Ian Bliss | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 June 1966 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Education | National Institute of Dramatic Art (1993) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Known for | The Matrix Reloaded (2003) The Matrix Revolutions (2003) Underbelly |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Ian Bliss (born 30 June 1966) is an Australian film, television, and stage character actor, who has appeared in numerous Australian television dramas including Heartbreak High , Wentworth and as several characters in the Underbelly franchise, as well as his best known role as Bane in The Matrix film series.
Bliss grew up in a creative family; his mother was a dancer and his father was a singer. After a family friend who was involved with an amateur theatre company hired Bliss for a role, he continued to work with the company throughout his school years. In addition to performance he also learned direction, stage management, set building, lighting and sound design. [1]
After having predominantly studied the sciences at high school, Bliss undertook his senior year at a TAFE, focusing on arts and humanities, to prepare him for pursuing study in acting. He went on to university, where he studied a Bachelor of Education majoring in drama, dance and psychology. After his graduation, he secured an agent and started procuring professional acting jobs. [1]
Bliss then auditioned for Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) at the age of 23 and was accepted into their acting course. After graduating, he registered with one of Australia's top acting agents. [1] [2]
Bliss's first screen television appearance was a minor role in children's series Pugwall in 1991. [3] After a part in 1994 film Country Life alongside Sam Neill, [3] he landed the regular role of Andrew Bell in Australian drama series Heartbreak High from 1995 to 1996. [4] Other early television credits include Cody , miniseries Blue Murder , Halifax f.p. and Big Sky , Murder Call , Good Guys, Bad Guys and Water Rats . [3] In 1997, he played the recurring role of Kye Lyons, love interest of Isla Fisher’s character Shannon, in long-running soap opera Home and Away . [5] He played the Peacekeeper scientist Drillic in the 2001 Farscape episode "Losing Time". [6]
Bliss then landed his best known role as Bane and Agent Smith in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (2003), [7] for which he was chosen by the Wachowskis because of his accurate impersonation of Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith's program form), and also his partial resemblance to Weaving.
After the Matrix sequels, Bliss appeared in local television film The Postcard Bandit and took minor roles in American blockbusters Stealth (2005) and Superman Returns (2006). [3] He also had further television roles in Stingers , Blue Heelers , Love My Way , McLeod's Daughters and All Saints . [3]
Bliss played the recurring role of 'Mr L' in in the original Underbelly series and made an appearance in drama series Canal Road that same year. [3] In 2010, he had a role in episode 8 of 2010 HBO miniseries The Pacific as Captain Le Francois. [3]
He continued to make guest appearances in numerous television series [3] before playing Senior Detective Collins in season 6 of Wentworth . He reprised the role in the final season, appearing in a total of six episodes. [8] He also appeared in 2019 surf series Reef Break . [3]
Bliss appeared in 2020 Underbelly adaptation Informer 3838 as Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland, [3] the commissioner who oversaw the gangland war issuing Taskforce Purana. This was his third appearance in the Underbelly franchise, having also appeared in the in 2014 series Fat Tony & Co as Bernie Edwards. [9] [10] In 2022, he joined the cast for SBS drama Safe Home , in which he played Detective O'Connor. [11]
Bliss appeared in the 2023 horror movie Late Night with the Devil in the role of Carmichael Haig. [12] [13] [14] Bliss revealed later in an interview that he originally was hired as a cast script reader for the movie's audition process and was set to play a totally different role in the film, but four days before filming began, he was asked to take over the role of Haig. [15] In the same interview, Bliss confirmed that he would appear in the 2025 Netflix miniseries The Survivors. He played the role of Geoff Mallott. [16]
