Nicholas Hope (b. 1959), shot to international arthouse fame as the star of Bad Boy Bubby, an Australian film directed by Rolf de Heer and released in 1994. Raised in Whyalla, SA, Hope had acted in several productions with the State Theatre Company of South Australia but had been in only one short film before being cast as Bubby. Having won the Best Actor AFI award and the Australian Cinematographers' Society award for the role, he spent some years promoting Bad Boy Bubby at international film festivals. He won the popular award for best actor at the Venice Film Festival in 1993, and the Best Actor Award at the Valenciennes Film Festival in France in 1995. Since then he has been considered for parts in major Hollywood films, but has missed out on them. He did appear in Scooby Doo (2002) and Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004) and recently starred in the Australian drama Lost and Found (2005). He has appeared in several stage productions including Simpatico for the Sydney Theatre Company, and on television in Changi (2001). Now commuting between Australia and Norway, he tells of his experiences in the film industry, including his memorable failures in securing plum roles, in the autobiographical Brushing the Tip of Fame (2004).
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2007
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