The Most Famous

ACTORS from Australia

This page contains a list of the greatest Australian Actors. The pantheon dataset contains 13,578 Actors, 179 of which were born in Australia. This makes Australia the birth place of the 10th most number of Actors behind Germany, and Italy.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Australian Actors of all time. This list of famous Australian Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Australian Actors.

1. Geoffrey Rush (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 68.47, Geoffrey Rush is the most famous Australian Actor. His biography has been translated into 72 different languages on wikipedia.

Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. Known for often playing eccentric roles on both stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award, making him the only Australian to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, in addition to three BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. Rush is the founding president of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and was named the 2012 Australian of the Year. Rush began his professional acting career with the Queensland Theatre Company in 1971. He studied for two years at the L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq starting in 1975. Rush starred in international productions of Waiting for Godot, The Winter's Tale and The Importance of Being Earnest. He made his Broadway debut in the absurdist comedy Exit the King in 2009, where he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance. He received a nomination for Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play for Diary of a Madman in 2011. He gained prominence for his role in Shine (1996), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor. His other Oscar-nominated roles were for Shakespeare in Love (1998), Quills (2000), and The King's Speech (2010). Rush gained mainstream popularity for his role as Captain Hector Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (2003–2017). His other notable films include in Elizabeth (1998), Les Misérables (1998), Frida (2002), Finding Nemo (2003), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Munich (2005), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) and The Book Thief (2013). Rush is also known for his performances in television receiving Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie nominations for his portrayals of comedian Peter Sellers in the HBO film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), and scientist Albert Einstein in National Geographic anthology series Genius (2017), winning for the former.

2. George Lazenby (b. 1939)

With an HPI of 66.79, George Lazenby is the 2nd most famous Australian Actor. His biography has been translated into 52 different languages.

George Robert Lazenby (; born 5 September 1939) is a retired Australian actor. He was the second actor to portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Since he appeared in only one film, Lazenby's tenure as Bond is the shortest among the actors in the series. Lazenby began his professional career as a model and had only acted in commercials when he was cast to replace the original Bond actor, Sean Connery. He declined to return for subsequent Bond films and instead pursued roles in Universal Soldier (1971), Who Saw Her Die? (1972), The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss (1974), The Man from Hong Kong (1975), and The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977). After his career stalled in the late 1970s, he moved into business and invested in real estate. Lazenby later appeared in roles that parodied James Bond. In 2017, a Hulu docudrama film, Becoming Bond, featured Lazenby recounting his life story and portrayal of Bond.

3. Cate Blanchett (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 65.85, Cate Blanchett is the 3rd most famous Australian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 104 different languages.

Catherine Élise Blanchett ( BLAN-chit; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Often regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters and the stage. Blanchett has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards and four Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. A graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Blanchett began her career on the Australian stage. Making her feature film debut in 1997, she came to international prominence for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in the period drama Elizabeth (1998), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination. Her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in the biopic The Aviator (2004) won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later won the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing a neurotic former socialite in the comedy-drama Blue Jasmine (2013). Blanchett's other Oscar-nominated roles were in Notes on a Scandal (2006), I'm Not There (2007), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Carol (2015), and Tár (2022), making her the most-nominated Australian. Her biggest commercial successes include The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Cinderella (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Ocean's 8 (2018), and Don't Look Up (2021). Blanchett has performed in over twenty stage productions. She and her husband, Andrew Upton, were the artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company from 2008 to 2013. Some of her stage roles during this period were in acclaimed revivals of A Streetcar Named Desire, Uncle Vanya, Big and Little and The Maids. She made her Broadway debut in 2017 in The Present, for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She has also received two Emmy Award nominations for producing and starring as Phyllis Schlafly in the period drama miniseries Mrs. America (2020). Blanchett is the recipient of several honorary awards. The Australian government awarded her the Centenary Medal in 2001, and she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2017. In 2012, she was appointed Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government. In 2015, she was honoured by the Museum of Modern Art and received the British Film Institute Fellowship. Blanchett has received honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from the University of New South Wales, University of Sydney and Macquarie University. Time named her one of its 100 most influential people in the world in 2007. In 2018, she was ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses.

