Craig Matthew Stott (born 14 April 1990) is an Australian actor, perhaps best known for his role as Josh Watkins in the ABC television drama ''

East of Everything ''East of Everything'' is an Australian drama television drama series set in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales which screened in 2008-2009 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television network. It was produced by De ...

'' (2008–09), and as the co-lead character John Caleo in Neil Armfield's '' Holding the Man'' (2015).

Personal life and career

Stott was born in Craigieburn, a suburb of

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 ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, in 1990."Craig talks about his life in Los Angeles and studying at Stella Adler."
''Screen Actors Australia''. (27 January 2011). Retrieved 22 November 2016. A student of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

, Stott studied Middle Eastern Politics and Immigration Studies, and wrote articles on Middle Eastern affairs.Craig Stott
''craigstott.com''. Retrieved 22 November 2016 Since 2016, he has been based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Stott commenced training as an actor at Screen Actors Australia in 2001, at the age of 11. In 2010, he won a scholarship to the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, A New York City–based acting school founded by American actress and writer,

Stella Adler Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher.
''

He was named the runner–up to

Bella Heathcote Isabella Heathcote (born 27 May 1987) is an Australian actress and model. She began her acting career in 2008. The following year, she had a recurring role as Amanda Fowler on the television soap opera ''Neighbours''. Heathcote has since portr ...

for the Heath Ledger Scholarship Award, in 2010. He was cast in the 2006 Australian adaptation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's '' Macbeth'', in the role of

Fleance Fleance (also spelled Fléance, ) is a figure in legendary Scottish history. He was depicted by 16th-century historians as the son of Lord Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, and the ancestor of the kings of the House of Stuart. Fleance is best known a ...

The film The Film is a 2005 Indian thriller film directed by Junaid Memon also produced along with Amitabh Bhattacharya. The film stars Mahima Chaudhry, Khalid Siddiqui, Ananya Khare, Chahat Khanna, Ravi Gossain, Vaibhav Jhalani and Vivek Madan in lea ...

, directed by

Geoffrey Wright Geoffrey Wright (born 1959) is an Australian film director and screenwriter, who gained cult success with the 1992 film ''Romper Stomper'', starring Russell Crowe. In 1994 he directed the gritty suburban thriller film '' Metal Skin'', starrin ...

, starred

Sam Worthington Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in ''Avatar'' and its sequel, ''Avatar: The Way of Water''; Marcus Wright in ''Terminator Salvation'', and Perseus in '' Clash o ...

as Macbeth. For his work in ''Macbeth'', Stott was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award in 2006 by the Australian Film Institute. Also in 2006, Stott appeared in an Australian

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

, ''Teenage Lust''.Teenage Lust (2006)
''

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

''. Retrieved 6 February 2016 In 2008, Stott appeared in the fourth episode of the eighth season of drama series ''

McLeod's Daughters ''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting eight seasons. It stars Lisa Chappell and Bri ...

'' as Jamie Mitchell, a teenager who has run away from home. Throughout this period in Stott's career, he starred in multiple episodes of the SBS comedy drama ''

Kick A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

'' in 2007, a guest appearance in the second series of crime drama '' City Homicide'' in 2008 and a role in the short film, ''Leap Year''. His next project was ''

'', where he landed the regular role of Josh Watkins, a character he portrayed from 2008 to 2009 in the series' two seasons. On his character, Stott drew parallels between himself and Watkins, noting, "He wants to be independent, and that's me all over. At the moment I'm looking to move out. Not because of family problems but because I want my own freedom and that's what Josh is about." His acting was praised by ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'', which heralded Stott's performance as "strong". In 2009, he starred in the Australian film, ''The Vapour Boys''. Since 2011, Stott has had roles in multiple films, including ''These Empty Streets'' (2011),

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

comedy horror film '' Ghost Team One'' (2013), short films ''James & Quinn'' (2013), ''Grace'' (2015) and ''Haven'' (2015).

''Holding the Man''

While Stott was in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in November 2013, he received a brief for a "Gay love story, et inMelbourne, 1976" – a role within a film the actor believed "seldom comes along...in Australia’s deeply machismo-oriented society". The film would end up being a film adaption of the 1995 memoir '' Holding the Man'' by Australian writer, actor, and activist Timothy Conigrave on his life, and centrally of his relationship with his lover of fifteen years, John Caleo. Following auditions and chemistry tests in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Stott and fellow Australian actor Ryan Corr were selected as the co-leads of '' Holding the Man'', John Caleo and Timothy Conigrave, respectively. Actors

Anthony LaPaglia Anthony LaPaglia (, ; born 31 January 1959) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Jack Malone in the television drama ''Without a Trace'' (2002–2009), for which he received a Golden Globe Award in 2004. LaPaglia won a Pr ...

Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young in the Australian television series ''Neighbours ...

and

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Em ...

were chosen for supporting roles within the film. Production on the film was temporarily suspended in 2014 to allow Stott to lose "up to 12 kilograms" for scenes later in the film which show Caleo with AIDS. On portraying Caleo, Stott noted that, "He wasn’t a very complex person with striking, over-arching ambitions. He wasn’t a boisterous or flamboyant character in the way that Tim was. To try and create a character that was really understated, that is who John was...I was always pulling it back. John really comes through in the subtleties, he’s bubbling under the surface constantly." The chemistry between Stott and Corr received praise among film reviewers and critics, with the two sharing in multiple sex and other intimate scenes throughout the film. Although Corr is straight, Stott had already come out as queer. Both actors "embraced" each other's sexuality for the film, and they shared their first intimate

sex scene Sex in film, the presentation of aspects of human sexuality, sexuality in film, specially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the medium. Films which display or suggest sexual behavior have been criticized by religi ...

together during the auditions. Their on-set relationship also extended outside of ''Holding the Man'', with the two going-out together as a couple and holding hands in public, so as to immerse themselves in the relationship of Conigrave and Caleo. ''

The Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 2013 Australian fede ...

'' praised Stott and Corr for their "memorable performances, both tender and strong, and it is their chemistry audiences will recall most vividly" and ''

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Robe ...

'' commended both actors, noting their "palpable" chemistry "which is imperative in order to convey the deep bond onigrave and Caleohad."

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stott, Craig Living people 1990 births Male actors from Melbourne Australian male television actors Australian male film actors 21st-century Australian male actors LGBT actors from Australia Queer men Queer actors 21st-century LGBT people People from Craigieburn, Victoria University of Melbourne alumni Australian expatriate actors Australian expatriates in the Netherlands