James Stewart (born 21 October 1975) is an Australian stage, television and film actor, best known for his appearances in the television series '' Breakers'' and ''

Packed to the Rafters ''Packed to the Rafters'' was an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The d ...

''. He has also made an appearance in the popular Australian drama ''

Sea Patrol ''Sea Patrol'' is an Australian television drama that ran from 2007 to 2011, set on board HMAS ''Hammersley'', a fictional patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The series focused on the ship and the lives of its crew members. Despi ...

''. From 2016, he began starring in ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

'' as

Justin Morgan Justin Morgan (February 28, 1747 – March 22, 1798) was a U.S. horse breeder and composer. He was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and by 1788 had settled in Vermont. In addition to being a horse breeder and farmer, he was a teacher of ...

Early life

Stewart was born on 21 October 1975 in

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 grew up on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, alongside his identical twin brother Nicholas and older half-sister Annie. His mother Beverly raised him and his three siblings as a single parent while studying to become a teacher. She eventually graduated with honours in English and literature at Monash University. His estranged father Arthur Koo is a former Australian soldier who served in the Vietnam War. Stewart has Scottish and Chinese ancestry through his parents. In 1996, Stewart joined the band

george George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

alongside his brother Nicholas,

Tyrone Noonan Tyrone ("Ty") Noonan is an Australian musician, best known for his vocals, guitars, keyboards and songwriting in the Brisbane band George. He has also worked as a composer for Australian theatre companies La Boite and Queensland Theatre Company ...

and his then-housemate,

Katie Noonan Katie Anne Noonan (born 2 May 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the band George and remains the singer in the band Elixir; perf ...

. He would later leave the band to pursue a career in acting full-time.

Career

In 2007, Stewart played Jim O'Connor in the

Queensland Theatre Company Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Browne Theatre and the Queensland Performi ...

's production of ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

''. He won the 2008 Matilda Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for the

Helpmann Award The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play. In 2010, Stewart received a

Logie award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

nomination for Most Popular New Male Talent for his role as Jake Barton in ''Packed to the Rafters''. In 2015, Stewart starred in the ABC-TV drama series '' Hiding'' alongside fellow Aussie stars

Jacqueline McKenzie Jacqueline Susan McKenzie (born 24 October 1967) is an Australian film and stage actress. Early life Born in Sydney, New South Wales, McKenzie attended Wenona School in North Sydney until 1983 then moved to Pymble Ladies' College, where she ...

and

Kate Jenkinson Kate Jenkinson is an Australian actress, known for her various roles on '' The Wedge'', as well as her role of Kendall Quinn on ''Super Fun Night''. She is known for her role as Allie Novak in the Australian TV series ''Wentworth''. Education ...

. The show centres around a family that is forced to go into the federal witness protection program and relocates to another city when the father (Stewart) is arrested after a failed drug deal. In 2016, Stewart joined ''

'' as

during the show's twenty-ninth season.

Personal life

He was engaged to co-star

Jessica Marais Jessica Dominique Marais (born 29 January 1985) is a South African-born Australian actress best known for her roles on Australian television in '' Packed to the Rafters'' and '' Love Child''. She also co-starred on the American drama series '' ...

, until they separated in 2015. Stewart and Marais have a daughter together, born May 2012. Stewart was in a relationship with his former ''Home and Away'' co-star

Isabella Giovinazzo Isabella Giovinazzo is an Australian actress. From 2013 until 2017, she played Phoebe Nicholson in the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away''. After leaving the serial, she played Jessie Davies in the Network Ten drama series '' Playing for Kee ...

. Stewart has been in a relationship with his ''Home and Away'' co-star, Sarah Roberts since October 2017. They announced their engagement in December 2018, and married at

Luttrellstown Castle Luttrellstown Castle Luttrellstown Castle, dating from the early 15th century (c. 1420), is located in Clonsilla on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland. It has been owned variously by the eponymous and notorious Luttrell family, by the bookseller ...

in Ireland in July 2019.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1975 births 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors Australian male film actors Australian male stage actors Australian male television actors Living people {{Australia-screen-actor-stub, Stewart, James