4. Chris Hemsworth (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 65.35, Chris Hemsworth is the 4th most famous Australian Actor. His biography has been translated into 83 different languages.

Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. He rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series Home and Away (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Hemsworth starred as Thor in the 2011 film of the same name and reprised the role in several subsequent instalments, which established him among the world's highest-paid actors. His other film roles include the action films Star Trek (2009), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) and its sequel The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), Red Dawn (2012), Blackhat (2015), Men in Black: International (2019), Extraction (2020) and its 2023 sequel, the thriller A Perfect Getaway (2009) and the comedy Ghostbusters (2016). Hemsworth's most critically acclaimed films include the comedy horror The Cabin in the Woods (2012), the biographical sports film Rush (2013) in which he portrayed James Hunt, and the action film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024).

5. Margot Robbie (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 64.83, Margot Robbie is the 5th most famous Australian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 77 different languages.

Margot Elise Robbie ( MAR-goh ROB-ee; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Her work includes both blockbuster and independent films, and her accolades include nominations for three Academy Awards, six BAFTA Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2017, and Forbes named her the world's highest-paid actress in 2023. Born and raised in Queensland, Robbie began her career in 2008 on the television series Neighbours, on which she was a regular until 2011. After moving to the United States, she led the television series Pan Am (2011–2012) and had her breakthrough in 2013 with Martin Scorsese’s comedy film The Wolf of Wall Street. She achieved wider recognition with starring roles as Jane Porter in The Legend of Tarzan (2016), and as Harley Quinn in the DC Extended Universe films beginning with Suicide Squad (2016). Robbie received critical acclaim and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of figure skater Tonya Harding in the biopic I, Tonya (2017). This acclaim continued for her performances as Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots (2018), Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), and a Fox News employee in Bombshell (2019). The last of these earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Robbie has since starred as an aspiring actress in the period film Babylon (2022) and the titular fashion doll in the fantasy comedy Barbie (2023), which emerged as her highest-grossing release and, as its producer, earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Robbie and her husband, filmmaker Tom Ackerley, co-founded the production company LuckyChap Entertainment in 2014, under which they have produced several films, including I, Tonya, Promising Young Woman (2020), Barbie, and Saltburn (2023), as well as the Hulu series Dollface (2019–2022) and the Netflix miniseries Maid (2021).

6. Heath Ledger (1979 - 2008)

With an HPI of 64.17, Heath Ledger is the 6th most famous Australian Actor. His biography has been translated into 96 different languages.

Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film career. His work consisted of 20 films in a variety of genres, including 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), The Patriot (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001), Monster's Ball (2001), Casanova (2005), Lords of Dogtown (2005), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Candy (2006), I'm Not There (2007), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), the latter two of which were posthumously released. He also produced and directed music videos and aspired to be a film director. For his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, he received nominations for the BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Actor, becoming the eighth-youngest nominee in the category at that time. In 2007, he played a fictional actor, Robbie Clark, one of six characters embodying aspects of Bob Dylan's life and persona in Todd Haynes' I'm Not There. Ledger died in January 2008 from an accidental overdose as a result of prescription drug abuse. A few months before his death, he finished filming his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight; the performance brought him praise and popularity, and numerous posthumous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, and the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.

