John Jarratt

John Jarratt (born August 5 1951) is an Australian actor.

Biography

Early life

Jarratt was born and grew up in Wongawilly, a small rural town near Wollongong, New South Wales and later in the Snowy Mountains area. Jarrat's father was a coal miner and later concreter, who worked on the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme. Both his parents were of Irish origin. While in high school Jarrat directed and acted in a school play which was a great success and led to his school principal recommending him for an acting career. [http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2005/s1487507.htm Australian Story, ABC: Interview with John Jarratt] ]

Early film career

Jarratt graduated from NIDA, the Australian national drama school in 1973. His screen debut was in "The Great Macarthy". He also appeared in Peter Weir's "Picnic at Hanging Rock" in 1975 and "Summer City" in 1977 with a young Mel Gibson. Jarratt had the lead role in the mini series "The Last Outlaw" in 1980, playing Ned Kelly. In the later 1980s Jarrat recognised he a had problem with binge drinking and related violence and joined Alcoholics Anonymous, an organisation in which he continues to be active.

1990s - television

In the 1990s, he was a presenter on the lifestyle show "Better Homes and Gardens" with then-wife Noni Hazlehurst. He had guest roles in "Inspector Morse", "Police Rescue", "Blue Murder", "Water Rats" and "Blue Heelers" in the 1990s and 2000's. He joined the cast of McLeod's Daughters in 2001, and left the show in 2006.

Return to cinema

In 2005, he had a major role in the Australian film "Wolf Creek", playing the villain Mick Taylor. In 2007, he will appear in two films, "Rogue" and "The Final Winter".

In 2008 John has launched his own film production company, Winnah Films. Winnah's first feature film, Savages Crossing (originally carrying the working title Flood) went into Principal Photography outside Ipswich in Queensland in February. Savages Crossing is a fast paced thriller set in the Australian outback and stars John Jarratt, and Craig Mclachlan amongst a sterling cast of Australian actors.

Personal life

Jarratt has been married three times. With his first wife Rosa he had 2 children, Zadia and Ebony. He was married to actress Noni Hazlehurst, [ [http://www.webwombat.com.au/entertainment/dvds/wolfcreek-int.htm Web wombat: Interview with John Jarrat, Star of the movie Wolf Creek] ] with whom he had 2 more children, Charlie and William. Most recently he remarried to Cody Jarratt, whom he met as a producer on Better Homes and Gardens, and had a further 2 boys, Jackson and Riley.

Jarratt is currently pursuing legal action against Channel Seven's "Today Tonight" show for portraying him as psychopathic in his dealings with his rental propery tenants. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/14/2004934.htm ABC News: Jarratt sues Channel Seven over 'killer portrayal'] ]

References

External links

*
* [http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2005/s1487223.htm Interview with "Australian Story"]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/09/15/john_jarratt_wolf_creek_interview.shtml Interview with the BBC]
* [http://www.filmoz.com.au/john-jarratt.htm John Jarratt's Film Oz Profile]