John Harvie Morris (born 23 March 1963) is an Australian actor and film producer. He is best known for playing doctor
Philip Matheson
''Home and Away'' is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in that year, by order of first appearance. They were all introdu ...
in the television soap opera ''
Home & 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 ...
Neighbours
''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
''.
Career
Before taking up acting as a career Morris was a
paratrooper
A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...
in the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
.
From 1988 to 1989 Morris played doctor Philip Matheson, the uncle of
Steven Matheson
Steven Matheson is a character (arts), fictional character from the Australian Seven Network, Channel Seven soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Adam Willits. Steven was created by Alan Bateman as one of the serial's original characters and h ...
, on soap opera ''Home & Away''. He was one of 150 actors who auditioned for the role. The show's creator
Alan Bateman
William Alan Bateman (19 June 1936 – 18 August 2012) was an Australian film producer and television screenwriter, producer and director best known as the creator and original executive producer of the soap opera '' Home and Away'', the ser ...
hoped he would become one of the main stars of the show, "a bigger star than
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
". The character served as the love interest for
Stacey Macklin
''Home and Away'' is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in that year, by order of first appearance. They were all introdu ...
. Morris eventually tired of playing Matheson and asked the producers to kill him off, leading to the character's death in a dramatic explosion. Matheson had become popular with viewers, and Morris told Murray Clifford ''
Neighbours
''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
''. He partly modelled the character on a friend who was gay and worked as a builder in Australia. He said that his friend was "built like a tank" and most people would assume he was straight. He felt it was a "bonus" for him to play Macca, explaining "It gave me exposure because he's a controversial character. I've never played a gay part in ten years as an actor, but let's face it, gay people are people. You don't try to be a gay person – put on a funny voice or wear a dress, you just are that person." He was disappointed that the scriptwriters did not give Macca a love interest and thought they should have gone further with his character's storyline, stating that Macca's exit after 12 weeks came as a surprise. At the time he said he had no desire to stay in soaps long-term and wanted to continue working in television and theatre productions.
Morris made a last-minute appearance as Oliver Mellors in the stage adaptation of ''
Lady Chatterley's Lover
''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the last novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, w ...
''.
In 2001 Morris played
Donald J. Watt
Donald Joseph Watt (10 August 1918 – 28 May 2000) was an Australian Army soldier and the author of a literary hoax, a fictitious Holocaust memoir entitled ''Stoker: The Story of an Australian Soldier who Survived Auschwitz-Birkenau'', published i ...
in ''The Singing Forest'', a
Julia Britton
Julia Britton (27 June 1914 - 5 November 2012) was an Australian playwright. Britton was perhaps best known for her literary adaptations and biographical plays.
Life
Julia Britton was born Hilda Hartt in Romiley, Cheshire in 1914, the daughter ...
play based on Watt's memoir ''Stoker'' about the
Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
. He had recently been working as a
rigger Rigger may refer to:
* One who attends to the rigging of a sailing ship
* Rigger (entertainment), those who tend rigging in stage performance (theater, film, concert, etc.)
* Rigger (industry), specializing in moving large/heavy objects such as log ...
due to his acting work drying up.
Personal life
Morris is the brother of federal MP
Madeleine King
Madeleine Mary Harvie King (née Morris; born 31 March 1973) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia in the Albanese government s ...