On 5 March 2025, Bliss was announced as a nominee for Best Supporting Actor for the Australian Film Critics Association Awards for his role in Late Night with the Devil. [17]
Bliss's theatre performances included playing the lead role in War Horse , at Sydney's Lyric Theatre. [18] In 2015, his performance in North by Northwest for Melbourne Theatre Company won him a Green Room Award as part of the ensemble cast. [3]
In 2023, Bliss appeared in the play My Sister Jill for Melbourne Theatre Company, [19] [20] again, winning a Green Room Award in 2024, as part of the ensemble cast. [3]
Bliss is also a sought-after voice-over artist [21] and has provided his voice to many animated series such as Big Words, Small Stories, Kuu Kuu Harajuku , Get Ace and SheZow . [22] [23]
He voiced the Bowel Cancer Australia campaigns that went to air every year from 2018. Other television commercials have included Bupa, BMW, British Paints, Spirit of Tasmania, Mercedes-Benz, Crown Lager and Victoria University. [21]
Bliss has also narrated several audiobooks including Dinner with the Schnabels and Final Act. [24] [25]
Bliss has been married to actress Jacquie Brennan since 2001. They both met on the production of the theatre play Silhouette. Bliss and Brennan have two children together. [26]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Precious | Jean | Short film |
| Country Life | David Archdale | Feature film | |
| 1999 | Siam Sunset | Martin | Feature film |
| Passion | Army Officer | Feature film | |
| Powerburn | Dex | ||
| 2000 | Bound | Carter | Short film |
| 2001 | The Bank | Executive #1 | Feature film |
| 2003 | The Matrix Reloaded | Bane / Agent Smith | Feature film |
| The Long Lunch | Italo Julep | ||
| The Matrix Revolutions | Bane / Agent Smith | Feature film | |
| 2005 | Man-Thing | Rodney Thibadeaux | Feature film |
| Stealth | Lt. Aaron Shaftsbury | Feature film | |
| Danya | Patrick | Short film | |
| 2006 | Superman Returns | Shuttle Commander | Feature film |
| 2008 | Playing for Charlie | Drew Hobbs | |
| 2009 | Together Alone | Vladimus | Short film |
| 2016 | Waster of Time | Time Traveller | Short film |
| 2020 | Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears | Vincent 'Monty' Montague | feature film |
| 2023 | Late Night with the Devil | Carmichael Haig | Feature film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Pugwall | Man on Phone | 2 episodes | |
| 1995 | Blue Murder | Bobby Chapman | Miniseries, 2 episodes | [27] |
| 1995–1996 | Heartbreak High | Andrew Bell | 23 episodes | [28] |
| 1996 | Halifax f.p. | Garry | Episode: "Cradle and All" | |
| 1996–2000 | Water Rats | Colin Fleetwood / Max Prescott | 4 episodes | |
| 1997 | Big Sky | James McCourt | Episode: "The McCourt Family" | |
| Home and Away | Kye Lyons | 6 episodes | ||
| Murder Call | Scott McKenna | Episode: "Ashes to Ashes" | ||
| 1998 | Good Guys Bad Guys | Keith McLeod | Episode: "Blood is Thicker than Walter" | |
| 1999–2001 | BackBerner | Various | 11 episodes | |
| 2000 | Tales of the South Seas | Episode: "Blackbirding" | ||
| 2000–2003 | Stingers | Nick Lynch / Masely / Marty Stockwell | 3 episodes | |
| 2001 | Farscape | PK Scientist Drillic | Episode: "Losing Time" | |
| 2002 | The Lost World | Professor Hamilton | Episode: "Suspicion" | [29] |
| Bootleg | Darius Crowe | 3 episodes | ||
| 2002–2007 | All Saints | Kevin Maguire / Jimmy 'Buzz' Beasley | 7 episodes | |
| 2003 | The Postcard Bandit | Potter | TV movie | |
| Blue Heelers | Dave Williams | Episode: "Safety Last" | ||
| Making Time | Col Bryant | TV movie | ||
| 2004–2006 | Love My Way | Darren Longman | 4 episodes | |
| 2005–2007 | McLeod's Daughters | Detective Christopher Montello | 2 episodes | |
| 2006 | Tripping Over | Ken | 4 episodes | |
| 2007 | The Catalpa Rescue | John Breslin | TV movie | |
| Gumnutz: A Juicy Tale | Larry / Peer Point J. Marino (voice) | TV movie | ||
| 2007–2010 | City Homicide | Lance Hardwick / Toby Hendricks | 2 episodes | |
| 2008 | Underbelly | Thomas Hentschel (Mr.L in original broadcast) | 6 episodes | |
| Canal Road | Bradley Thompson | 1 episode | ||
| Very Small Business | Tony Orsini | 5 episodes | ||
| Monash: The Forgotten Anzac | Charles Bean | TV movie | ||
| 2009 | Dirt Game | Bart | Episode: "Boab Dreaming" | |
| Rush | Ollie Godard | 1 episode | ||
| 2010 | The Pacific | Capt. Le Francois | Miniseries, episode: "Iwo Jima" | |
