Colin Friels

Colin Friels
Born	25 September 1952 (1952-09-25) (age 56) Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland
Spouse(s)	Judy Davis (1984-)

Colin Friels (born 25 September 1952) is a Scottish-born Australian actor.

Background and training

Friels was born in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland.^[1] His mother was a mill worker and his father a carpenter.^[2] He lived in Kilbirnie until 1963, when his family moved to Australia, arriving in Darwin, Northern Territory before settling in the Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows. He worked as a bricklayer's labourer before studying at the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), alongside actors such as Mel Gibson, and his own future wife Judy Davis. Friels graduated from NIDA in 1976.

Acting career

Friels career began with work mostly in theatre and television. In 1980 Friels was a presenter on the long-running children's series Play School. His first film role was in the unreleased Prisoners (1981), starring with Tatum O'Neal. The film was allegedly so bad that Tatum's father Ryan O'Neal purchased the rights to the film to prevent it from ever screening. His first actual appearance in film was in Monkey Grip (1982), an adaptation of a novel by Helen Garner, where he starred alongside Noni Hazlehurst.

In 1986, he played the title role in Malcolm, about a shy mechanical genius, for which he was awarded the 1986 AFI Award for best actor. Friels was also nominated for the Best Actor award the following year, for his role in Ground Zero, but didn't win: the film receiving mixed reviews, with one describing him as "a proficient enough actor, but...miscast".^[3] Friels later won another AFI Award, for best actor in a television drama, in 1995 for his starring role in the 1994 Halifax f.p. telemovie "Hard Corps".

Friels has played a wide range of other roles. He was a megalomaniacal corporate executive in the 1990 feature film Darkman.

From 1996 to 1999 he played Frank Holloway on the television series Water Rats,^[4] a role which won him the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor at the 1997 awards. His acceptance speech caused controversy when he said "I'm very flattered for this and it's all rather silly, isn't it? So, thank you very much."

From 2003, Friels has appeared as the main character in the BlackJack series of telemovies.

Personal life and views

In late 1997, Friels was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and almost died. However, his treatment was successful and he is one of the very few victims of this disease to go into long-term remission.^[1] During his treatment he even continued to work on the set of Water Rats, until eventually the impact of the chemotherapy stopped him from working, and he chose to have his character written out of the series by sending him on a sailing journey around the world. At this time however, he also continued his stage work, and was performing in Sydney Theatre Company's Macbeth.

Friels has been married to actress Judy Davis since 1984, and they have two children, Jack and Charlotte. They were briefly separated, but have reconciled. The relationship was briefly in the media when an argument led to a court order against Friels - however they remained together at that time.^[5]

Friels believes that social and political awareness comes with the territory of acting, and is known for his engagement in policy debates, including industrial issues such as workplace relations and free trade.^[1] He publicly criticised Bush administration policy in the Middle East, and supported the Sydney Peace Foundation.^[6] His engagement with social issues has also been evident in his acting work, with two prominent examples being his lead role in Ground Zero, in which he played a cameraman investigating British nuclear testing in South Australia, and his appearance in ABC television drama Bastard Boys, in which he played union official John Coombs.

Filmography

• Monkey Grip (1982)
• Buddies (1983)
• The Coolangatta Gold (1984)
• Kangaroo (1986)
• Malcolm (1986)
• Ground Zero (1987)
• High Tide (1988)
• Darkman (1990)
• Weekend with Kate (1990)
• Class Action (1991)
• Dingo (1992)
• Stark (1993)
• A Good Man in Africa (1994)
• Cosi (1996)
• Mr Reliable (1996)
• Dark City (1998)
• The Man Who Sued God (2001)
• Black and White (2002)
• Tom White (2004)

Awards

Won

• 2004 Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Actor - Male (Tom White)
• 2004 Lexus IF Award Best Actor (Tom White)
• 2003 Australian Entertainment "Mo" Award Best Actor - Play (Copenhagen)
• 2003 Helpmann Award Best Male Actor - Play (Copenhagen)
• 1997 Logie Award Most Outstanding Actor (Water Rats)
• 1995 Australian Film Institute Award Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Drama (Halifax f.p.: Hard Corps)
• 1986 Australian Film Institute Award Best Actor in a Lead Role (Malcolm)

Nominated

• 2006 Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Actor (Solo)
• 2006 Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Supporting Actor (The Book of Revelation)
• 2004 Australian Film Institute Award Best Actor in a Lead Role (Tom White)
• 2000 Logie Award Most Outstanding Actor in a Series (Water Rats)
• 1991 Australian Film Institute Award Best Actor in a Lead Role (Dingo)
• 1987 Australian Film Institute Award Best Actor in a Lead Role (Ground Zero)

References

External links

• "Colin Friels". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0295506/. Retrieved on November 24 2005. 
• Photo of Colin Friels and Heather Mitchell