External links
- Julia Blake at IMDb
- Julia Blake on AusStage
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
Julia Blake | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1937 (age 88–89) |
| Other names | Julie Blake |
| Education | Bristol University Bristol Old Vic |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1956–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | Robert Connolly (son-in-law) [1] |
Julia Blake (born 1937) is a British-Australian actress, notable for numerous film and TV roles, particularly in Australia. She also acted in the theatre.
Julia Blake was born in Bristol, England in 1937. [2] Her father Fred Blake, a commercial artist, was married to wife Edna, a homemaker. [2] Her parents were conservative Primitive Congregationalist parishioners who attended church three times on Sundays. [2] As a child, Blake trained in ballet and elocution. [2]
Blake initially also had ambitions to be an artist and attended Bristol University, receiving an honours degree in drama and French. [2] She played the role of Sally Bowles in a production of I Am a Camera in her last year of university. [2] Peter O'Toole attended the show, bringing her flowers and encouraging her to attend drama school. [2] She subsequently undertook her training in theatre at the Bristol Old Vic, after winning a scholarship. She lived with her parents until the age of 22. [3] [2]
Blake has had an extensive stage career, beginning in repertory theatre in the UK, where she worked with her husband-to-be Terry Norris in productions of Angels in Love and Two Faces of Murder. [4]
She continued her work in theatre in Australia from 1963 through to 2017, performing frequently with Norris. [5] She appeared in a 1966 production of Private Yuk Objects at Melbourne's Russell Street Theatre. [2] In 1970, she appeared in The Rope Dancers , winning an Erik Award for her performance. [2] In 1977, she was in both The Cherry Orchard and The Crucible and in 1979 she featured in a production of Uncle Vanya . [2]
Blake toured for four months with a 1988 production of The Browning Version . In 1990, she appeared in Noël Coward’s Present Laughter , while rehearsing for her role as Belle in the play Another Time, which she performed in the following year. [2]
In 2004, Blake toured nationally in a HIT Productions staging of The Gin Game . [5] In 2006, she appeared alongside Jason Donovan as Else Klingenfeldt in Festen , for Melbourne Theatre Company. [6]
Blake later performed in a 2013 stage production of 4,000 Miles at Melbourne's Red Stitch Actors Theatre. [7] The same year, she performed once again in The Crucible for Melbourne Theatre Company. [5]
Her most recent stage role was playing Genevieve Marduk in a 2017 MTC production of John. [5]
After an early role as Eurasian prostitute Hong Kong Anna in teleplay The Hot Potato Boys in 1963, [8] Blake played guest roles in legal drama Consider Your Verdict . [2] Further TV plays followed, before she eventually landed the role of Elaine Thomas in local TV drama Bellbird in 1972, remaining with the series for four years. [9] [2] During her time on Bellbird, Blake had roles in several Crawford Productions police procedural series, including Division 4 (1969–1975), Matlock Police (1973–1975) and Homicide (1975). [2]
In 1978, Blake appeared as Cook in the miniseries Against the Wind , [10] before playing the part of Jewish mother Eva Goldman in the series Twenty Good Years, the next year. [2] A supporting role in the Ned Kelly miniseries The Last Outlaw followed in 1980, where she appeared alongside John Jarratt and Steve Bisley. [11]
Blake made several appearances in cult television series Prisoner (known internationally as Prisoner Cell Block H). She initially had a regular role as Evelyn Randall in season 3 (1981) and a guest role as Alice Dodds in season 5 (1983).[ citation needed ] She rejoined the series in 1996, during its eighth and final season, playing her best known role of Nancy McCormack, a Wentworth Detention Centre inmate, who took the blame for a crime her son committed. [12]
In 1985, Blake starred in miniseries The Dunera Boys , which won her a Best Supporting Actress award at the Penguin Awards the following year.[ citation needed ] Another award-winning turn came in 1989, with her performance in miniseries Edens Lost , earning her a Best Actress accolade at both the Australian Film Institute Awards [13] and the Sammy Awards. [13] She had roles in several other miniseries throughout her career including Women of the Sun (1982), miniseries Under Capricorn , Sword of Honour (1986), A Difficult Woman (1998), Salem's Lot (2004) and The Starter Wife (2007).
Blake later had a supporting role as Louisa's feisty, activist mother, Minna Franklin in Bed of Roses [14] [15] from 2008 to 2011. During this period she also played Ellie, the mother of former prime minister Bob Hawke (played by Richard Roxburgh) in 2010 biographical TV movie Hawke , with her husband Norris playing his father Clem. [16]
Blake's guest roles have been numerous and have included Moynihan (1978), Cop Shop (1978–1981), [17] Holiday Island (1981), Carson's Law (1983), Zoo Family (1985), [18] Winners (1985), [19] SeaChange (1999), [20] Blue Heelers (2001), [21] All Saints (2004), [22] City Homicide (2007), [23] Winners & Losers (2011) [24] and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2013). [25] She also appeared in a season 4 episode of House Husbands (2015), [26] reuniting her with her former Last Dance co-star, Firass Dirani.
On the big screen, Blake has also appeared in numerous films, including 1977 Australian classic The Getting of Wisdom [27] and 1979 award-winning drama My Brilliant Career – the latter starring Judy Davis, Sam Neill and Wendy Hughes. [28] Other early roles included Ozploitation horror film Patrick (1978) in which she played Matron Cassidy [29] and thriller Snapshot (1979) opposite Sigrid Thornton. [30]
She was a favourite of director Paul Cox, featuring in several of his films, including Lonely Hearts (1982) and Man of Flowers (1983). [31]
Blake starred opposite Leo McKern and Graham Kennedy as Frances, in 1987 film Travelling North , [32] based on the play of the same name by David Williamson. The role saw her nominated for Best Actress at the Australian Film Institute Awards that year. [33] In 1989, she had a part in television film The Magistrate , [2] followed by a lead role in 1990 thriller Father , playing Lithuanian refugee, [2] Iva Zetnick. Her role in the latter earned her a Best Supporting Actress accolade at the 1990 Australian Film Institute Awards. [34]
In 2000, Blake played the lead role of Claire in another of Paul Cox's films, the romantic drama Innocence , alongside Bud Tingwell and her husband Terry Norris. [35] Her portrayal saw her nominated for a Best Actress award at the Australian Film Institute Awards. [36] A further Cox film followed, with 2004 drama Human Touch , opposite Jacqueline McKenzie. [31]
In 2009, Blake starred as Heather Hudson in American superhero blockbuster X-Men Origins: Wolverine , alongside fellow Australian actor Hugh Jackman. [37] Shot at Sydney's Fox Studios, [38] the film utilised several other Australian actors, including Peter O’Brien and Max Cullen. [37] The following year, Blake appeared in The Boys are Back , which saw her nominated for another AACTA Award. [39]
Blake next had a starring role opposite Firass Dirani in 2012 psychological thriller Last Dance as lead character Holocaust survivor Ulah Lippmann. [40] American actress Gena Rowlands was originally cast in the role, but had to drop out two weeks before filming, as her work visa was cancelled. [41]
In 2015, Blake appeared in Looking for Grace , alongside Richard Roxburgh and Radha Mitchell, and The Dressmaker [3] opposite Kate Winslet, Judy Davis and Liam Hemsworth. In 2016, she had a lead role alongside Anthony LaPaglia in A Month of Sundays , at the age of 79. [2] The following year, she had a role in teen drama film Dance Academy: The Movie . [3]
As a long-standing advocate for Australian content on screen, Blake served on the board of Film Victoria in the 1990s. [2]
In 2018, together with actor husband Terry Norris, Blake was the recipient of the Equity Lifetime Achievement Award at the Equity Ensemble Awards. [4] [42] [43]
