Bryan Brown facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bryan Brown AM
Brown at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	(1947-06-23) 23 June 1947 (age 77) Panania, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1972–present
Spouse(s)	Rachel Ward ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	3, including Matilda

Bryan Neathway Brown is a well-known Australian actor. He was born on June 23, 1947. Since the late 1970s, he has acted in more than eighty movies and TV shows. He has worked both in his home country of Australia and around the world. Some of his famous films include Breaker Morant (1980), Cocktail (1988), and Australia (2008). He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for his role in the TV series The Thorn Birds (1983).

Bryan Brown's Early Life

Bryan Brown was born in Panania, a suburb in south-western Sydney, Australia. His father, John "Jack" Brown, was a salesman. His mother, Molly Brown, was a talented pianist and also studied drama. Bryan grew up in Panania with his younger sister, Kristine.

Before becoming an actor, Bryan started working at a company called AMP. He was studying to become an actuary, which is someone who uses math to figure out risks. However, he soon found a love for acting when he joined amateur theatre groups.

Bryan Brown's Acting Career

Starting in Theatre

In 1972, Bryan Brown traveled to Britain. There, he managed to get small roles at a famous theatre called the Old Vic. After some time, he returned to Australia. He joined the Genesian Theatre in Sydney. He performed in a play called A Man for All Seasons. Later, in 1975, he joined the Queensland Theatre Company. With them, he toured with the play The Rainmaker.

First Film Roles

Bryan Brown made his very first movie appearance in Scobie Malone (1975). He played a police officer and only had two lines! His name was even spelled wrong in the credits.

In 1977, he got a main role in a short film called The Love Letters from Teralba Road. After that, he had small parts in several other Australian movies. These included The Irishman (1978) and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978).

He also had bigger roles in the movie Newsfront (1978) and the TV series Against the Wind (1978). He continued to take on leading roles in smaller films like Third Person Plural (1979) and Palm Beach (1980).

Bryan Brown became known to audiences around the world in 1980. This was thanks to his performance in the movie Breaker Morant.

Becoming a Star

After Breaker Morant, Bryan Brown played the main character in Stir (1980). He also starred in the thriller Blood Money (1980). He then appeared in Winter of Our Dreams (1981) with actress Judy Davis.

Bryan Brown had huge international success with the TV series A Town Like Alice (1981). This show became very popular in the United States. He later worked with his co-star, Helen Morse, again in the movie Far East (1982).

Another big international hit for Bryan Brown was his role as Luke O'Neil in The Thorn Birds (1983). In this series, he starred alongside Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward. He later married Rachel Ward! For his work in The Thorn Birds, Bryan was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award.

These successes led to many offers for Bryan to work in international films. He starred in a British TV movie called Kim (1984). He also supported famous musician Paul McCartney in the movie Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984).

Bryan returned to Australia for another TV series, Eureka Stockade (1984). He then played an Australian hitman in the British film Parker (1985). He also starred in The Empty Beach (1985) and supported Matt Dillon in Rebel (1985).

Working in the United States

Bryan Brown got the main role in the American action movie F/X (1986), which was a big hit. However, another film he made, Tai-Pan (1986), was not as successful.

He then returned to Australia to make The Umbrella Woman (1987) with his wife, Rachel Ward. He also starred in a new version of The Shiralee (1987). Back in the US, he supported Tom Cruise in Cocktail (1988). He also acted alongside Sigourney Weaver in Gorillas in the Mist (1989).

In Australia, he played the lead in a World War Two movie called Blood Oath (1990). He also made a romantic comedy called Sweet Talker (1991).

In the US, he made F/X2 (1991), which was a sequel to F/X. He was also an executive producer for this film. He then appeared in the TV movie Dead in the Water (1991).

He acted in a comedy with Dudley Moore called Blame It on the Bellboy (1992). After that, he appeared in several thrillers. These included Devlin (1992) and Age of Treason (1994). In Age of Treason, he played a detective in Ancient Rome.

Bryan Brown also had the lead role in a short-lived British TV series called The Wanderer (1994). He then starred in the popular TV film Full Body Massage (1995).

Back in Australia

Bryan Brown returned to Australia to star in and produce Dead Heart (1996). He also produced and starred in Twisted Tales (1996). This led to a TV series with different stories in each episode. He played Ned Land in the 1997 TV series 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He then did a TV film called Dogboys (1998) and a thriller On the Border (1998).

In 1999, Bryan starred in the romantic comedy Dear Claudia. He also had a supporting role in Two Hands (1999) with Heath Ledger.

He appeared in Grizzly Falls (1999) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1999). In Australia, he had a supporting role in Risk (2000). He also played the lead in On the Beach (2000) and Dirty Deeds (2002), which he also produced. He helped produce a short film directed by his wife, The Big House (2001).

Bryan Brown had supporting roles in movies like Along Came Polly (2004) and The Poseidon Adventure (2005). He also produced another short film directed by his wife, Martha's New Coat (2005).

Back in Australia, Bryan was in Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback (2007) and Cactus (2008), which he also co-produced. He had a small role in the big Australian movie Australia (2008).

Bryan produced and had a small role in Beautiful Kate (2009), which was directed by his wife. He appeared in Limbo (2010) and Love Birds (2011). He also guest-starred on the TV show The Good Wife.

He had the lead in the TV series Better Man (2013). He also appeared in An Accidental Soldier (2013), which was also directed by his wife. He and his daughter made a series of short films called Lessons from the Grave (2013). He starred in the ghost film The Darkside (2013) and had the lead in the TV series Old School (2013). In 2014, he performed on stage for the Sydney Theatre Company in the play Travelling North.

More recently, he has been in films like Kill Me Three Times (2013), Gods of Egypt (2015), and Red Dog: True Blue (2016). He also had roles in Sweet Country (2017) and Australia Day (2017). He appeared in Palm Beach (2019), directed by his wife, and the 2019 TV series Bloom.

In 2018, Bryan Brown appeared in the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. In June 2024, it was announced that he would return to the TV series Darby and Joan (TV series) for its second season.

Writing Books

Bryan Brown has also become an author! His first crime novel, Sweet Jimmy, was published in 2021. He even narrated the audio book himself. His second book, The Drowning, was published in 2023, and he narrated that audio book too.

Production Work

Bryan Brown has his own production company. This company made the TV series Twisted Tales and Two Twisted. These shows were similar to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, featuring different stories in each episode. The second series, Two Twisted, had a clever twist: the two stories in each episode were connected in some way, and viewers were invited to try and find the connection.

Awards and Recognition

Bryan Brown has received many honors for his acting. He was added to the Logie Hall of Fame in 1989. This is a special award for people who have made a big impact on Australian television. He also won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in Breaker Morant (1980) and Two Hands (1999). In 2024, he won a Logie for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Boy Swallows Universe.

In June 2005, Bryan Brown was made a Member of the Order of Australia. This is a high honor given for service to the community. He received it for his work with charities that help families and young people, and for his contributions to the Australian film and television industry.

A theatre and function center in Bankstown, Sydney, was named the Bryan Brown Theatre & Function Centre in 2013. In 2018, he won the Longford Lyell Award at the AACTA Awards. This award celebrates a lifetime of achievement in Australian film.

Bryan Brown's Personal Life

Bryan Brown met his wife, Rachel Ward, on the set of the TV series The Thorn Birds in 1983. He famously read her palm and predicted she would have three children. They got married just a few months after filming finished. They now have three children: Rosie, Matilda, and Joe.

Bryan Brown is also a strong supporter of Australian republicanism. This means he believes Australia should have its own head of state, rather than the British monarch.

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

In Spanish: Bryan Brown para niños