Famous People from Australia,

Australian Actors

Famous people from Australia is a page about Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson.

Neither is Australian by birth, but both launched their career in this country before moving to Hollywood.

Both contributed to the recognition of the Australian film industry internationally.

Both maintain strong links with the country where they acquired their acting skills and which helped propel them to stardom.

Famous People from Australia - Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe is an Australian actor born in New Zealand. He lived in Australia as a child, moved back to New Zealand as a teenager and returned to Sydney as a young man.

He did some television work, including being part of the series "Neighbours", which has been a springboard for many other famous people from Australia, including Kylie Minogue and other singers such as Delta Goodrem or Natalie Imbruglia.

Russell started in films in 1990 and did well from the beginning.

He was nominated for an Australian Film Institute (AFI) award for his role in "The Crossing", but the movies which launched Crowe and won him two AFI awards were "Proof" in 1991 for best supporting actor, and "Romper Stomper" in 1992 for best actor.

This feat opened the door for a very successful career in Hollywood. Starting with 1999, he was nominated for various awards for almost all of his roles and he won an Oscar.

Here are just some of these achievements:

• "Insider" - best actor nominations for Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA awards in 1999,
• "Gladiator" - Oscar for best actor in 2000, and also heaps of nominations for this role, including Golden Globe and BAFTA,
• "A Beautiful Mind" - Golden Globe and BAFTA awards and multiple other nominations for best actor in 2001,
• "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" - Golden Globe nomination in 2003,
• "Cinderella Man" - Golden Globe and AFI nominations in 2005,
• "American Gangster" - AFI nomination in 2007.

His favourite director seems to be Ridley Scott with whom he worked in "Gladiator", "A Good Year" (2006), "American Gangster" (2007), "Body of Lies" (2008) and "Robin Hood" (2010).

Famous People from Australia - Mel Gibson

Much as we would like to think that Mel Gibson in Australian, he is not. But he studied and worked in Australia.

He was born in the US and his family moved to Australia when he was 12. He did his acting studies at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney and started to act on stage and in pictures.

While still a student he received an AFI award for his role in the movie "Tim" in 1979. The first film of the "Mad Max" trilogy pushed his career internationally.

Gibson was involved in theatrical productions in Adelaide and Sydney and in various televisions series.

His role in Peter Weir's drama "Gallipoli" won him a second AFI best actor award in 1981.

His Australian career includes:

• two more sequels to "Mad Max",
• another movie by Peter Weir - "The Year of Living Dangerously" which brought him an AFI nomination,
• "Attack Force Z".

In Hollywood, Gibson recognised the power of taking advantage of his own successes by replicating them. He starred in the four "Lethal Weapon" thrillers and won an MTV movie award for series 3 of this film in 1992 and an MTV nomination for series 4 in 1998.

The 1990 drama "Hamlet" is a proof of how resourceful an actor Gibson is.

Here are just some of his movies that received award nominations:

• historic drama "Braveheart" - two MTV Movie award nominations for best performance and most desirable male in 1995,
• thriller "Ransom" - Golden Globe nomination for best actor in 1996,
• comedy "What Women Want" - Golden Globe nomination for best actor in 2000,
• drama "Patriot" - MTV Movie award nomination for best performance in 2000.

Mel Gibson proved that he is not just an actor. He took on directing and producing films and this payed him off big.

He produced, directed and played the leading role in "Braveheart". The movie won five Oscars in 1995 and two of them were for best director and best picture. Mel Gibsons' ability as a director were also recognised with a Golden Globe for this film.

He went on to produce and direct the "Passion of the Christ" in 2004 and "Apocalypto" in 2006.

Mel Gibson's contribution to Australian film industry earned him the Officer of the Order of Australia honorary title in 1997.

Liked what you read? Here is more about other Australian actors.

References: www.wikipedia.org

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