While working in repertory theatre in Yorkshire, England, Blake met Australian-born actor Terry Norris. [3] [44] The couple married on 24 March 1962, between a matinee and evening performance, before spending their honeymoon in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, learning lines for their next play together. [4]
Blake moved to Australia together with Norris in 1963. [3] She lost their first child, a daughter to cot death, [2] but the couple went on to have three other children – Dominic, Jane and Sarah. [44] She took a hiatus from acting in the 1970s to raise their children, [9] and another extended break in the early 1990s, when an ongoing back-to-back run of television and stage productions lead to exhaustion and stress. [2]
Blake and Norris's daughters followed them into the acting profession. [1] Their son-in-law Robert Connolly is a director, having worked on miniseries The Slap and Barracuda , and 2009 film Balibo . [1] By 2018, Blake and Norris also had four grandchildren. [1]
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | The Rope Dancers | Erik Awards | Won | [2] | |
| 1986 | The Dunera Boys | Penguin Awards | Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a One-off Drama | Won | |
| 1987 | Travelling North | Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated | [33] |
| 1989 | Edens Lost | Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama or Miniseries | Won | [13] | |
| Sammy Awards | Best Actress in a Television Drama | Won | [13] | ||
| 1990 | Father | Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Won | [34] |
| 2000 | Innocence | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated | [36] | |
| 2010 | The Boys Are Back | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Nominated | [39] | |
| 2018 | Julia Blake & Terry Norris | Equity Ensemble Awards | Equity Lifetime Achievement Award | Honoured | [4] [42] [43] |
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Salome | Film short | |
| 1977 | The Getting of Wisdom | Isabella Shepherd | Feature film |
| 1978 | Patrick | Matron Cassidy | Feature film |
| The Forbidden | Film short | ||
| 1979 | My Brilliant Career | Mum | Feature film |
| Snapshot (aka One More Minute) | Mrs. Bailey | Feature film | |
| 1982 | Lonely Hearts | Pamela | Feature film |
| 1983 | Man of Flowers | Art Teacher | Feature film |
| 1984 | My First Wife | Kirstin | Feature film |
| 1985 | An Indecent Obsession | Matron | Feature film |
| 1986 | Cactus | Club Speaker | Feature film |
| 1987 | Travelling North | Frances | Feature film |
| 1988 | Georgia | Elizabeth | Feature film |
| 1990 | Father | Iya Zetnick | Feature film |
| 1995 | Mushrooms | Flo | Feature film |
| 1996 | Hotel de Love | Edith Dunne | Feature film |
| 1998 | Clive Barker's Salomé & The Forbidden | Direct-to-video | |
| 1999 | Passion | Queen Alexandra | Feature film |
| 2000 | Innocence | Claire | Feature film |
| 2003 | The Forest | Margot | Film short |
| 2004 | Human Touch | Anna's Mother | Feature film |
| 2005 | Three Dollars | Tanya's Mother | Feature film |
| 2006 | Aquamarine | Grandma Maggie Brown | Feature film |
| The Barrows | Bonnie | Film short | |
| 2009 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Heather Hudson | Feature film |
| The Boys Are Back | Barbara | Feature film | |
| 2010 | Matching Jack | Cleo | Feature film |
| Don't Be Afraid of the Dark | Mrs. Underhill | Feature film | |
| 2012 | Last Dance | Ulah Lippmann | Feature film |
| 2015 | Is This the Real World | Gamma | Feature film |
| Looking for Grace | Nell Norris | Feature film | |
| A Month of Sundays | Sarah | Feature film | |
| The Dressmaker | Irma Almanac | Feature film | |
| 2017 | Dance Academy: The Movie | Juliet Jones | Feature film |
| 2020 | The Dry | Barb Hadler | Feature film |
