Andrew McFarlane (born 6 June 1951) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

actor with many stage and screen credits.

Personal life

McFarlane was born in

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

. After the family moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

he attended

Camberwell Grammar School , motto_translation = By our deeds may we be known , established = , type = Independent, single sex, Anglican primary and secondary day school , denomination = Anglican , slogan ...

and was involved in school plays and school cadets. He has long been open about his homosexuality.

Career

After making his TV debut in Crawfords police dramas '' Homicide'' and ''

Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...

'', he won a recurring role on ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...

'' before joining

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-cla ...

'' as oldest son John Sullivan. He left the series after eighteen months and in the storyline John was reported missing in action – the writers left his final fate unresolved in the hope McFarlane would return to the show. McFarlane returned to the role in the TV movie ''The John Sullivan Story''. The role gained McFarlane a Sammy Award for best supporting actor in a TV series in 1977. He later took the lead role in the miniseries ''

The Flying Doctors ''The Flying Doctors'' is an Australian drama TV series produced by Crawford Productions that revolves around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. ...

'', reprising the role in the ongoing series that followed. Again he left the series after 16 episodes at the height of its popularity. However, he returned in the fifth season for another 37 episodes. He also appeared in ''

Rafferty's Rules ''Rafferty's Rules'' is an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1991 on the Seven Network. The producers of the series were Posie Graeme-Evans (1987–1988), and Denis Phelen. The directors were Graham Thorburn, Mike Smit ...

'' as "Police Prosecutor Gibson". McFarlane has since played the father of

Tasha Andrews Natasha "Tasha" Hunter (also Andrews) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Isabel Lucas. She made her first screen appearance in the episode broadcast on 31 July 2003. Tasha departed the series on 10 ...

in soap opera '' Home and Away'' and in 2005 played

Bobby Hoyland The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'' in 2005, by order of first appearance. They were all introduced by the show's executive producer Ric Pellizzeri. The 21st season of ''Neighbour ...

in the soap opera '' Neighbours''. He has been a '' Play School'' presenter since 2000 and was also one of Governor Phillip's people on ''

Australian History The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia. Aboriginal Australians, People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and ...

'' on ABC. He acted in the TV series ''Spellbinder'' as Brian Reynolds, Paul's father and played Hugh Delaney in the miniseries '' The Alice''. In 2009 he portrayed prominent Australian anti-drugs campaigner and murder victim Donald Mackay in the series '' Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities''. He appeared in a musical for the first time in 2010 in '' Fame – The Musical'' at the

Capitol Theatre, Sydney The Capitol Theatre is a heritage-listed theatre located at 3-15 Campbell Street, Haymarket, in the Sydney central business district, Australia. It was designed by Henry Eli White and John Eberson and built from 1893 to 1928. The property was ...

. McFarlane had regular or leading roles in television series '' Love Child'' (2014), '' Devil's Playground'' and ''

Glitch A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among ...

'' (both 2015).

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McFarlane, Andrew 1951 births Australian male film actors Australian male stage actors Australian male television actors Australian gay actors Living people People from Albany, Western Australia Australian children's television presenters 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors 21st-century LGBT people