| 2011 | Killing Time | Detective Inspector Patterson | 2 episodes | [30] |
| Twentysomething | Auctioneer | Episode: "Lost and Found" | ||
| Crownies | Inspector Red Bindall | 1 episode | ||
| 2012 | Underground: The Julian Assange Story | Vince | TV movie | |
| 2013 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries | Keith Morrisey | Episode: "Still Water" | |
| Mr & Mrs Murder | Robin Boydell | Episode: "A Dog's Life" | ||
| 2014 | Fat Tony & Co. | Bernie Edwards | Miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| The Time of Our Lives | Tony Bridges | Episode: "The Negotiation" | ||
| Get Ace | Professor Pringle (voice) | 9 episodes | [31] | |
| ANZAC Girls | Colonel Constantine de Crespigny | Episode: "Love" | ||
| It's a Date | Alan | 1 episode | ||
| 2015 | Gallipoli | Colonel Brazier | Miniseries, episode: "The Breakout" | |
| 2015–2018 | Kuu Kuu Harajuku | Commander Bo-ring / General No Fun / Various (voice roles) | 156 episodes | |
| 2016 | Wanted | Luke Delaney | 2 episodes | |
| Hunters | Burton | Episode: "The Beginning & the End" | ||
| Winners & Losers | Colin Gammell | 2 episodes | ||
| The Wrong Girl | Gareth | 1 episode | ||
| 2017 | Sherazade: The Untold Stories | Yunan (voice) | 5 episodes | |
| 2018 | Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You | Val Guest (uncredited) | Miniseries, 1 episode | |
| Wrong Kind of Black | Police Officer 1 | 4 episodes | ||
| 2018–2021 | Wentworth | Senior Detective Collins | 6 episodes | |
| 2019 | Reef Break | Jones | Episode: "The Hohenzollern Collection" | |
| 2020 | Informer 3838 | Simon Overland | 2 episodes | |
| 2021 | Fires | Gary Saunders | 1 episode | |
| Big Words, Small Stories | Grandpa Rex, Chaz, Various (voices) | 65 episodes | ||
| Harrow | Charlie Oberg | 1 episode | ||
| 2023 | Safe Home | Detective O'Connor | 4 episodes | |
| Utopia | Doug | 1 episode | ||
| 2025 | The Survivors | Geoff Mallott | 5 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Clade | Narrator | Author: James Bradley |
| 2021 | Final Act | Author: Sarah Bailey | |
| 2022 | Dinner with the Schnabels | Author: Tony Jordan |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Enter the Matrix | Bane / Agent Smith | Video game |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journey's End | Stanhope | Melbourne Athenaeum | ||
| 1994 | The Happy Prince | Mayor | Theatre of Image | [3] |
| Lone Star | Cletis | Sons of the Desert Theatre Company | [3] | |
| 1997 | Jake and Pete | Crow / Snake | Theatre of Image | [3] |
| 1999 | Silhouette | Detective Inspector Brunton | Marian St Theatre, Sydney | [3] |
| 2001–2008 | Jake and Pete | Crow / Snake | International tour | [3] |
| 2009 | Savage River | Kingsley | Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company, MTC & Tasmanian Theatre Company | [3] [32] |
| 2010 | Richard III | Clarence / Ratcliff | Sumner Theatre, Melbourne with MTC | [3] |
| 2011 | Hamlet | Marcellus | [3] | |
| Apologia | Peter | Arts Centre Melbourne with MTC | [3] | |
| 2013 | War Horse | Ted Narracott / Colonel Strauss | AustralIan tour with National Theatre of Great Britain | [3] |
| 2014–2015 | North By Northwest | Budnikov | Melbourne Theatre Company | [3] |
| 2016; 2018 | Jasper Jones | Mr Bucktin / Warwick | Melbourne Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre Company | [33] |
| 2017 | Dream Lover | Ensemble | Arts Centre Melbourne with Gordon Frost Organisation | [3] [34] |
| 2023 | My Sister Jill | Jack | Southbank Theatre, Melbourne with |MTC | [35] |
| 2025 | The Black Woman of Gippsland | Sergeant / Ensemble | Melbourne Theatre Company | [36] |
| Year | Title | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | North By Northwest | Green Room Awards | Best Ensemble | Won | [37] |
| 2017 | Jasper Jones | Helpmann Awards | Best Play | Nominated | [3] |
| Green Room Awards | Best Production | Nominated | |||
| Best Ensemble | Nominated | ||||
| 2018 | Wentworth | AACTA Awards | Best Drama Series | Nominated | |
| Logie Awards | Most Popular Drama Program | Won | |||
| Dream Lover | Helpmann Awards | Best Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | Wentworth | AACTA Awards | Best Drama Series | Nominated | |
| 2024 | My Sister Jill | Green Room Awards | Best Production | Won | [38] |
| Best Ensemble | Won | ||||
| 2025 | Late Night with the Devil | Australian Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | [17] |