Film and television
One of Bastoni's earliest screen roles was opposite Ben Mendelsohn, Nadine Garner and Greg Fleet in 1986 film The Still Point . [1] He also had a recurring role in prison drama series Prisoner that same year. [5]
At the age of 24, Bastoni landed his first lead role in a television series, playing Constable Yannis 'Angel' Angelopoulos in Police Rescue , alongside Gary Sweet, from 1991 to 1996. [6] [7] The role saw him twice nominated for an AFI Award for Best Lead Actor. [8]
During this time, Bastoni also appeared in 1993 film The Heartbreak Kid , alongside Claudia Karvan and breakout star Alex Dimitriades. [9] After his tenure on Police Rescue , Bastoni spent three months in America, where he was offered a five-episode stint in the series Superboy . Unable to procure a work permit in time, he was forced to turn down the offer. [7] He went on to appear in other Australian series such as Wildside (1998) and Stingers (1999–2002). [8]
In 1999, Bastoni starred with Adam Baldwin in Frances Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. [8] This was followed by a role in 2000 Golden Globe-nominated television film On the Beach , opposite Bryan Brown, Rachel Ward and Armand Assante. [8] He also starred in 2000 film 15 Amore , earning him a nomination for the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Alfredo, as well as a Film Critics Circle nomination in the same category. [8]
He next appeared in the 2001 films South Pacific alongside Glenn Close and Harry Connick Jr., and He Died With a Felafel in His Hand opposite Noah Taylor. [8] In 2002, he had a role in The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course before appearing in 2003 blockbuster The Matrix Reloaded [8] with Keanu Reeves. 2006 saw him in Suburban Mayhem (2006). [8]
In 2007, Bastoni began playing another of his best known roles, as Steve Parker in long-running soap opera Neighbours , a role he undertook until 2009. [6] From 2009 to 2010, he hosted Missing Persons Unit , replacing Mike Munro. In 2010, he also appeared in the third installment of the Underbelly franchise, Underbelly: The Golden Mile , [8] as Louis Bayeh.
Bastoni appeared in an episode of Sea Patrol , [8] temporarily replacing Mike Flynn as the Commanding Officer aboard the fictional RAN vessel HMAS Hammersley, before playing the role of Don Kaplan in critically acclaimed Australian prison drama Wentworth . [8] He also played homicide detective, Charlie Bezzina in Fat Tony & Co. , [8] a 2014 spin-off series of Underbelly , based on the Melbourne gangland war.
Other television credits include appearances in award winning miniseries Blue Murder , The Alice , Rush , Mr & Mrs Murder and the comedies Lowdown , Upper Middle Bogan , The Wrong Girl and How to Stay Married , as well as US series Hawaii Five-0 . [8]
Bastoni appeared in the 2013 film Drift , alongside Sam Worthington and Xavier Samuel, before playing the role of Omer in 2014 film The Water Diviner , alongside Russell Crowe. [8] He starred as Steve in Truth (2015) alongside Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford, [8] and appeared in 2016 sport film Broke. [10]
More recently, Bastoni has starred in Channel 9 drama series Bad Mothers in 2019, alongside Mandy McElhinney, Daniel MacPherson and Michala Banas. [3] He also appeared in 2021 miniseries Australian Gangster [8] and 2022 Russell Crowe-lead thriller film Poker Face . [11]
Bastoni has also written and directed several short films, the first of which, The Gift, won several international awards. The film was shown in parliament in New South Wales and is part of the curriculum in Canada, where it is used to generate discussions about mental health. [1]
Stage
Bastoni's theatre work includes the playing role of Rocky in the 1987 Australian national tour of The Rocky Horror Show starring Daniel Abineri. Abineri then gave him the role of Charlie Fortune in his controversial rock musical Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom in 1989, starring alongside Russell Crowe and Nadine Garner. [12]
He notably starred in Cameron Mackintosh's 2002 big budget musical production of Oliver! directed by Sam Mendes, which toured nationally and to Singapore. [8] He played the role of Bill Sikes, alongside John Waters and Tamsin Carroll.
In 2012, Bastoni performed in Everynight, Everynight at Melbourne's Gasworks, for Frank Theatre Company, [13] and in Jager Productions’ Barassi , as AFL legend Ron Barassi. [14] He also appeared in a 2013 Belvoir production of The Threepenny Opera , playing Macheath. [8]
In 2019, Bastoni starred in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge , [15] marking his debut for Melbourne Theatre Company. The same year, he also played the lead role of Jay Conway in Ulster American for Melbourne's Red Stitch Actors Theatre. [16] He was nominated for Green Room Awards for both roles, [1] as well as one for his earlier turn in Ben Elton’s Popcorn in 1999. [8] [17]
