Grant Dodwell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Grant Radnor Dodwell Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Education | National Institute of Dramatic Art (1971) [1] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Known for | A Country Practice (1981–1986) as Dr. Simon Bowen |
| Children | Celeste Dodwell |
Grant Radnor Dodwell is an Australian actor, producer, writer, director, voice artist, and drama teacher. He is best known for his roles in television soap operas including as an original cast member in A Country Practice , Willing and Abel and Home and Away .
Dodwell studied acting at Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1971. [1]
Dodwell has over 50 years' experience in the entertainment industry, in theatre, television and film, appearing in many of Australia's best known stage shows and television series.
He appeared as Dr. Sam Wilkinson in The Young Doctors in 1980. He is best known however, for his role playing Dr. Simon Bowen in soap opera A Country Practice , opposite Penny Cook from 1981 to 1986. He is a triple recipient of the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor for the role, [2] which he received consecutively from 1984 to 1986.
Dodwell later played Charles Willing in comedy series Willing and Abel (1987) in which he co-starred with his former A Country Practice co-star Shane Withington who played the role of Abel Moore, and Rebecca Rigg who played Angela Reddy. [3]
In 1992, Dodwell played Leo Riener in the 1992 miniseries Good Vibrations . In 1996, he featured in the recurring role of Dr. James McLaren in long-running soap opera Home and Away . In 2011, he also played the guest role of Gary O'Connor in the series.
He has made guest appearances in Homicide , Glenview High , Father, Dear Father in Australia , Skyways G.P. , The Girl from Tomorrow , Heartbreak High , Pacific Drive Roar , Fallen Angels , Medivac , Water Rats , Rescue Special Ops and Packed to the Rafters .
Dodwell has appeared in several films, including Cathy's Child (1979) with Bryan Brown, Goodbye Paradise (1983) alongside Ray Barrett, Cops and Robbers (1993) and The Pact (2003). He also performed in the TV movies Cass (1978) and The Distant Home (1992). In 2008, he worked on the feature film Men's Group , produced by John L. Simpson and directed by Michael Joy. He won the Australian IF Best Actor Award and the film won Best Film and Script. [4]
After A Country Practice , Dodwell resumed his theatre career, including a national tour of Noises Off . He also appeared with Hugh Jackman in a production of Sunset Boulevard . When theatre roles and television guest roles no longer provided a sufficient income, Dodwell focussed on corporate theatre and videos. [5]
After filming a live performance of the play Codgers [5] Dodwell co-founded Australian Theatre Live in 2016, advocating for younger generations to have affordable access to theatre. [6] Their first production, Liberty Equality Fraternity screened in cinemas in 2016. Other productions have included David Williamson’s Emerald City , STC’s Wharf Revue, Rumpelstiltskin , The Dapto Chaser and a STC/Malthouse Theatre production of Michael Gow's Away . [7]
Dodwell is married to Sian Dodwell, a shoe designer who worked on the Australian production of Billy Elliot . The couple's daughter, Celeste Dodwell, is also an actor, who scored a role on Home and Away immediately after finishing high school and has gone on to work on numerous film, television and stage productions. [8]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Cathy's Child | Hot Line Journalist | |
| 1983 | Goodbye Paradise | Seaworld Boy | |
| 1994 | Cops and Robbers | John | |
| 2003 | The Pact | Officer Clem | |
| 2008 | Men's Group | Alex | |
| 2009 | Dear Diary | Charlie | Short film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Homicide | Pratt | Season 1, episode 508 |
| 1977 | Glenview High | Season 1, episode 8 | |
| 1978 | Cass | TV movie | |
| 1978 | Father, Dear Father in Australia | Ronnie | Season 1, episode 5 |
| 1979 | Skyways | Clive Simpson | Season 1, episode 151 |
| 1980 | The Young Doctors | Dr. Sam Wilkinson | |
| 1981–1986 | A Country Practice | Dr. Simon Bowen | 331 episodes |
| 1987 | Willing and Abel | Charles Willing | |
| 1991 | G.P. | Evan Lucas | Season 3, episode 17 |
| 1992 | Good Vibrations | Leo Reiner | Miniseries |
| 1992 | The Distant Home | Jim Harrison | TV movie |
| 1992 | The Girl from Tomorrow | Mark Johnson | 3 episodes |
| 1995 | Heartbreak High | Jerry Shapiro | Season 2, episode 9 |
| 1996 | Pacific Drive | ||
| 1996 | Home and Away | Dr. James McLaren | Recurring role |
| 1997 | Roar | Cormac | Season 1, episode 10 |