7. Paul Hogan (b. 1939)

With an HPI of 64.02, Paul Hogan is the 7th most famous Australian Actor. His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Paul Hogan (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as outback adventurer Michael "Crocodile" Dundee in Crocodile Dundee (1986), the first in the Crocodile Dundee film series. At the start of his career, Paul Hogan said he was born in Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, to appear more interesting. He was actually born in Parramatta, a suburb in Greater Western Sydney, and he is of Irish descent. He moved to Granville in Western Sydney at a young age and worked as a rigger on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He attended both Primary and High School at Parramatta Marist High School. Hogan's first public appearance was on Australian television, the Nine Network's amateur talent program New Faces in 1971. Hogan had observed to his Harbour Bridge workmates that the program's entertainment value relied significantly on the judges ridiculing and belittling the performers, and suggested the judges deserved similar treatment. Hogan inveigled his way onto the program by claiming to be a "tap-dancing knife-thrower". Hogan appeared on stage in his work boots, holding elaborate prop "knives", and proceeded to make a series of jokes at the judges' expense; he finished by performing a rudimentary shuffle and throwing the knives onto the floor. Strong positive response from the viewing public saw Hogan invited back for repeated performances on New Faces; in another of these, he proposed to "play the shovels", which consisted of making a series of jokes before banging two shovels together a few times. Hogan's natural ability as a comedic performer attracted the attention of Mike Willesee, host of Nine's news magazine program A Current Affair. Willesee offered Hogan regular appearances on the series, during which Hogan would make humorous comment on some issue of the day. During this time, Hogan befriended A Current Affair producer John Cornell, who became Hogan's manager and business partner. Hogan followed this with his own comedy sketch program The Paul Hogan Show, which he produced and wrote, and in which he played characters with Cornell and Delvene Delaney. The series, which ran for 60 episodes between 1973 and 1984, was popular in the UK, where it aired on the new Channel Four from 1982 and also in South Africa, and showcased his trademark lighthearted but laddish ocker humour. Hogan won the 1973 TV Week Logie Award for 'Best New Talent'. The early series was on Channel Seven and, by 1975, it was screened on Channel Nine where it remained until the end of 1984. In the 1970s, Hogan advertised Winfield cigarettes in television, print and billboard advertisements in which he wore a formal dinner suit. These ads always ended with the catchphrase "Anyhow, have a Winfield." During the early 1980s, Hogan filmed a series of television ads promoting the Australian tourism industry, which aired in the United States. An advertisement with the phrase "shrimp on the barbie", which aired from 1984, was particularly successful. In 1985, Hogan appeared as an Australian World War I 'digger' named Pat Cleary in the mini-series Anzacs, which aired on the Nine Network. Cleary was described as the quintessential Aussie larrikin, and series writer John Dixon wrote the part of Cleary with Hogan in mind. The series included a "who's who" of Australian television and film actors of the day, including Jon Blake, Andrew Clarke, Megan Williams, Tony Bonner, Bill Kerr, Ilona Rodgers, Vivean Gray and Robert Coleby. Throughout the decade, Hogan appeared on British television in advertisements for Foster's Lager, in which he played an earthy Australian abroad in London. The character's most notable line (spoken incredulously at a ballet performance) "Strewth, there's a bloke down there with no strides on!", followed Hogan for years, and the popularity of its "fish out of water" humour was repeated with his next endeavour. In another advertisement from the same Foster's series, Hogan's character is approached in a London Tube station by a Japanese tourist who asks, "Do you know the way to Cockfosters?" (referring to an area in North London), to which Hogan replies (with a puzzled look on his face): "Drink it warm, mate." Hogan's breakout role was that of Mick "Crocodile" Dundee in the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee. Hogan also co-wrote the movie, which was a massive critical and commercial success in many countries. He won the 1987 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and was also nominated for Best Actor at the BAFTAs. The screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA and a Saturn Award. Along with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn, Hogan co-hosted the 59th Academy Awards, also in 1987. Hogan again portrayed Mick Dundee in the sequel Crocodile Dundee II, released in 1988. Hogan was also executive producer and co-writer with his son, Brett. Although less popular with critics than the first Crocodile Dundee, it was still a commercial success. The character made him popular in the United States, with phrases like, "That's not a knife... that's a knife!" entering the lexicon, though Hogan was troubled that the character was perceived as a cross between Chuck Norris and John Rambo, and turned down roles similar to those because of their violent nature, commenting: "The movie scene is screaming out for the movie hero who doesn't kill 75 people...less of those commandos, terminators, ex-terminators and squashers. Mick's a good role model. There's no malice in the fellow and he's human. He's not a wimp or a sissy just because he doesn't kill people." In the early 1990s, a Paramount executive pitched a concept of a Crocodile Dundee and Beverly Hills Cop crossover movie. Hogan refused the starring role in the hit film Ghost, choosing instead to make Almost an Angel (1990). In 1994, Hogan co-produced, wrote and starred in the Western comedy film Lightning Jack. In 1996, he starred in a remake of the 1963 film Flipper, a family-friendly movie about a dolphin. In 1998, he co-starred in the made-for-TV drama Floating Away, an adaptation of the Tim Sandlin book Sorrow Floats, and in which he played 'Shane', a recovering alcoholic. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Hogan was featured in advertisements for the Subaru Outback. In 2001, Hogan returned to the role that made him famous with Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. In 2004, Hogan starred in the Australian-produced comedy film Strange Bedfellows, about two firemen pretending to be in a homosexual relationship for financial benefit. Strange Bedfellows was written and directed by Hogan's friend Dean Murphy and was the highest-grossing Australian-made film of 2004. 2005 saw the release of Paul Hogan – Stand Up Hoges, a DVD compilation of Hogan's favourite live performances throughout his career. In 2009, Hogan starred in another of Murphy's films, Charlie & Boots, a road-movie concerning the relationship between a father (Hogan) and son (Shane Jacobson). It was the second-highest-grossing Australian-made film of 2009, after Mao's Last Dancer. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, Hogan embarked on live stand-up performances throughout Australia. The 2013 tour entitled An Evening with Hoges featured capital cities only, but the 2014 tour Hoges: One Night Only featured 25 locations including regional Australia. 2015's Hoges: Live saw performances in Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney only. Some of this material was shown in the 2014 documentary Hanging with Hoges, in which Hogan was interviewed about his life and career by Jacobson. In 2016, Hogan received the Longford Lyell Award for an outstanding contribution to the Australian screen. Hogan joked he had only ever been a "one-hit wonder". Australia's Seven Network commissioned a two-part miniseries based upon Hogan's life, entitled Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story which aired in February 2017. Australian actor Josh Lawson portrayed Hogan. In 2019, to celebrate Hogan's upcoming 80th birthday, Australia's ABC produced a two-part episode of Australian Story, entitled "A Fortunate Life – Paul Hogan", in which Hogan and his family reflect on his life and career. Following on from a 2018 Tourism Australia campaign, in 2020 Hogan starred in The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee, with Hogan portraying himself as an aging, out-of-touch movie actor with his legendary character Mick Dundee now monetised and manipulated by others. In 2023, Hogan took part in a live TV roast entitled The Roast of Paul Hogan. In 1985, Hogan was named Australian of the Year. In 1986, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) "for service to tourism and entertainment". In 1987, Hogan won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy for Crocodile Dundee. In 2016, Hogan received the Longford Lyell Award, the highest honour of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), for outstanding services to the Australian screen. The Logie Awards is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by magazine TV Week, with the first ceremony in 1959, known then as the TV Week Awards, the awards are presented in 20 categories representing both public and industry voted awards. The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Hogan and his first wife, Noelene Edwards, married in 1958. They separated and divorced in 1981 and remarried less than one year later. A second divorce, initiated in 1986, was considered one of Australia's ugliest celebrity divorces. Hogan married his Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski in 1990. He has five children with his first wife and one with his second wife. In October 2013, Kozlowski filed for divorce from Hogan, citing irreconcilable differences, with the divorce finalised in 2014. From February 2003 until all charges were dropped in November 2010, Hogan faced a series of legal issues while under investigation by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for tax evasion. His legal troubles were made public in 2007 when Hogan was named as one of a group in connection to an AU$300 million Australian tax fraud investigation called Operation Wickenby, investigating 23 companies for allegedly using overseas companies to hide income. In July 2008, Hogan commented to Network Ten that he had "paid plenty of tax" in Australia and that he had nothing to fear from the ATO investigation. In October 2008, Hogan scored a major victory in his tax fight with the Australian Crime Commission, who were forced to pay up to an estimated AU$5 million for legal bills dating back to 2006 and were required to return seized personal financial documents that they had admitted were irrelevant. Hogan had not been charged in connection with the investigation, which began in 2003. On 18 June 2010, in the Australian High Court, Hogan lost a long-running legal battle to keep the contents of his tax documents secret, paving the way for details of his offshore accounts to be published. Earlier the same year, Australian media reported that the Australian Crime Commission was in the final stages of preparing to lay criminal charges of tax evasion against Hogan, film producer John Cornell and their accountant Anthony Stewart, who it suspected channelled millions of dollars from the proceeds of the film Crocodile Dundee and other films into offshore tax havens. The release of the documents was expected to help finalise the Tax Office's case. On 20 August 2010, Hogan returned to Australia to attend his mother's funeral. Upon arrival, he was issued a Departure Prohibition Order by the ATO, which prevented him from leaving the country until his alleged tax debt was paid or settled. The nation's tax office said he owed taxes on AU$37.5 million of undeclared income. On 3 September, Hogan was granted permission to return to the U.S. through an agreement between his lawyers and Australian tax officials. Hogan continued to deny any wrongdoing. In November 2010, the Australian Tax Office dropped its criminal investigation of Hogan and his business manager for tax evasion. In January 2011, Hogan's lawyer announced that Hogan was suing the Australian government, stating that Hogan's "earning potential and reputation has been decimated". Hogan likened the Australian Tax Office to the Taliban and referred to staff as "a-holes". In May 2012, it was announced that, following mediation before an ex–High Court judge, the entities settled with the Commissioner of Taxation in an agreement "without admission". The parties agreed that the terms of the settlement would remain confidential, but as part of the settlement, the Departure Prohibition Order was revoked by the Commissioner. As of April 2013, Hogan's financial advisor Stewart remained in a dispute with the Australian Tax Office. Hogan reappeared in the media in April 2013, because of a AU$32.3 million issue with a Swiss bank run by the Geneva firm Strachans. Following the placement of the money in an offshore account for the purpose of tax avoidance, Hogan was unable to access the funds as of April 2013, and a United States court action by Hogan that sought AU$80 million in damages proved unsuccessful. Hogan publicly stated that he believes that Philip Egglishaw, the principal of Strachans and a former tax advisor to Hogan, had absconded with the money, and Hogan's American legal representative Schuyler "Sky" Moore filed corresponding documents in a Californian court based on this statement. On 18 April 2013, it was reported that Egglishaw denied the allegations of his former client. In May 2017, Chris Jordan, Commissioner of Taxation, implied that in spite of Hogan's claim of victory over the ATO in 2012, Hogan paid "tens of millions of dollars" to settle the matter. In response, Hogan denied paying the ATO, and criticised Jordan for breaking the confidentiality clause of the 2012 agreement. Paul Hogan at IMDb Paul Hogan at AllMovie Biography of Paul Hogan's film career Archived 12 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine Laughterlog.com article with complete list of Paul Hogan Shows Paul Hogan at the National Film and Sound Archive Paul Hogan on Picture Australia

