Bill Hunter (1940-2011), actor, spent five decades on Australian television and cinema screens. Hunter was in such classic Australian films as Ned Kelly (1970) Stone (1974) Mad Dog Morgan (1976) Newsfront (1978) Gallipoli (1981) Strictly Ballroom (1993) The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1993) Muriel's Wedding (1994) The Road to Nhill (1987) Crackerjack (2002) and Red Dog (2011). He died with a tally of three Best Actor and one Best Supporting Actor AFI awards, as work was being completed on The Cup (2011) in which he played Bart Cummings. Typecast as a gruff, straight-talking 'bloke', Hunter maintained the persona off-screen, claiming that acting was little more than putting on a costume, posing according to the director's instructions, and delivering a scripted line. Upon his death, Prime Minister Julia Gillard paid tribute to the actor, saying that he 'told us Australian stories in an Australian voice at a time when we were debating and developing our sense of national identity.'
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011
© Janet Dawson/Copyright Agency, 2024
The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the
Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a
Reproduction request. For further information please contact
NPG Copyright.
