Peter Phelps

Peter Phelps (born 20 September 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor, singer and writer. He is notable for his role as Trevor Cole in Baywatch. Phelps is also known for his roles in the internationally successful Australian series Sons and Daughters and Stingers and has appeared in feature films including Blackwater Trail with Judd Nelson. He is the brother of Professor Kerryn Phelps.
Career
Phelps began his acting career in the early 1980s with an ongoing role in the Network Ten teen soap opera The Restless Years produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation. After that series ended he had a starring role in new Grundy soap opera Sons and Daughters. It was Phelps who came up with the "Pat the Rat" moniker in the series.
In 1988 he had a brief role in the mini series The Dirtwater Dynasty. Peter featured as David Eastwick, the first-born son of the main character Richard Eastwick, played by Hugo Weaving (who is less than six months older than Phelps).
From 1989–1990, he was one of the lifeguards (Trevor Cole) in the first season of Baywatch, and had a minor role in the film Point Break. He also had roles in A Country Practice and The Flying Doctors. In 1993, Phelps won an Australian Film Institute Best Actor award for his role in the G.P. episode, "Exposed".
From 1998 until 2004, he starred in Stingers, a role that won him the 2002 Logie Award for Most Popular Actor.
Phelps also played a recurring role as doctor Doug "Spence" Spencer on the medical drama, All Saints starting 4 October 2005.
In 2009, Phelps had a busy year. He appeared in two television dramas — Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities playing detective inspector Joe Messina; and as Vince Marchello (Station Co-ordinator) in Rescue: Special Ops. Also in 2009, he also had a role as a police officer in the film Stone Bros.
In 2009, he appeared in a new public awareness campaign by the NSW Rural Fire Service about the need to prepare for bushfires. This included television and radio advertisements. The campaign was subsequently adopted by the Tasmania Fire Service.
Filmography
Television
The Restless Years (1977) as Kevin Ryan
A Country Practice (1981)
Sons and Daughters (1981–83) as John Palmer
The Challenge (1986) as Will Ballieu
Butterfly Island (1987)
Willesee's Australians (1987) as Les Darcy
The Dirtwater Dynasty (1988) as David Eastwick
Rafferty's Rules (1988)
Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier (pilot) (1989) as Trevor Cole
Baywatch (1989–90) as Trevor Cole
The Young Riders (1991) as Hack 'Kangaroo Kid' Wilkins
Heartbreak High as Phil North
The Flying Doctors as Dennis Taylor
G.P. (episode: "Exposed") (1993)
Fire (1995) as Nick 'The Boss' Connor
Police Rescue (1995) as Alex Willis
Blue Murder (1995) as Abo Henry
Water Rats (1998) as Jimmy Formica
Stingers (1998-2004) as Peter Church (Mike Fischer)
Inside the Arena (2000) as Himself
All Saints (2005) as Dr Doug 'Spence' Spencer
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities (2009) as Detective Inspector Joe Messina
Rescue: Special Ops (2009) as Vince Marchello
The Joy of Sets (2011) as Himself
Home and Away (2012) as Alan Henderson
Mr & Mrs Murder (2013) as Paul Craven
Wonderland (2013) as Warwick Wilcox
Old School (2014) as Mal Dwyer
Home and Away (2022-23) as Gary Morrow
Film
Undercover (1983) as Theo
Playing Beatie Bow (1986) as Judah/Robert
Rock 'N' Roll Cowboys (1987) as Eddie
The Lighthorsemen (1988) as David Mitchell
Starlight Hotel (1988) as Patrick
Breaking Loose (1988) as Ross Cameron
Maya (1989) as Peter
Point Break (1991) as Australian surfer
Merlin (also known as Merlin: The True Story of Magic) (1992) as John Pope
The Feds: Betrayal (1993) as Brian Petrie
Rough Diamonds (1994) as Dozer Brennan
Blackwater Trail (1996) as Dr. Frank Jamison
Zone 39 (1996) as Leo Megaw
One Way Ticket (1997) as Mick Webb
Fire and Ice - The Many Moods of Thredbo and the Snowys (documentary) (1999) as Presenter
The Extra - (1999) as himself.
Lantana (2001) as Patrick Phelan
Teesh and Trude (2002) as Rod
Ned Kelly (2003) as Constable Lonigan
The Square 2008) as Jake
Stone Bros. (2009) as Mark
Caught Inside (2010) as Skipper Joe
Locusts (2019) as the local police officer
Awards and nominations
Stage appearances
The Club
Miranda by Stephen Sewell
Nicholas Nickleby
The Sum of Us
Twelve Angry Men
Writings
Books
Sex without Madonna: The True Confessions of a Hired Gun in Tinseltown (autobiography), Pan Macmillan Publishers Australia, 1994
The Bulldog Track: A grandson's story of an ordinary man's war and survival on the other Kokoda trail, Hachette Australia, 2018
Magazine contributor
Harper's Bazaar
References
External links
Peter Phelps at the National Film and Sound Archive
1960 births
Living people
AACTA Award winners
Australian Anglicans
Australian male film actors
Australian male soap opera actors
Australian people of English descent
Australian people of Scottish descent
Australian people of Swedish descent
Logie Award winners
Musicians from Sydney
Male actors from Sydney