Jack Thompson (actor)
He is best known for his role as a lead actor in several acclaimed Australian films, including such classics as The Club (1980), Sunday Too Far Away (1975), The Man from Snowy River (1982) and Petersen (1974).Born John Hadley Pain[2] in Manly, a suburb of Sydney, Thompson was five years old when his mother Marjorie died, leaving his father Harold (a purser for Qantas seconded to the RAAF during the war) unable to care for him and his brother, David.[3][4][5] He was sent to "LakeHouse orphanage" in Narrabeen by his aunt and subsequently adopted by the poet and ABC broadcaster John Thompson[6] and his wife Pat, after which he changed his surname.[15] His TV career began with the soap opera Motel (1968), and he had guest appearances on numerous serials, including Riptide, Woobinda, Animal Doctor, Skippy, The Rovers, Division 4, Homicide and Matlock Police.He had a supporting role in Wake in Fright in 1971, and he received excellent reviews for his performance in one of the stories in Libido in 1973, with his segment written by David Williamson."[15] Thompson then deliberately decided to take character parts, out of a fear of typecasting and "also an understanding that unless I could get out of that target area, then I wouldn't be allowed to be seen as an actor.[25] Thompson supported US stars William Holden and Rick Schroeder in The Earthling (1980) then was top billed in The Club (1980), directed by Beresford from a play by Williamson.He was Lee Remick's husband in a remake of The Letter (1982), and played a British POW in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) with David Bowie and Tom Conti.He returned to Australia to play Russell Crowe's father in The Sum of Us (1994), then did A Woman of Independent Means (1995) in the US and Flight of the Albatross (1995) in New Zealand.He appeared in the Clint Eastwood-directed Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) as Sonny Seiler, the attorney of Kevin Spacey's character, Jim Williams.He had a support part in the new version of South Pacific (2001), the mini series based on My Brother Jack (2001), Original Sin (2001), Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004), and Oyster Farmer (2005).Thompson had a key role in two films directed by Brett Leonard: the Marvel Comics based Man-Thing (2005) and Feed (2006), the latter written by and starring his son.Thompson had support roles in The Good German (2006), Bastard Boys (2007), December Boys (2007), Leatherheads (2008), Ten Empty (2008), Australia (2008), Mao's Last Dancer (2009) for Beresford, The Karenskys (2009), Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010), Rake (2010), Blinder (2013), The Great Gatsby (2013), Mystery Road (2013), Around the Block (2013), Bonnie & Clyde (2013) for Beresford, Devil's Playground (2014), Ruben Guthrie (2015), The Light Between Oceans (2016), Don't Tell (2017), Blue World Order (2017) and Swinging Safari (2018).[35] Thompson featured in the first episode of the Australian version of Who Do You Think You Are?, which was televised on 13 January 2008 on SBS, with Thompson discovering that his great-grandfather was Captain Thomas Pain, and his great-great uncle was Alfred Lee, a prominent figure in Sydney society, who donated the journal of Joseph Banks, from Captain Cook's navigation to Australia in the 1770s, to the Mitchell Library in Sydney.
Manly, New South WalesInductee into the Australian Film Walk of FameAustralian Film InstituteBreaker MorantCannesSunday Too Far AwayAustralian cinemaAustralian New WaveThe ClubThe Man from Snowy RiverPetersenAustralian Cinematographers SocietyInside Film AwardsNarrabeenJohn ThompsonSydney Boys High SchooljackarooUniversity of QueenslandTwelfth Night TheatreBrisbaneProducers Authors Composers and TalentRiptideWoobinda, Animal DoctorSkippyThe RoversDivision 4HomicideMatlock PoliceDonald CrombieSpyforceOver ThereElephant BoyThe Evil TouchThat Lady from PekingSilo 15Wake in FrightLibidoDavid WilliamsonTim BurstallHuman TargetScobie MaloneJon ClearyHelga's WebCasey RobinsonArmchair TheatreCaddieLuke's KingdomMad Dog MorganDennis HopperThe Chant of Jimmie BlacksmithKaren BlackKeir DulleaBecause He's My FriendThe JournalistBruce BeresfordJohn HargreavesBryan BrownWilliam HoldenRick SchroederThe EarthlingBad BloodStanley GrahamClancy of the OverflowIngrid BergmanA Woman Called GoldaLee RemickThe LetterMerry Christmas Mr. LawrenceDavid BowieTom ContiPaul VerhoevenFlesh + BloodBurke and WillsLinda EvansJason RobardsThe Last FrontierGround ZeroStefanie PowersThe Riddle of the StinsonBernard O'ReillyRaquel WelchTrouble in ParadiseThe Rainbow Warrior ConspiracyAfter the ShockTurtle BeachGeorge Lucas'sRuby CairoGraeme CliffordA Far Off PlaceRussell CroweThe Sum of UsA Woman of Independent MeansBroken ArrowLast DanceMcLeod's DaughtersAlicia SilverstoneExcess BaggageUnder the Lighthouse DancingClint EastwoodMidnight in the Garden of Good and EvilSonny SeilerKevin SpaceyJim WilliamsGeecheeThe Magic PuddingYolngu BoySouth PacificMy Brother JackOriginal SinThe Assassination of Richard NixonOyster FarmerBrett LeonardMarvel ComicsMan-ThingThe Good GermanBastard BoysDecember BoysLeatherheadsTen EmptyAustraliaMao's Last DancerDon't Be Afraid of the DarkBlinderThe Great GatsbyMystery RoadAround the Block