8. Errol Flynn (1909 - 1959)

With an HPI of 63.55, Errol Flynn is the 8th most famous Australian Actor. His biography has been translated into 72 different languages.

Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia de Havilland, and reputation for his womanising and hedonistic personal life. His most notable roles include Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), which was later named by the American Film Institute as the 18th-greatest hero in American film history, the lead role in Captain Blood (1935), Major Geoffrey Vickers in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), and the hero in a number of Westerns such as Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail, Virginia City (both 1940) and San Antonio (1945). Flynn was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion pictures and television industry in 1960.

9. Hugh Jackman (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 63.22, Hugh Jackman is the 9th most famous Australian Actor. His biography has been translated into 94 different languages.

Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, Jackman landed his breakthrough role as Wolverine in the X-Men film series, (2000–2024) a role that earned him the Guinness World Record for "longest career as a live-action Marvel character". Prominent on both screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award and two Tony Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award. Jackman was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2019. Jackman has headlined films in various genres, including the romantic comedy Kate & Leopold (2001), the action-horror Van Helsing (2004), the drama The Prestige (2006), the period romance Australia (2008), the musical Les Misérables (2012), the thriller Prisoners (2013), the musical The Greatest Showman (2017), the political drama The Front Runner (2018), and the crime drama Bad Education (2019). For his role as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, and for The Greatest Showman soundtrack, Jackman received a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack. He also provided voice roles in the animated films Flushed Away, Happy Feet (both 2006), and Rise of the Guardians (2012). Jackman is also known for his early theatre roles in the original Australian productions of Beauty and the Beast as Gaston in 1995 and Sunset Boulevard as Joe Gillis in 1996. He earned a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for his performance as Curly McLain in the West End revival of Oklahoma! in 1998. In 2002, he was in an Off-Broadway concert of Carousel as Billy Bigelow. On Broadway, he won the 2004 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role of Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz. From 2021 to 2023 Jackman starred as con man Harold Hill in the Broadway revival of the musical The Music Man, earning another Tony Award nomination. A four-time host of the Tony Awards, he won an Emmy Award for hosting the 2005 ceremony. He also hosted the 81st Academy Awards in 2009.

10. Lionel Logue (1880 - 1953)

With an HPI of 60.79, Lionel Logue is the 10th most famous Australian Actor. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Lionel George Logue, (26 February 1880 – 12 April 1953) was an Australian speech and language therapist and amateur stage actor who helped King George VI manage his stammer. Logue was born on 26 February 1880 in College Town, South Australia. He was the oldest of four children born to Lavinia (née Rankin) and George Edward Logue. His father was an accountant at his grandfather's brewery who later managed the Burnside Hotel and the Elephant and Castle Hotel. His grandfather Edward Logue, originally from Dublin, was the founder of Logue's Brewery, a predecessor of the South Australian Brewing Company. His uncle by marriage was barrister and social activist Paris Nesbit. Logue attended Prince Alfred College between 1889 and 1896. Unable to decide what to study, Logue came across Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha: The poem's rhythm inspired Logue to put his interest in voices to good use. After leaving school at sixteen, he received elocution training from Edward Reeves. Reeves had moved to Adelaide in 1878 and taught elocution to his pupils by day and gave popular recitals to audiences in Victoria Hall by night. Logue worked for Reeves as a secretary and assistant teacher from 1902, while studying music at the University of Adelaide's Elder Conservatorium. While working for Reeves, Logue began to give recitals of his own for which he was praised for his "clear, powerful voice." After his father died on 17 November 1902, Logue set up his own practice as a teacher of elocution. By 1904, he had gained a good reputation and was receiving praise from the local newspapers. However, he decided to take a contract with an engineering firm some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) westward in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, installing an electricity supply at a gold mine. His professional career began in Perth, where, in addition to teaching elocution, acting, and public speaking, he put on plays and recitations, and also founded a club for public speakers. He was also involved with YMCA Perth and schools such as Methodist Ladies' College, Loreto Convent, Scotch College, Perth Technical School, and Claremont Teachers College. In 1911, Logue and his wife set out on a tour of the world to study methods of public speaking. Later he developed treatments for Australian First World War war veterans who had shell shock-induced impaired speech. In addition to physical exercises, which helped with patients' breathing, Logue's distinctive therapy emphasised humour, patience, and "superhuman sympathy". In 1924, Logue took his wife and three sons to England, ostensibly for a holiday. Once there, he took jobs teaching elocution at schools around London, and in 1926 he opened a speech-defect practice at 146 Harley Street. Logue used fees paid by wealthy clients to subsidise patients unable to pay. It was here that the Duke of York – the future King George VI – sought Logue's help. Logue became a founding fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in 1944. As a speech therapist, Logue was self-taught and was initially dismissed by the medical establishment as a quack, but he worked with the Duke from the late 1920s into the mid-1940s. Before ascending the throne as George VI, the Duke of York dreaded public speaking because of a severe stammer; his closing speech at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley on 31 October 1925 proved an ordeal for speaker and listeners alike. The Duke resolved to find some way to manage his stammer, and engaged Logue in 1926 after being introduced to him by Lord Stamfordham. Diagnosing poor co-ordination between the Duke's larynx and thoracic diaphragm, Logue prescribed a daily hour of vocal exercises. Logue's treatment gave the Duke the confidence to relax and avoid tension-induced muscle spasms. As a result, he only occasionally stammered. By 1927, he was speaking confidently and managed his address at the opening of the Old Parliament House in Canberra without stammering. Logue was often called over the years when the king was expected to make a speech, and was regularly invited to the royal family's Christmas dinner party in order to assist with the Christmas message. Their relationship was featured in a film, a play and a book. In 1944, King George VI appointed Logue a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO), elevating him from Member of the Order (MVO), which had been conferred upon Logue at the time of George VI's Coronation. King George VI died on 6 February 1952. On 26 February 1952, Logue wrote to the late king's wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: No man ever worked as hard as he did, and achieved such a grand result. During all those years you were a tower of strength to him and he has often told me how much he has owed to you, and the excellent result could never have been achieved if it had not been for your help. I have never forgotten your gracious help to me after my own beloved girl passed on. The Queen Mother replied: "I think that I know perhaps better than anyone just how much you helped the King, not only with his speech, but through that his whole life and outlook on life. I shall always be deeply grateful to you for all you did for him." Logue married Myrtle Gruenert, a 21-year-old clerk, at St George's Anglican Cathedral, Perth, on 20 March 1907. They had three sons, Valentine, Laurie, and Anthony. Valentine trained at King's College London and St George's Hospital and went on to become one of the most distinguished neurosurgeons of his generation. Lionel Logue was a Freemason, initiated, passed, and raised in 1908, and became Worshipful Master in 1919; he was a member of St. George's Lodge (now J.D. Stevenson St. George's Lodge No.6, Western Australian Constitution). He lived in a 25-room Victorian villa called Beechgrove in Sydenham from 1932 until 1947, now demolished and part of Sydenham Hill Wood. Myrtle died suddenly from a heart attack in June 1945, and Logue died in London, on 12 April 1953. His funeral was held on 17 April in Holy Trinity Brompton before his body was cremated. Representatives of Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother attended the funeral. With Peter Conradi, Logue's grandson Mark wrote a book, The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy, about his grandfather's relationship with the king. In the 2010 British film The King's Speech, written by David Seidler, Logue was played by Geoffrey Rush, his wife by Jennifer Ehle, and his patient by Colin Firth. In the West End stage adaptation of The King's Speech at Wyndham's Theatre, Australian actor Jonathan Hyde played Lionel Logue, and in the US stage premiere, Logue was played by James Frain. Welsh actor Michael Elwyn played Logue in the 2002 television film Bertie and Elizabeth. Derek Lawson portrayed Logue in the 2015 comedy A Royal Night Out. Speech and language pathology British Stammering Association Australian Dictionary of Biography BBC Interview with Mark Logue (4 January 2011), about finding Lionel Logue's notes "Chance Meeting Led to Cure of King's Stutter", The Sydney Morning Herald (Monday, 11 February 1952), p. 3. Darbyshire, T., The Duke of York: an intimate and authoritative life story of the second son of Their Majesties the King and Queen by one who has had special facilities, and published with the approval of His Royal Highness, Hutchinson, (London), 1929 Logue, Mark; Conradi, Peter (November 2010), The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy, London: Quercus, ISBN 978-0-85738-110-1 (Note: co-author Mark Logue is a grandson of the subject, Lionel Logue). Moses, E., & E. M. Foley, "The King's Speech", The Sydney Morning Herald, (Thursday, 24 December 1936), p. 5. Rhodes James, Robert (1998), A Spirit Undaunted: The Political Role of George VI, London: Little, Brown and Co, ISBN 978-0-316-64765-6 St. Claire, M. "An Australian Cures Defect in King's Speech", The Australian Women's Weekly, (Saturday, 2 January 1937), p. 12 "Lionel Logue 'never swore in front of King George VI'", BBC Radio Leicester Bowen, Caroline (2002). Lionel Logue: Pioneer speech therapist. Retrieved 1 January 2011 Hutchinson, Norman C. (2010). Lionel Logue: the King's Mentor, self-published, Box Hill South, Victoria, Australia * "King Honors Australian Who Alleviated Stammer", New York Times, (11 May 1937) Letter sent by Logue to George VI, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists archives Rare photo of Lionel Logue near the end of his life, from the UK National Archives

People

Pantheon has 203 people classified as Australian actors born between 1858 and 2004. Of these 203, 183 (90.15%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Australian actors include Geoffrey Rush, George Lazenby, and Cate Blanchett. The most famous deceased Australian actors include Heath Ledger, Errol Flynn, and Lionel Logue. As of April 2024, 24 new Australian actors have been added to Pantheon including Richard Norton, Coral Browne, and Murray Bartlett.