# Bill Hunter (actor)

William John Hunter (27 February 1940 – 21 May 2011) was an Australian actor of film, stage and television, who was also prominent as a voice-over artist. He appeared in more than 60 films and won two AFI Awards. He was also a recipient of the Centenary Medal.

## Early life

William John Hunter was born on 27 February 1940 in Ballarat, Victoria, the son of William and Francie Hunter. He had a brother, John, and a sister, Marie Ann.
During his teens, Hunter was a champion swimmer, and briefly held a world record for the 100 yards freestyle until his record was broken by John Devitt in the very next heat 10 minutes later. Hunter qualified for the Australian swimming team for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia before a bout of meningitis ended his Olympic hopes.

## Career

Hunter made his film debut as an extra in 1957 film The Shiralee. An introduction to Ava Gardner saw him gain a job as an extra and swimming double in the Hollywood film On the Beach, which was filming in Melbourne. Hunter claimed that he was inspired to take up acting after watching one of the leads (variously claimed to be either Gregory Peck or Fred Astaire) do 27 takes of a scene, and thinking he could do better. He took an intensive drama course in Melbourne and sailed aboard the RHMS Ellinis on New Year's Eve 1964 for England. There he won a two-year scholarship to the prestigious Northampton Repertory Company in England. In 1966, Hunter made his first television appearance, two episodes in The Ark, a serial within the third season of the BBC television drama series Doctor Who.
Hunter returned to Australia in 1967 and began working in television drama and feature films. He had interviewed with Gavrik Losey in London, making no great impression in that highly competitive atmosphere, but Losey was able to offer Hunter his first Australian film appearance in Ned Kelly in 1970 with Losey as production supervisor. Hunter often played characters who were the strong, opinionated, archetypal gruff Australian whose exterior belies a softer heart and sensibilities vulnerable to pressure.
Some of his most notable movie roles include Mad Dog Morgan (1976), Newsfront (1978), Gallipoli (1981), The Dismissal, Scales of Justice (1983), Strictly Ballroom (1992), Muriel's Wedding (1994), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and Australia (2008). In 2007, he reprised the role of Bob in the Australian touring stage production of Priscilla. He also provided the voice of the dentist in Finding Nemo (2003) and the voice of Bubo in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010). He portrayed United Nations Secretary General Spencer Chartwell in the American science fiction series Space: Above and Beyond. His last film role was in The Cup (2011).
Of acting, Hunter said, "As long as the director told me where to stand and what to say, I was happy. Anyone who says there's any more to it than that, is full of bullshit. ... It's a job. It is a craft, but there's no art involved. What you need is common sense and a reasonably rough head. You put on the makeup and the wardrobe, and that is half the performance. That upsets the purists, but never mind, they don't work as much as I do."

## Awards and honours

Hunter won the 1978 AFI Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Newsfront, and the 1981 Best Supporting Actor award for Gallipoli.
In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal "for service to acting, including the films Gallipoli and Frontline.
A painting of Hunter by artist Jason Benjamin won the Packing Room Prize in conjunction with the 2005 Archibald Prize.

## Personal life

Hunter was a supporter of the Australian Labor Party, appearing in the party's official 1996 Federal Election Campaign advertisement.
Hunter's first marriage was to Robbie Anderson from 1963 to 1973, with whom he had a son, named James Hunter. His next marriage was to actress Pat Bishop, in 1976. According to writer Bob Ellis, the marriage was short-lived after Hunter ran off with their marriage celebrant.
His third marriage was to artist and television presenter Rhoda Roberts, in 1993. They lived together until 1999, when he suddenly announced that he wanted to leave the marriage. She did not know why until he visited her shortly before his death in 2011 and told her that he did not want her to have to nurse him. They did not, however, get divorced. She also said that, despite the common perception that he contracted liver cancer because he drank too much, he was in Alcoholics Anonymous when they met and was not a drunk.

