Nicholas Hope | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959 (age 65–66) Manchester, England |
| Education | University of Sydney |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Known for | Bad Boy Bubby (1993) |
Nicholas Hope is a British-born Australian actor, director and teacher of acting, most notable for his performance as the lead role in the 1993 film Bad Boy Bubby .
Born in 1959, [1] in Manchester, England, [1] Hope's family emigrated to the steel and he was raised in shipbuilding town of Whyalla, South Australia. [1] In 2010, he gained a PhD in Performance Studies at The University of Sydney. [2] In 2014, he was teacher of direction and acting for Film, at the Sydney Film School, [2] and was Head of Acting at the International Screen Academy, Sydney. [2]
Hope's first foray into live performance was as a bass player in a variety of rock bands around the in the 1970s and 1980s. [3]
He started his acting career, working in many productions for the State Theatre Company of South Australia. [1] He had only starred in one short film, before he got his big break [1] when he played the lead role of Bubby in 1993 cult crime comedy-drama film Bad Boy Bubby , [4] [5] written and directed by Rolf de Heer. The role won him several best actor accolades, at the Australian Film Institute Awards, the Venice Film Festival in 1993, and France's Valenciennes Film Festival in 1995. [1]
In 1998, Hope was nominated for best supporting actor at the Amanda Awards for his performance in the Norwegian film En dag til i solen (1998). [2]
Subsequent film credits include The Goddess of 1967 (2000), [6] alongside Rose Byrne, family film Scooby-Doo (2002), opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr., The Night We Called It a Day (2003), with Joel Edgerton, Dennis Hopper and Melanie Griffith, creature thriller Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004) and Australian drama film Lost and Found (2005). [1] Later films include The Daughter (2015), [6] with Sam Neill and Geoffrey Rush, The School (2018), [7] The Invisible Man (2020) [6] alongside Elisabeth Moss and directed by Leigh Whannell, Moon Rock for Monday (2020) [8] and The Drover's Wife (2021), [3] opposite Leah Purcell.
He played lead roles in the 2012 films Redd Inc and Double Happiness Uranium. [6] He received a Film Critics Circle of Australia nomination for best actor in a supporting role for his role as Joseph in Ivan Sen's 2023 film, Limbo . [9]
Hope has also starred in numerous television series. He made early appearances in G.P. , Blue Heelers , Farscape and Beastmaster . He starred in the award-winning 2001 miniseries Changi , as well as Gallipoli (2014) and Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018). His other television credits include Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries , Offspring , Janet King , Ash Vs Evil Dead , Operation Buffalo , The Twelve , The Secrets She Keeps , The Messenger , The Artful Dodger , Black Snow and Ten Pound Poms . [6]
Hope is also a writer, director and producer. He made his writer/director debut with the play Little Gods in 2013. The following year, he directed Four Places for Outhouse Theatre, and in 2015 he directed his own play Five Properties of Chainmale for Griffin Theatre Company. [9] [10] [11] He directed the short film Like Gold (2017), and produced the 2019 short film The Reckoning of Christian Spencer. [9] [3]
Hope recounted his experiences in the film industry – including his failure to secure main roles – in his 2004 memoir "Brushing the Tip of Fame". [1]
A portrait of Hope appears in the National Portrait Gallery. [1]
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Bad Boy Bubby | Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Won | [5] |
| Australian Cinematographers Society | Won | [1] | |||
| 1993 | Venice Film Festival | CIAC (Popular) Prize for Best Performance | Won | [1] [12] | |
