Greg McLean | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | Australia |
Occupation(s) | Director, writer, actor, producer |
Years active | 1993–present |
Greg McLean is an Australian film director, producer and writer, principally of horror films. He rose to fame in 2005 with his debut feature film, Wolf Creek , creating the character Mick Taylor (played by John Jarratt). The sequel to his first feature, Wolf Creek 2 was released February 2013. Mclean also wrote, directed and produced Rogue (2007) and was executive producer of Red Hill (2010) and Crawlspace (2012). He is also the co-author of two novels about Mick Taylor; Wolf Creek: Origin (with Aaron Sterns) and Wolf Creek: Desolation Game (with Brett McBean) and the four-part comic book series Dark Axis: Secret Battles of WW2 and the graphic novel Sebastian Hawks – Creature Hunter. In 2016, his film, The Darkness , was released, and a Wolf Creek TV series was released on Australian streaming service Stan.
After initially studying painting, Greg McLean attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), completing a graduate diploma in directing. [1]
In his early career he worked with theatre director Neil Armfield, and with Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin at Opera Australia.[ citation needed ]
McLean's first short film, Plead, won a Gold award from the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS). His short film ICQ screened at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, winning "Best Director of a Short Film". Under his production company GMF (Greg McLean Film), McLean produced television commercials and similar work.[ citation needed ]
McLean's first full-length film was the 2005 Australian independent horror film Wolf Creek. Reviews were mixed, but it achieved a cult following.[ citation needed ] In the United States, it received an NC-17 rating until being edited to obtain an R rating.[ citation needed ]
Mclean's next film Rogue , in 2007, was about a deadly salt-water crocodile attacking an international group of tourists in Australia's Northern Territory. [2] He was one of the candidates to direct Paranormal Activity 2 . [3] McLean produced the Justin Dix thriller Crawlspace . [4]
In February 2013, McLean returned as co-writer (with Aaron Sterns), producer and director for Wolf Creek 2 , the sequel to Wolf Creek . John Jarratt reprised his role as serial killer Mick Taylor, and co-starred with Ryan Corr. [5]
After this success, McLean established the production company Emu Creek Pictures. [6] He then wrote, directed, and produced the thrillers The Darkness , The Belko Experiment , and Jungle . [7] He then executive produced and directed episodes of the Wolf Creek TV series as well as The Gloaming , Bloom , Jack Irish , La Brea , The Twelve and Scrublands . In 2024, he was series director for the Netflix series Territory . [8]
Recently, Greg joined fellow Australian director Patrick Hughes, along with screenwriter James Beaufort, in establishing the production company Huge Film. The action/sci-fi feature War Machine (executive produced by McLean) is the first project from this new entity. [9]
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | Plead [10] | Yes | No | No | Short film |
2001 | ICQ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film |
2005 | Wolf Creek | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2007 | Rogue | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2013 | Wolf Creek 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2016 | The Darkness | Yes | Executive | Yes | |
The Belko Experiment | Yes | No | No | ||
2017 | Jungle | Yes | Yes | No | |
TBA | Wolf Creek: Legacy | No | Yes | No | |
Executive producer
Acting roles
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2005 | Wolf Creek | Old Man's Body and Police Officer |
2015 | Tales of Halloween | Ray Bishop |
Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer | Writer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016–17 | Wolf Creek | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 episodes |
2020 | The Gloaming | Yes | No | No | 4 episodes [11] |
2020 | Bloom | Yes | No | No | 3 episodes |
2021 | Jack Irish | Yes | No | No | 4 episodes |
2021–23 | La Brea | Yes | No | No | 2 episodes |
2022 | The Twelve | Yes | No | No | 2 episodes |
2023 | Scrublands | Yes | No | No | 4 episodes |
2024 | Territory | Yes | No | No | 6 episodes |