| 1997 | Fallen Angels | Paul | Season 1, episode 7 |
| 1998 | Medivac | Paul | Season 3, episode 12 |
| 2000 | Water Rats | Lloyd Tully | Season 5, episode 16 |
| 2009 | Rescue Special Ops | Lance Foster | Season 1, episode 5 |
| 2010 | Packed to the Rafters | Doug | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Home and Away | Gary O'Connor | Guest role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Trial of Lucullus | Herald / Jury of the Dead | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1971 | The Diary of Anne Frank | Mr Dussel | UNSW Old Tote Theatre, Sydney |
| 1971 | You Can't Take It With You | Henderson / J-Man | UNSW Old Tote Theatre, Sydney |
| 1971 | Lady Windermere's Fan | Lord Darlington | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1972 | The Man, the Spirit Fish and the Rainbow Snake | QLD schools tour with QTC | |
| 1972 | The Badly Behaved Bunyip | QLD schools tour with QTC | |
| 1972 | Twelfth Night | Second Officer | SGIO Theatre, Brisbane with QTC |
| 1972 | The Ruling Class | SGIO Theatre, Brisbane with QTC | |
| 1972 | You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown | Schroeder | QLD regional tour with QTC & Harry M. Miller |
| 1973 | The National Health or Nurse Norton's Affair | SGIO Theatre, Brisbane with QTC | |
| 1973 | The Imaginary Invalid | Dr. Purgon | SGIO Theatre, Brisbane with QTC |
| 1974 | Godspell | His Majesty's Theatre, Perth with J. C. Williamson's | |
| 1977 | The Alchemist | Officer | UNSW Old Tote Theatre, Sydney |
| 1978 | The RSL Show | Whitehorse Pub Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1988 | The Mighty 1978 RSL Talent Quest | Whitehorse Pub Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1978 | The Edna Lint Story | Whitehorse Pub Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1978 | Done to Death | Whitehorse Pub Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1978 | The Knack | Tolen | UNSW Old Tote Theatre, Sydney |
| 1980 | The Collected Works of Billy the Kid | Reporter | Cell Block Theatre, Sydney with Ian Tasker and Associates |
| 1986 | Everybody Makes Mistakes | Darwin, Hobart, Launceston, Gold Coast casinos tour [9] | |
| 1987; 1988 | See How They Run | Clive | Northside Theatre, Sydney, Marian Street Theatre, Sydney |
| 1988 | The Sentimental Bloke | Ginger Mick | Parramatta Cultural Centre with Q Theatre Company |
| 1988 | Relatively Speaking | Greg | Seymour Centre, Sydney tour [9] |
| 1988 | Love Off the Shelf | John | Universal Theatre, Melbourne |
| 1989; 1990 | Anything Goes | Lord Evelyn Oakleigh | State Theatre, Sydney, Lyric Theatre, Brisbane, State Theatre, Melbourne, Adelaide Festival Centre, Aotea Centre, Auckland |
| 1990; 1991 | Noises Off | Glen St Theatre, Sydney, Twelfth Night Theatre, Brisbane, Gold Coast Arts Centre with Theatre of Comedy | |
| 1991; 1992 | Charley's Aunt | Sydney Opera House, Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Laycock St Theatre, Gosford | |
| 1992 | Love Letters | Andrew Makepeace III | Tasmania tour with Mummers Theatre Company |
| 1992 | Sons of Cain | Playhouse, Newcastle with Hunter Valley Theatre Company | |
| 1993 | Taking Steps | Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA | |
| 1993; 1994 | A Bedfull of Foreigners | West End Rialto, Brisbane, Seymour Centre, Sydney, Playhouse, Adelaide, Newcastle Civic Theatre, Canberra Theatre with Les Currie Productions | |
| 1994 | Whispering Demons | David | Playhouse, Perth with Perth Theatre Company |
| 1996 | Sunset Boulevard | [5] | |
| 1998 | Third World Blues | Orange Civic Theatre, Canberra Theatre, IMB Theatre, Wollongong, Monash University, Melbourne, Geelong Arts Centre, Frankston Arts Centre, The Capital, Bendigo, West Gippsland Arts Centre, Theatre Royal, Hobart with STC | |
| 2010 | Gwen in Purgatory | Laurie | Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney, Roundhouse Theatre, Brisbane with La Boite |
| 2011 | The Business | Michael | Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Codgers | Co-producer | ||
| 2019; 2020 | The Wharf Revue: Celebrating 15 Years | Director | Byron Theatre & Online |
| 2022 | Norm and Ahmed | Producer | Riverside Theatres Parramatta & Online |
| Year | Award | Category | Notes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Logie Award [11] | Most Popular Actor | A Country Practice | Won |
| 1985 | Logie Award [12] | Most Popular Lead Actor | A Country Practice | Won |
| 1986 | Logie Award [13] | Most Popular Australian Actor | A Country Practice | Won |
| 2008 | IF Awards [14] | Best Actor | Men's Group | Won |
| 2009 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Actor | Men's Group | Nominated |