# Nathan Phillips (actor)

Nathan Phillips is an Australian actor.

## Early life

Phillips studied English literature at La Trobe University in Melbourne, with the intention of becoming a teacher, before he turned to acting as a career.

## Career

His professional acting career began in 1999, with a role on the popular Australian soap opera Neighbours. His television career was later followed by roles in Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story, Blue Heelers, Something in the Air and The Saddle Club.
In 2002, he made his feature film debut with a role in Warriors of Virtue: The Return to Tao (also starring Kevin Smith, Shedrack Anderson III and Nina Liu). His next role, the lead in Australian Rules, earned him a nomination for the Film Critics Circle of Australia's Best Actor award, alongside David Gulpilil, Guy Pearce and Vince Colosimo.
Phillips's film career has seen him star in both Australian productions, such as Take Away (with Rose Byrne), One Perfect Day (with Abbie Cornish) and Under the Radar, and Hollywood productions such as Chernobyl Diaries, Redline and Surfer, Dude and most notably Snakes on a Plane. He is perhaps most known for his role as backpacker Ben Mitchell in the 2005 hit horror film Wolf Creek. After the success of this film, Phillips moved to Los Angeles, where he was based for several years.
Although tipped for big things in Hollywood after the success of Wolf Creek, Phillips chose to go travelling for long periods of time, rather than focus on his career as an actor. Phillips' career has, to date, consisted mostly of roles in low budget films and television work, such as his role as Tom Wills, Australia's first significant cricketer and father of Australian rules football. In 2020, Phillips appeared in the Nine Network series Halifax: Retribution.
From 2019, Phillips has been back living in his native Australia, working on television and film projects. In addition to acting, Phillips was a producer of 2019's Blood Vessel.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Australian Rules | Gary "Blacky" Black | Feature film |
| 2002 | Warriors of Virtue: The Return to Tao | Ryan Jeffers | Feature film |
| 2003 | Take Away | Dave | Feature film |
| 2004 | Under the Radar | Brandon | Feature film |
| 2004 | One Perfect Day | Trig | Feature film |
| 2005 | Wolf Creek | Ben Mitchell | Feature film |
| 2005 | You and Your Stupid Mate | Philip | Feature film |
| 2005 | The Opposite of Velocity | Kevin | Short film |
| 2006 | Snakes on a Plane | Sean Jones | Feature film |
| 2007 | West | Jerry | Feature film |
| 2007 | Redline | Carlo | Feature film |
| 2008 | Surfer, Dude | Baker Smith | Feature film |
| 2008 | Dying Breed | Jack | Feature film |
| 2009 | Balibo | Malcolm Rennie | Feature film |
| 2009 | Message from the CEO | Eric | Short film |
| 2010 | Summer Coda | Joey | Feature film |
| 2010 | Quit | Benji | Feature film |
| 2012 | Satellite of Love | Samuel / Catherine's ex-boyfriend | Feature film |
| 2012 | Chernobyl Diaries | Michael | Feature film |
| 2012 | Degenerate | Young Blair | Feature film |
| 2013 | These Final Hours | James | Feature film |
| 2014 | The Amateur | Jimmy | Feature film |
| 2019 | Blood Vessel | Sinclair | Feature film |
| 2019 | Tuscaloosa | Deputy | Feature film |
| 2019 | 3 Day Weekend | Schnappsie | Feature film |
| 2021 | The Devil Below | Cain | Feature film |
| 2023 | Kane | Frankie | Feature film |
| 2024 | Kid Snow | Billy | Feature film |
| 2024 | 13th Summer | Ben Trainor | Feature film |
| 2024 | Accident | Mick | Short film |
| TBA | Homeward | Morgan | In post-production |
| TBA | Spines | Logan | In production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Neighbours | John "Teabag" Teasdale | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 2000 | Eugénie Sandler P.I. | Leo | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Frontline | Phoenix | 1 episode |
| 2001 | Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story | Hugh | TV movie |
| 2001 | Blue Heelers | Cameron Sharpe | 1 episode |
| 2001 | The Saddle Club | Red O'Malley | TV series, 26 episodes |
| 2002 | The Saddle Club: Adventures at Pine Hollow | Red O'Malley | Direct-to-video movie |
| 2002 | Something in the Air | Angus Moore | 12 episodes |
| 2004 | Stingers | Charlie Sanderson | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Outlaw Country | | TV movie |
| 2013 | Tiny Commando | CJ | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2014 | The Bridge | Jack Dobbs | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | Hunters | Flynn Carroll | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 2016 | Tom Wills | Tom Wills | TV movie |
| 2020 | Halifax: Retribution | Jack McCarthy | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | RFDS | Mikey | 1 episode |
| 2025 | NCIS: Sydney | Finn | 1 episode |
| 2025 | Good Cop/Bad Cop | Tommy Boucher | Season 1, episode 8: "Skeleton" |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result |
| 2002 | Australian Rules | Film Critics Circle of Australia | Best Actor – Male | Nominated |
| 2002 | Australian Rules | IF Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2014 | These Final Hours | Sitges Film Festival | Best Actor | Won |
| 2015 | These Final Hours | AFCA Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2019 | Blood Vessel | FilmQuest Cthulhu | Best Actor – Feature | Nominated |
| 2019 | Blood Vessel | FilmQuest Cthulhu | Best Ensemble Cast – Feature | Nominated |
| 2019 | Blood Vessel | FilmQuest Cthulhu | Best Feature Film | Nominated |