Benjamin McNair | |
---|---|
Born | |
Occupation | Actor |
Known for | Neighbours , The Secret Life of Us |
Benjamin John McNair (born 25 August 1974, London) is an Australian actor, best known for his role as Malcolm Kennedy in the soap opera Neighbours .
McNair moved to Australia with his family when he was 18 months old. [1] He developed an interest in performing and began studies at the Australian Theatre for Young People and completed a season at the NIDA Summer School in Sydney.
After leaving school in 1992, McNair appeared in several television commercials and had guest roles in television dramas G.P. and Home and Away . [2]
McNair played Malcolm Kennedy in the soap opera Neighbours from 1994 to 1997, returning briefly in 2002, 2004, 2011 and 2014 with a cameo appearance in 2005, and also in 2022.
He left Neighbours in 1997 and travelled to the UK where he performed on stage in several Christmas pantomimes such his role as Prince Charming in Sunderland's Cinderella and at Tunbridge Wells in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . Since leaving Neighbours, McNair has continued acting on television and stage. He was cast as Joseph in the original The Secret Life of Us telemovie for Network Ten in Australia in 2001 and later played Joseph, the boyfriend of Deborah Mailman, during the first season of television series of the same name. [3]
He has guest-starred in television series such as All Saints (1999), Something in the Air (2001), and Blue Heelers (2000; 2002; 2005). He also played lead roles in Marshall Law (2002); Nine Network's Stingers (2004); Last Man Standing (2005); and the children's series Wicked Science . He co-starred in the short film Umbrella Men with Damian Walshe-Howling.
McNair continued to perform on stage, returning to England to play the role of Ferdinand in the Stafford Summer Festival's production of Shakespeare's The Tempest in 1999. He has also appeared as Matt in Broken; Darko Reeves in Blowback; Casper St Clair in Next Best Thing, and seven different characters in the black comedy The Steve Promise Story.
McNair is a voice over artist who can be heard on numerous radio and television adverts.
He returned to Neighbours , once again playing Malcolm for short stints in 2002 and 2004. In mid-2005 he made another return to Neighbours as part of the series' 20th anniversary episode. On 9 May 2011, it was announced that McNair would be returning to Neighbours in July 2011 for a four-month guest stint. [4]
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | G.P. | Morgan | TV series, 1 episode |
1993 | Home and Away | Alan | TV series, 2 episodes |
1994–97; 2002; 2004; 2005; 2011; 2023 | Neighbours | Malcolm Kennedy | TV series, 267 episodes |
1999 | All Saints | Greg Morris | TV series, 1 episode |
2000; 2002; 2005 | Blue Heelers | Aaron Bridges / Clint Billings / Craig Simpson | TV series, 4 episodes |
2001 | Something in the Air | Ron Thomas | TV series, 2 episodes |
2001 | The Secret Life of Us | Joseph | TV movie & TV series, season 1, 5 episodes |
2002 | Marshall Law | Tarpey | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
2004 | Stingers | David Hartley | TV series, 1 episode |
2004 | Wicked Science | Earl Hanley | TV series, 1 episode |
2005 | Last Man Standing | Nurse Derek | TV series, 1 episode |
2007 | Satisfaction | Truckie | TV series, 1 episode |
2008 | McLeod's Daughters | Tim Dolan | TV series, 1 episode |
2010 | Sea Patrol | Richard Logan | TV series, 1 episode |
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Eavesdrop | Interactive feature film [5] | |
2005 | The Umbrella Men | Tommy | Short film |
Year | Title | Role | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
1997–98 | Cinderella | Prince Charming | Christmas pantomime at Sunderland Empire Theatre, UK |
1999 | The Tempest | Ferdinand | Stafford Summer Festival, UK |
1999–2000 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | The Prince | Christmas pantomime at Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells, UK |
2002 | Broken | Matt | Chapel Off Chapel for Melbourne Fringe Festival |
Next Best Thing | Casper St Clair | ||
2003 | The Steve Promise Story | Steve & various (7) characters | The Store Room for Melbourne International Comedy Festival |
2004; 2006 | Blowback | Darko Reeves | St Kilda Army & Navy Club Memorial Hall, Melbourne with NYID, Sydney Opera House |
2005 | Dude, Where's My Hump? | Hunchbax Theatre Restaurant, Melbourne |
Malcolm Winters is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Originally and most recently portrayed by Shemar Moore, Darius McCrary took over between December 29, 2009, and October 17, 2011. Moore reprised the role for guest appearances in September 2014, April 2019 and May 2023.
Peter O'Brien is an Australian actor, best known for his role as an original cast member in 1985 of Australian soap opera Neighbours as Shane Ramsay. He has also acted in numerous British and American productions.
Kip Gamblin is an Australian ballet dancer and actor. From 2003 until 2005, Gamblin played Scott Hunter in Home and Away. The part earned him the 2004 Logie Award for Most Popular New Male Talent. After moving to the UK, Gamblin was cast as paramedic Greg Fallon in the medical drama series Casualty. Following his move back to Australia, Gamblin starred in All Saints and Dance Academy. In 2013, Gamblin began appearing in Neighbours as Brad Willis, making him the third actor to play the role after Benjamin Grant Mitchell and Scott Michaelson. He made his final appearance in that role on 7 April 2017.
Anne Charleston is an Australian actress, notable for her career locally and in the United Kingdom and Ireland in theatre and television. She began her career on the stage in the mid-1950s before moving onto the small screen in the early 1960s, appearing in various telefilms. Following parts in a range of series by Crawford Productions, Charleston became known for her work in the cult classic series Prisoner, where she played three different characters between 1979 and 1984. Her most prominent television roles were in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, where she played matriarch Madge Bishop, and the British soap Emmerdale, playing Lily Butterfield (2006–2009).