## Death

On 15 May 2011, Hunter was admitted to Caritas Christi hospice in Kew, after refusing to go to a hospital. Surrounded by family and friends, he died of liver cancer on 21 May 2011, aged 71.
A memorial service for Hunter was held at Melbourne's Princess Theatre on 26 May 2011. Close friend and co-star Mick Molloy paid tribute to Bill Hunter on stage at the 54th Logie Awards in April 2012.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1970 | Ned Kelly | Officer (uncredited) | Feature film |
| 1974 | 27A | Cornish | Feature film |
| 1974 | Stone | Barman | Feature film |
| 1975 | The Man from Hong Kong (a.k.a. The Dragon Flies) | Peterson | Feature film |
| 1976 | Eliza Fraser | Youlden | Feature film |
| 1976 | Mad Dog Morgan | Sgt. Smith | Feature film |
| 1977 | Backroads | Jack | Feature film |
| 1978 | In Search of Anna | Peter | Feature film |
| 1978 | Newsfront | Len Maguire | Feature film AFI Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role |
| 1978 | Weekend of Shadows | Bosun | Feature film |
| 1980 | Dead Man's Float (a.k.a. Smuggler’s Cove) | Eddie Bell | Feature film |
| 1980 | Hard Knocks | Brady | Feature film |
| 1981 | Gallipoli | Major Barton | Feature film AFI Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role |
| 1981 | ... Maybe This Time | Stephen | Feature film |
| 1982 | Heatwave | Robert Duncan | Feature film |
| 1982 | Far East | Walker | Feature film |
| 1983 | The Hit | Harry | Feature film |
| 1983 | The Return of Captain Invincible | Tupper / Coach | Feature film |
| 1984 | Street Hero | Detective Fitzpatrick | Feature film |
| 1985 | An Indecent Obsession | Colonel Chinstrap | Feature film |
| 1985 | Rebel | Browning | Feature film |
| 1986 | Death of a Soldier | Detective Sgt. Adams | Feature film |
| 1986 | Sky Pirates | O'Reilly | Feature film |
| 1987 | The Shiralee | Extra | TV film |
| 1988 | Rikky and Pete | Whitstead | Feature film |
| 1989 | Fever | Sgt. Jack Welles | Feature film |
| 1989 | Mull | Frank Mullens | Feature film |
| 1989 | Police State | | TV film |
| 1990 | Call Me Mr. Brown | Detective Sergeant ‘Jim’ Jack McNeill | Feature film |
| 1991 | Deadly | Vernon Giles | Feature film |
| 1992 | The Last Days of Chez Nous | Beth's Father | Feature film |
| 1992 | Strictly Ballroom | Barry Fife | Feature film |
| 1993 | Broken Highway | Wilson | Feature film |
| 1993 | The Custodian | Managing director | Feature film |
| 1993 | Shotgun Wedding | Police Commissioner Andrews | Feature film |
| 1994 | The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Bob | Feature film |
| 1994 | Everynight ... Everynight | Berriman | Feature film |
| 1994 | Muriel's Wedding | Bill Heslop | Feature film |
| 1996 | Cody: Fall from Grace | Sam Wolfe | TV film |
| 1996 | Race the Sun | Commissioner Hawkes | Feature film |
| 1996 | River Street | Vincent Pierce | Feature film |
| 1997 | Road to Nhill | Bob | Feature film |
| 1998 | 15 Amore | Brendan (voice) | Feature film |
| 1998 | The Echo of Thunder | Cooper (uncredited) | TV film |
| 2000 | On the Beach | Prime Minister Seaton | TV film |
| 2002 | Crackerjack | Stan Coombs | Feature film |
| 2003 | Finding Nemo | Philip Sherman (voice) | Feature film |
| 2003 | Bad Eggs | Ted Pratt | Feature film |
| 2003 | Horseplay | Barry Coxhead | |
| 2003 | Kangaroo Jack | Blue | Feature film |
| 2004 | Tom White | Malcolm | Feature film |
| 2008 | The Square | Gil Hubbard | Feature film |
| 2008 | Australia | Skipper (Qantas Sloop) | Feature film |
| 2010 | The Wedding Party | Priest | Feature film |
| 2010 | Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole | Bubo (voice) | Animated feature film |
| 2011 | Red Dog | Himself | Feature film |
| 2011 | The Cup | Bart Cummings | Feature film Final film appearance |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1966 | Doctor Who – The Ark | Guardian (uncredited) | TV series 2 episodes: "The Steel Sky", "The Plague'" |
| 1977 | Beyond Reasonable Doubt | Ronald Ryan | Documentary series |
| 1984 | The Keepers | Jack Wolfe | TV series |
| 1989 | Cassidy | Charles Parnell Cassidy | Miniseries |
| 1992 | The Leaving of Liverpool | Father O'Neill | Miniseries |
| 1993 | Stark | Ocker Tyron | Miniseries |
| 1995 | Blue Murder | Angus McDonald | Miniseries |
| 1995-96 | Space: Above And Beyond | United Nations Secretary General Spencer Chartwell | TV series |
| 1998 | A Difficult Woman | Paul Scanlon | Miniseries |
| 2006 | Two Twisted | Grandfather | TV series |
| 2010 | The Pacific | James | Miniseries |

## Theatre

Hunter's theatre roles included:
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1961 | The World of Suzie Wong | | Palais Theatre |
| 1973 | Summer of the Seventeenth Doll | | Nimrod Street Theatre |
| 1974 | Well Hung | | Nimrod Upstairs |
| 1975 | Down Under | | Stables Theatre |
| 1976 | The Season at Sarsaparilla | Rowley Masson | Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre |
| 1979 | Makassar Reef | Perry Glasson | Nimrod Upstairs |
| 1979 | Errol Flynn's Great Big Adventure Book for Boys | Errol Flynn | Russell Street Theatre |
| 1991 | Summer of the Seventeenth Doll | Roo | Seymour Centre |
| 2000 | The Caribbean Tempest | | Royal Botanic Garden |
| 2007-08 | Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Bob | Regent Theatre, Melbourne, Civic Theatre, Auckland, Lyric Theatre, Sydney |