# Jerome Ehlers

Jerome Ehlers (20 December 1958 – 9 August 2014) was an Australian actor and writer.

## Early life

Ehlers was born in Perth, Western Australia to Francis Charles Ehlers and his wife Berenice Margaret Franklyn Ehlers. He went to school in Perth and then lived in Floreat, Curtin, Western Australia, from 1977. He was a resident of St. Thomas More College in Perth, during the mid-1970s. He graduated from University of Western Australia in 1987. He then graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) alongside his future wife, actress Emily Simpson in 1987.

## Career

Ehlers made his acting debut as Captain Watkin Tench in 1987 miniseries Frontier, alongside Max Cullen, Ruth Cracknell, and Robert Coleby.
Early television credits include the miniseries True Believers (1988), Body Surfer (1989), Darlings of the Gods (1989) and Bangkok Hilton (1989) – the latter alongside Nicole Kidman in her breakout role.
He made further television appearances in Shadows of the Heart (1990), A Country Practice (1992), New Zealand series Marlin Bay (1992), Time Trax (1993), Fire (1996), Flipper (1995-1996), Heartbreak High (1996), Water Rats (1998), Stingers (1999) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World (1999-2002).
Various roles followed in the 2000s with Tales of the South Seas (2000), British drama series Ballykissangel (2001), fantasy series BeastMaster (2001), Jeopardy (2002), miniseries Through My Eyes (2004), long-running medical drama All Saints (2006), Monarch Cove (2006), US miniseries The Starter Wife (2007), Packed to the Rafters (2008-2009), East of Everything (2009) and Sea Patrol (2010). He played the role of Rhys Kowalski in 2011 legal series Crownies for 22 episodes. He made his later appearances in House Husbands (2012-2013) and Rake (2014).
Ehlers also appeared in numerous films including western film Quigley Down Under (1990) alongside Tom Selleck, Weekend with Kate (1990), erotic thriller Fatal Bond (1991), US thriller Irresistible Force (1993) and cult crime drama Two Hands (1999) alongside Heath Ledger, Bryan Brown and Rose Byrne.
Further film credits include adventure drama The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (2001), horror film Cubbyhouse (2001), bushranger drama Ned Kelly (2003) alongside Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom, war film The Great Raid (2005) opposite James Franco and Benjamin Bratt, and US action film The Marine (2006). He also appears in many made-for-television films. Ehlers' final film before his death was Drive Hard (2014).

## Personal life

Ehlers was married to actress Emily Simpson from 10 December 1988, with whom he had a son, Jackson in 1990. They were divorced in 1993. He then married actress Elly Bradbury on 30 September 2001, with whom he had a second son, Ethan in 2002. They remained married until his death. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Media, Political Science, Politics, and History from Southern Cross University, Lismore, in 2009.

## Death

Ehlers died in Sydney on 9 August 2014, at age 55, ten months after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Quigley Down Under | Coogan | Feature film |
| 1990 | Weekend with Kate | Jon Thorne | Feature film |
| 1991 | Deadly | Sergeant Tony Bourke | Feature film |
| 1993 | Fatal Bond | Joe Martinez | Feature film |
| 1995 | Swinger | Macmillan | Short film |
| 1999 | Two Hands | Busker | Feature film |
| 1999 | Change of Heart | Harvey Tate | |
| 2000 | After the Rain | Michael Silvagni | Feature film |
| 2001 | The Old Man Who Read Love Stories | Gringo | Feature film |
| 2001 | Cubbyhouse | Harrison / Harlow | Feature film |
| 2003 | Ned Kelly | Sherritt Trooper | Feature film |
| 2005 | The Great Raid | Colonel H. White | Feature film |
| 2006 | The Marine | Detective Van Buren | Feature film |
| 2012 | My Mind's Own Melody | Doctor | Short film |
| 2014 | Drive Hard | Bank Chairman | Feature film (final film role) |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | True Believers | | TV miniseries |
| 1989 | Bodysurfer | Mooney Mooney Youth | TV miniseries |
| 1989 | Darlings of the Gods | Peter Finch | TV movie |
| 1989 | Bangkok Hilton | Arkie Ragan | TV miniseries |
| 1990 | Shadows of the Heart | Father Michael Hanlon | TV movie |
| 1992 | A Country Practice | Grant Williams | TV series, episodes: "Nothing But the Truth: Part 1" "Nothing But the Truth: Part 2" |
| 1993 | The Feds: Obsession | Cal Woods | TV movie |
| 1993 | Time Trax | Nigel Felsham | TV series, episode: "The Price of Honor" |
| 1993 | Irresistible Force | Kurt | TV movie |
| 1993 | The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children? | Ray Masterman | TV movie |
| 1994 | Marlin Bay | Christian Beckett | TV series |
| 1995 | Sahara | Capt. Halliday | TV movie |
| 1995 | Glad Rags | Graeme Marsden | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 1995 | Flipper | Poacher | TV series, episode: "With Brothers Like This" |
| 1996 | Fire | Vulture | TV series, episode: "Vendetta II" |
| 1996 | Heartbreak High | Max Harrison | TV series, episode: "4.23" |
| 1997 | Frontier | Captain Watkin Tench | TV miniseries |
| 1997 | Kangaroo Palace | Simon Seymour | TV movie |
| 1998 | Water Rats | Peter Klein | TV series, episode: "Switchback" |
| 1998 | Chameleon | 'Maddy' Madison | TV movie |
| 1999 | Chameleon II: Death Match | Erickson | TV movie |
| 1999 | Witch Hunt | Detective Jack Maitland | TV movie |
| 1999 | Stingers | Frank Manscuro | TV series, episode: "House Rules" |
| 1999–2001 | The Lost World | Tribune, François Locke / Olmec | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 2000 | Tales of the South Seas | Villain | TV series, episode: "Lessons for a Warrior" |
| 2000 | Virtual Nightmare | | TV movie |
| 2001 | Ballykissangel | Barry | TV series, episode: "Getting Better All the Time" |
| 2001 | BeastMaster | Dagan | TV series, episode: "Game of Death" |
| 2001 | Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story | John Ford | TV movie |
| 2001 | The Wilde Girls | Toby | TV movie |
| 2002 | Jeopardy | Joe (diamond thief) | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2002 | Seconds to Spare | Emmett Larkin | TV movie |
| 2002 | Counterstrike | Captain Kevin Blake | TV movie |
| 2004 | Through My Eyes | Odontologist Ken Brown | TV movie |
| 2006 | Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America | Chad Sinclair | TV movie |
| 2006 | All Saints | Richard Reinheart | TV series, episode: "Drawing the Line" |
| 2006 | Monarch Cove | Sam Lee | TV series, episode: "1.6" |
| 2007 | The Starter Wife | Director | TV miniseries |
| 2008–2009 | Packed to the Rafters | Tony Westaway | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2010 | Sea Patrol | Peter | TV series, episode: "Paradise Lost" |
| 2011 | Crownies | Rhys Kowalski | TV series, 22 episodes |
| 2012 | House Husbands | David | TV series, episode: "1.9" |
| 2014 | Rake | Maitre d' | TV series |