| 1995 | Valenciennes Film Festival | Best Actor | Won | [1] | |
| The Colour of Panic | 100 0g Nå’ Ibsen Centenary | Writing Prize | Won | [12] | |
| 2018 | Jade of Death | Denver Series-Fest | Best Actor | Won | [9] |
| 2024 | Limbo | Film Critics Circle of Australia | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated | [9] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Confessor Caressor | Michael Freely | |
| 1993 | Bad Boy Bubby | Bubby | [2] |
| 1994 | Exile | MacKenzie | |
| 1995 | The Life of Harry Dare | Kevin | |
| 1996 | Little White Lies | ||
| North Star | Sheriff Lamont | ||
| Lust and Revenge | Karl-Heinz Applebaum | ||
| 1997 | Applied Mathematics: Questions 1 to 10 | John May | Short film |
| Henry Fool | Father Hawkes | ||
| 1998 | En dag til i solen | Windy | [2] |
| 1999 | The Darkest Light | Father Mark | |
| 2000 | Når mørket er forbi | Edvin | |
| Mother Said (a Year Younger) | Short film | ||
| The Goddess of 1967 | Grandpa | ||
| 2001 | Happy Mother's Day | Dad | Short film |
| 2002 | Harvey | Short film | |
| Scooby-Doo | Old Man Smithers | ||
| 2003 | Paradise Found | Maurrin | |
| The 13th House | Man from the 14th Floor | ||
| The Flaming Brain | Eric | Short film | |
| The Night We Called It a Day | Phil | ||
| Collier Brothers Syndrome | Langley Collier | Short film | |
| 2004 | Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid | Christian Van Dyke | |
| 2006 | Uro | Dealeren | |
| Sharp Turn | The Stranger | Short film | |
| Lost and Found | Ebeneezer Wrench | ||
| 2007 | Bitter Flowers (aka Varg Veum - Bitre blomster) | Warren Donaldson | |
| 2008 | Lønsj | Reataurantør | |
| En perfekt dag for golf | Julius the English golfer | Short film | |
| Ovum | Short film | ||
| 2010 | The Passport | Inspector Florez | Short film |
| Complicity | Man | Short film | |
| All at Sea | Eric | ||
| 2012 | Butterflies | Dalton Hearst | Short film |
| Redd Inc. | Thomas Reddmann | ||
| Decrepit | Lawrence Wrinkle | Short film | |
| 2013 | Double Happiness Uranium | Reuben Henschke | |
| Greg's First Day | Bernard | Short film | |
| 2014 | Permafrost | Max | Short film |
| Fade | Gerry | Short film | |
| 2015 | The Daughter | Peterson | |
| Truth | Marcel Matley | ||
| 2016 | Sandwich | Larry | Short film |
| 2017 | Maurice's Symphony | Mr Ferk | Short film |
| Event Zero | Langston Charlesworth | ||
| 2018 | The School | Dr. Peter Masuta | |
| Book Week | Ken Cutler | ||
| Slam | Pete the Journalist | ||
| 2019 | Dark Place | Boss | Anthology film, segment: "Scout" |
| Henry Needs a New Home | Henry | Short film | |
| Foreclosure | Haywood | Short film | |
| 2020 | The Invisible Man | Head Doctor | |
| Moon Rock for Monday | The Bobbins | ||
| Over the Edge | Officer Blaze | Short film | |
| The Story of Lee Ping | Slater | Short film | |
| 2021 | The Drover's Wife | Judge Eisenmangher | |
| The Suspect | Detective Carver | Short film | |
| Collectors | Sebastian | Short film | |
| 2022 | The Home Team | Darren | Short film |
| Lustration VR – Series 1 | Short film | ||
| Lean | Robert | Short film | |
| 2023 | Limbo | Joseph | |
| Contagion of Fear | Langston Charlesworth | ||
| Pasifika Drift | Darryl | Short film | |
| 2024 | Exposure | Glen | Short film |
| Kangaroo Island | Barnaby Roberts | ||
| Electric | Ugo Cerletti | Short film | |
| 2025 | The Trial | Milton | Short film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Frontier | Sir George Pipps | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1994 | Blue Heelers | Father Leary | 1 episode |
| G.P. | Ray | 1 episode | |
| 1996 | Little White Lies | Barrett | TV movie |
| Eldorado | Rocko | TV movie | |
| 1998 | Getting Hurt | Edgar / Viola's husband | TV movie |
| Bugs | Yerevenkian | 1 episode | |
| 2000 | Beastmaster | Khadros | 1 episode |
| 2000–2001 | Farscape | Akkpr / Kreetago | 5 episodes |
| 2001 | Changi | Guillaume Koper | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 2002 | Don't Blame the Koalas | Video Shop Owner | 1 episode |