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Hot Potato Boys | Hong Kong Anna | TV play |
| 1963; 1964 | Consider Your Verdict | Guest roles | 2 episodes |
| 1964 | Nude With Violin | Pamela | TV play |
| The Sponge Room | Hilary | TV play | |
| 1965 | The Face at the Clubhouse Door | TV play | |
| 1969–1975 | Division 4 | Stella Palmer | Episode: "Farewell Little Chicago" |
| Mother | Episode: "The Grasshoppers" | ||
| Kerri | Episode: "Rules of the Game" | ||
| Det. Sgt. Joan Palmer | 2 episodes: "Cleanliness is Next to Godliness", "The Vickers Way" | ||
| Beverly Lang | Episode: "Unfit to Plead" | ||
| 1972–1975 | Bellbird | Elaine Thomas | 677 episodes |
| 1973–1975 | Matlock Police | Jean Williams | Episode: "Help" |
| April Simpson | Episode: "Forget Me Not" | ||
| 1975 | Homicide | Juliet | Episode: "Speaking Ill of the Dead" |
| 1977 | Moynihan | Tanya Shaw | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | Against the Wind | Cook | Miniseries, 5 episodes |
| 1978–1981 | Cop Shop | Catherine Maynard / Elaine Davis / Jessie Benson / Laura Hewitt / Mrs. Parker | 8 episodes |
| 1979 | Twenty Good Years | Eva Goldman | 20 episodes |
| 1980 | The Last Outlaw | Mrs. Scott | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| Locusts and Wild Honey | Dr. Fletcher | 3 episodes | |
| 1981 | Holiday Island | Mrs. Simpson | Episode: "Zack" |
| 1981–1986 | Prisoner | Evelyn Randall | Season 3, 70 episodes (guest, 5 episodes) |
| Alice Dodds | Season 5, 4 episodes | ||
| Nancy McCormack | Season 8, 61 episodes | ||
| 1982 | Women of the Sun | Mrs. McPhee | Miniseries, episode 2: "Maydina, the Shadow" |
| 1983 | Under Capricorn | Milly | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| Carson's Law | Miss Beasley / Miss Hilda Deniston | 4 episodes | |
| 1985 | The Dunera Boys | Mum | Miniseries, 2 episodes: "1.1", "1.2" |
| Zoo Family | Mrs. Watson | 1 episode | |
| Winners: The Paper Boy | Reformed Sinner | TV film series, 1 episode | |
| 1986 | Sword of Honour | Jean Rogers | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 1989 | The Magistrate (aka Il Magistrato) | Jean Shaw | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| Edens Lost | Eve | Miniseries, 4 episodes | |
| 1996 | The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years | Fee Cleary | TV film |
| 1998 | A Difficult Woman | Mrs. McKenzie | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| Clive Barker's Salome & The Forbidden | Video | ||
| Driven Crazy | Miss Baker | Episode: "Barely There" | |
| 1999 | SeaChange | Tenzin Jetsunma | Episode: "Manna from Heaven" |
| 2001 | Blue Heelers | Dorothy Roberts | Episode: "Strays" |
| 2004 | All Saints | Evelyn Ulrich | Episode: "A Place in the Heart" |
| Salem's Lot | Eva Prunier | Miniseries, 2 episodes: "1.1", "1.2" | |
| 2006 | The Society Murders | Margaret Wales-King | TV film |
| 2007 | The Starter Wife | Mrs. Caldecott | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| City Homicide | Hilda Conway | Episode: "The Return" | |
| 2008–2011 | Bed of Roses | Minna Franklin | 26 episodes |
| 2010 | Hawke | Ellie Hawke | TV film |
| 2011 | Winners & Losers | Gwen Armstrong | Episode: "Happiness is a Delusion" |
| 2012 | Conspiracy 365 | Melba Snipe | Episode: "April" |
| 2013 | Mr & Mrs Murder | Allegra Scaletta | Episode: "The Next Best Man" |
| Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Hilly McNaster | Episode: "Dead Man's Chest" | |
| 2015 | House Husbands | Edith Benson | Episode: "4.8" |
Source: [5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Cymbeline | Queen | ABC Radio Melbourne | [5] |
| Connie and Constance | Mother | [5] |
| International | |
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| National | |
