | |
| Nightmares & Dreamscapes | Hans Morris | 1 episode | ||
| Equal Opportunity | Death | |||
| 2008 | Double the Fist | Mayor McCarthy | 1 episode | |
| 2008 | City Homicide | Maurice | 1 episode | |
| 2008–10 | Legend of the Seeker | Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander | 44 episodes | |
| 2009 | All Saints | Barry Goldsworthy | 1 episode | |
| 2011 | Cloudstreet | Pig | 3 episodes | |
| 2014 | Rake | George Corella | 1 episode | |
| 2015 | Let's Talk About | Man in Toilet | 1 episode | |
| 2016 | The Wizards of Aus | Regimand | 3 episodes | |
| Black Comedy | Guest Cast | 1 episode | ||
| 2018 | True Story with Hamish & Andy | The Oracle | 1 episode | |
| 2021 | Back to the Rafters | Charles Whiteman | 4 episodes | |
| 2023 | Ten Pound Poms | Father | 1 episode | |
| Faraway Downs | Dr Barker | 6 episodes | ||
| 2024 | Nautilus | CBIO President | 2 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Enter the Matrix | Trainman | |
| 2014 | Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! | Scav Gyro, Sir Dennis, Toby Van Adobe, Tony Slows, Taunting Scav #2 | |
| 202? | Edge of Twilight | Horace |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Dimboola | Morrie McAdam | La Mama Theatre |
| 1970 | The Coming of Stork | Graham 'Stork' Wallace | La Mama Theatre |
| 1985 | A Stretch of the Imagination | Nimrod Theatre Company | |
| 2005 | The Marvellous Boy | Victor/Bain Cipolla | WB Stables by Griffin Theatre Company |
| 2013 | The Secret River | Loveday | Sydney Theatre |
See also
In Spanish: Bruce Spence para niños