Damien Bodie is an Australian television actor from Melbourne. Bodie began his career securing roles in children's television roles such as his three-year stint as Ram Foley in Crash Zone. He later secured the regular role of Dylan Timmins in the soap opera Neighbours. In 2011, he took the role of Jonathan Kurtiss in the drama series Winners & Losers and remained until 2014.
Tom Oliver is a British naturalised Australian retired actor.
Marisa Michelle Warrington is an English-born Australian actress, perhaps best known for playing Sindi Watts on the Australian soap opera Neighbours.
Stefan Dennis is an Australian actor and singer best known for playing the role of cold-hearted and ruthless businessman Paul Robinson in the soap opera Neighbours from its first episode on March 18, 1985. He departed Neighbours in 1992 before returning for a short stint in 1993. He then returned in late 2004 and played the character up until the show's temporary final episode which aired on July 28, 2022 before returning to the role in 2023. During his time away from Neighbours he was a cast member of Scottish soap opera River City produced and set in Glasgow, Scotland. He is also known for his 1989 single "Don't It Make You Feel Good", which reached Number 16 in the Irish and UK Singles Chart.
Elspeth Ballantyne is an Australian retired actress, who appeared in productions in theatre, television and films over a career that spanned nearly 60 years, a veteran of the industry having started her career as a child actor and becoming a staple of the theatre starting from 1947, in a production of Macbeth and by the age of 15 in 1954 had turned pro., performing in stage roles for the next 37 years, including a stage play tour of the United Kingdom of her iconic "Prisoner" role at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.
Daniel Paris is an Australian actor and photographer. He is best known for playing the role of Drew Kirk in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.
Jacinta Patrice Stapleton is an Australian actress. Best known for her role as Amy Greenwood in the Australian television soap opera Neighbours from 1997–2000, 2005 and 2020–2023). Her most notable role was playing undercover police officer Christina Dichiera in the primetime crime drama television series Stingers. Her performance garnered an Australian Film Institute nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama. She is the sister of Blindspot actor Sullivan Stapleton.
Fiona Corke is an Australian actress best known for her role as Gail Robinson on the Australian soap opera Neighbours.
Malcolm Kennedy is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Benjamin McNair. Shortly after he was cast, McNair relocated to Melbourne to be closer to the studio. He admitted that it was a shock leaving his family and friends in Sydney. The older members of the cast eventually helped him feel more comfortable. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 3 October 1994, as he arrives on Ramsay Street with his parents and siblings. An early storyline for Malcolm was a romance with Danni Stark, to whom he lost his virginity. Other storylines explored a friendship with Stonefish Rebecchi, a career as a handyman and later, coffee chain salesman, and marriage to Catherine O'Brien. The character's departure aired on 11 March 1997. McNair made two brief returns in 2002 and 2004, and a year later he reprised his role for the show's 20th anniversary. In July 2011, Malcolm returns to help his parents with their marriage and has a brief affair with Jade Mitchell. McNair returned to Neighbours in October 2014 for the 20th anniversary of the Kennedys' introduction. He also reprised his role in July 2022 for the show's final episodes and again in 2023.
Danielle "Danni" Stark is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Eliza Szonert. She made her debut during the episode broadcast on 30 November 1993 and remained in the show until 13 November 1996, with a brief cameo in 2005 as part of the serial's twentieth anniversary. Danni is Cheryl Stark's daughter and suffered from diabetes. She had a complex, long-term relationship with Malcolm Kennedy.
Deborah Kennedy is an Australian character actress recognised for several television and film roles, especially for her appearance in the famous Australian Yellow Pages advertisement with the line "Not happy, Jan!".
Todd MacDonald is a Canadian Australian actor who is best known for his roles on the soap opera Neighbours and the drama series The Secret Life of Us and Rush.
Damian de Montemas is an Australian film, television and stage actor. He had a breakthrough role as Jason Kennedy, in the first two seasons of Melbourne drama series, Secret Life of Us (2001-2002).
Moya O'Sullivan Macarthur was an Australian-born actress who worked both locally and briefly in the United Kingdom. She was best known for her long-running role as the popular character Marlene Kratz in the soap opera Neighbours between 1994 and 1997. Alex Fletcher from Digital Spy made Marlene their "DS Icon" on 7 January 2011, calling her a legendary and special character. Fletcher also stated that "Marlene, played by the delightful Moya O'Sullivan, was a crucial cog in the Golden Age of Neighbours in the '90s."
The Kennedy family are a fictional family from the Australian soap opera Neighbours. They have been a large part of the show since 1994, when the five-strong family moved into Ramsay Street. Both Karl Kennedy and his wife Susan celebrated 20 years on the show in 2014, and are stalwarts of the fictional Erinsborough community, with Karl serving as the area's doctor and Susan as principal of Erinsborough High. They have earned multiple award nominations for their roles. The Kennedy family has expanded to introduce several others since its conception, although plays a relatively minor role as of 2014, with Karl and Susan as the only members of their family still residing in Ramsay Street.
Geoff Paine is an Australian television and theatre actor from Melbourne. After graduating from drama school Paine secured a role on the soap opera Neighbours, playing the role of doctor Clive Gibbons. He remained in the role for one year before leaving to pursue other projects. He returned to the role briefly in 1989, with the opportunity to appear in a spin-off series based on the character, but no television network would produce the show. Paine continued his career with roles in A Country Practice and the comedy sketch show The Comedy Company. He also concentrated on his stage career gaining roles in productions that toured Australia, including various projects at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.