| 2004 | Fallen | Chief Supt, Edridge | TV movie |
| 2005 | Grange | TV movie short | |
| 2006 | Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler? | Geoffrey Chandler | TV movie |
| 2007 | Varg Veum | Warren Donaldson | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Resistance | Stephen Hope | 1 episode |
| The Prime Minister is Missing | William McMahon | TV documentary film | |
| 2009 | Rogue Nation | Judge Advocate Richard Atkins | 1 episode |
| 3 Acts of Murder | Harry Manning | TV movie | |
| 2010 | Rake | Professor Aden Sinclair | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Wild Boys | Morris McLardy | 1 episode |
| The Bedou Key | Bedouin Brother | Video short | |
| 2013 | Offspring | Tadgh Reid | 2 episodes |
| Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Geoffrey Spall | 1 episode | |
| 2015 | Gallipoli | Major General Walter Braithwaite | 7 episodes |
| Mary: The Making of a Princess | Per Thornitt | TV movie | |
| 2016 | Janet King | Justice Felton | 2 episodes |
| Soul Mates | Caveman Bob | 6 episodes | |
| Ash vs Evil Dead | Professor Raymond Knowby | Season 2, 2 episodes | |
| 2017 | Cleverman | Dr. Mitchell | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Chosen | The Box Maker | 2 episodes |
| Picnic at Hanging Rock | Colonel Fitzhubert | Miniseries, 4 episodes | |
| Jade of Death | Wilkins | 6 episodes | |
| 2019 | Random and Whacky | Nigel | 10 episodes |
| The Hunting | Principal Fischer | 1 episode | |
| Les Norton | Priest | Miniseries, 1 episode | |
| 2020 | Operation Buffalo | Dr Breston | 5 episodes |
| Deadhouse Dark | David Souris | 2 episodes | |
| 2020; 2022 | The Secrets She Keeps | Brother Bowler | 5 episodes |
| 2021 | Born to Spy | Mr Potts | 6 episodes |
| 2022 | The Twelve | Mr Isaacs | 1 episode |
| 2023 | Crazy Fun Park | Neville Moore | 1 episode |
| The Messenger | Bernie | Miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| The Artful Dodger | Justice Micawber | 2 episodes | |
| 2023–2025 | Black Snow | Tommy Cormack / Tommy Doyle | 6 episodes |
| 2024 | Nautilus | Dr Skinny | 1 episode |
| 2025 | Ten Pound Poms | Stanley | 1 episode |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Rover | STCSA | [13] | |
| 1993 | The School for Scandal | Snake | Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA | [14] |
| 1996 | Simpatico | Vinnie | Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC | [15] |
| 2004 | Bima & Bramati | Bima (lead) | Det Apne Theater, Oslo / Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh | [6] [16] |
| 2005 | This Little Piggy | The Eagle | Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC | [6] |
| 2006 | The Colour of Panic | Balder (lead) | Sydney Opera House, Det Apne Theater, Oslo with Splinter Theatre Company | [6] [17] |
| 2007 | 2,000 Feet Away | Byron | Belvoir St Theatre with B Sharp & Frogbattleship | [6] [18] |
| 2010 | Way to Heaven | Red Cross Representative | Stables Theatre, Sydney with Ride On Theatre / Griffin Theatre Company | [6] [19] |
| 2012 | The Mousetrap | Major Metcalf | Australian tour | [20] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Colour of Panic | Balder (lead) | Sydney Opera House, Det Apne Theater, Oslo with Splinter Theatre Company | [12] |
| 2013 | Little Gods | Writer / Director | May Day Playwrights Festival | [12] |
| 2014 | Four Places | Director | Tap Gallery, Sydney with Outhouse Theatre Company | [21] |
| 2014 | The Dixie Swim Club | Writer | Heidelberg Theatre Company | [22] |
| 2015 | Five Properties of Chainmale | Writer / Director | Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company | [10] [11] |
| 2021 | Always a Bridesmaid | Writer | Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill with Castle Hill Players | [23] |
| 2022 | Till Beth Do Us Part | Writer | The 1812 Theatre, Ferntree Gully with Theatrematters | [24] |