# Steven Vidler (actor)

Steven Vidler (born 9 August 1960) is an Australian actor, screenwriter and director known for his part in the Scottish–Australian series Jeopardy.

## Early life and education

Vidler was born on 9 August 1960 in Sydney, Australia. He formally trained at Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art, from where he graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Dramatic Art and Acting. He continued his studies at NIDA, undertaking an Actor-Director relationship course, run in collaboration with AFTRS. He also obtained a research PhD in screenwriting, from Macquarie University, which used cognitive neuroscience to explore viewer engagement with characters in film.

## Career

Vidler's first film role was the 1984 television film The Blood of Others. He played Sugar, the younger brother who 'knew' his brother's wife, in 1987 film The Good Wife (also known as The Umbrella Woman) alongside Rachel Ward. Other early film credits included Robbery Under Arms (1985), Incident at Raven's Gate (1988) and Outback (1989) also known as Minnamurra.
Vidler made his feature film directorial debut with the award-winning 1997 film Blackrock, known for being Heath Ledger’s first film role. Together with Nicholas Hammond, Vidler co-wrote 1998 miniseries A Difficult Woman, which won the Silver World Medal for best miniseries at the New York Festivals.
Vidler played 2nd Lieutenant Gore in 1998 American war epic The Thin Red Line. He again worked with Ledger, when he played alongside him as 'The Man' in 1999 crime thriller Two Hands. That same year, he played Captain William in 1999 survival film Dogwatch, alongside Joel Edgerton.
Beginning in 2002, Vidler played the part of well-meaning teacher, Mr Simmons in BAFTA award-winning children's sci-fi drama series Jeopardy. He had roles in the films The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002) and Bad Eggs (2003) and also starred in the miniseries' The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004) and Through My Eyes (2004).
Vidler played officer Frank Williams in 2006 See No Evil, and its sequel the following year. From 2007 to 2008, he played the recurring role of Noel Anderson on long-running soap opera Home and Away. In 2013, he played Neil Webster, Tara's father in the Australian drama Dance Academy.
Vidler wrote and directed 2019 film Standing Up for Sunny, starring Breaking Bad's RJ Mitte. The film won the award for Best Indie Film at the 2020 AACTA Awards. Vidler currently works as a screenwriter, director and script assistant with his company Sidekick Pictures, based in Hollywood.

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Note |
| 1984 | The Blood of Others | Autre Manifestant | |
| 1984 | Displaced Persons | Alexander | TV movie |
| 1985 | Robbery Under Arms | Dick Marston | |
| 1987 | The Good Wife | Sugar Hills | Also known as The Umbrella Woman |
| 1987 | The Perfectionist | Erik | TV movie |
| 1988 | Incident at Raven's Gate | Eddie | |
| 1989 | Outback | Jack Donaghue | Also known as Minnamurra |
| 1990 | Harbour Beat | Lance Cooper | |
| 1993 | Desperate Journey: The Allison Wilcox Story | Lieutenant Commander Jack Harkin | |
| 1994 | No Worries | Gary Hay | |
| 1995 | Napoleon | Snake/Galah/Mouse | |
| 1996 | The Territorians | Robert McCabe | |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | 2nd Lieutenant Gore | |
| 1999 | Two Hands | The Man | |
| 1999 | Dog Watch | The Captain | |
| 2000 | The Love of Lionel's Life | Robbie | TV movie |
| 2001 | Finding Hope | Nobby | |
| 2001 | Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story | Darryl Zanuck | TV movie |
| 2001 | Blonde | Warren | TV movie |
| 2002 | The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course | Deputy Director Ansell | |
| 2002 | A Ring of Endless Light | Mr. Gray | |
| 2003 | Bad Eggs | Detective Pendlebury | |
| 2004 | The Mystery of Natalie Wood | Richard Gregson | TV movie |
| 2004 | Through My Eyes | Inspector Graeme Charlwood | |
| 2004 | Small Claims | Ross | TV movie |
| 2006 | See No Evil | Officer Frank Williams | |
| 2007 | The Home Song Stories | Bill | |
| 2007 | See No Evil 2 | Officer Frank Williams | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Note |
| 1985 | The Dunera Boys | Tropp | Miniseries |
| 1991 | A Country Practice | Phillip Dalton | 2 episodes |
| 1991 | G.P. | Doug | 1 episode |
| 1991 | Bony | Jackson | 1 episode |
| 1991 | Heartland | Phil McCarthy | 6 episodes |
| 1992 | Frankie's House | Steve Cotler | |
| 1995 | Snowy River: The McGregor Saga | Daniel Larson | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Janus | Danny Wyatt | 4 episodes |
| 1995 | Halifax f.p. | Steve Kingsley | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Police Rescue | Scuderi | 1 episode |
| 1997 | State Coroner | Salmon | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Big Sky | Cameron | 1 episode |
| 1998 | The Day of the Roses | Dick Lamb | Miniseries |
| 1998 | Wildside | Trevor Kierney | 1 episode |
| 1999 | Water Rats | Brian Geary | 1 episode |
| 1999 | Stingers | Todd Tregear | 1 episode |
| 1999 | SeaChange | The Ghost | 1 episode |
| 1999 | MDA | Nick Clarke | 3 episodes |
| 1999 | Young Lions | Sergeant Brian Graham | 1 episode |
| 2004 | Salem's Lot | Sheriff Parkins | Miniseries |
| 2005 | Jeopardy | Gerry Simmons | 19 episodes |
| 2006 | Love My Way | Steven | 9 episodes |
| 2006 | McLeod's Daughters | Hugh Doyle | 1 episode |
| 2007-2008 | Home and Away | Noel Anderson | 23 episodes |
| 2009 | Satisfaction | Terence | 3 episodes |
| 2012 | Underbelly | Police Commander | 8 episodes |
| 2013 | Packed to the Rafters | Mark Mackey | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Dance Academy | Neil Webster | 8 episodes |
| 2014 | Rake | NSW Premier | 3 episodes |

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Note |
| 1980 | The Jubilee Horror or Sherlock Holmes' Finest Hour | Q Theatre Workshop member | Bankstown Town Hall Theatre Restaurant with Q Theatre |
| 1982 | Spring Awakening | Melchior | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1982 | The Cherry Orchard | Simeonov-Pishchik | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1982 | Measure for Measure | Angelo | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1983 | The Money or the Box? | | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1983 | Traitors | Joseph Rubin | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1983 | Love's Labour's Lost | Dull | NIDA Theatre, Sydney, Playhouse, Canberra, University of Newcastle |
| 1983 | Summer Rain | Peter Bannister | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1985 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | | Seymour Centre, Sydney |
| 1987 | Hamlet / Henry IV, Part 1 | | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1987 | Away | | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1988 | 1841 | | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company, Playhouse, Adelaide & STCSA |
| 1988 | Summer of the Seventeenth Doll / Away | | Pepsico Summerfare New York, New York with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1988 | The Seagull | Kinstantin | Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1988 | Away | | Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1989 | The Tempest | | Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1990 | Words of One Syllable | | Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney |
| 1991 | Henry IV, Part 1 | | Sydney Olympic Park, Blackfriars Theatre, Sydney with Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1991 | King Golgrutha | Achilles / Simon from Loans / Georg, the Ex | Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1992 | Britannicus | | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1993 | Picasso at the Lapin Agile | | Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company |
| 1994 | Hamlet | | Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney |