Jonathan Hardy (20 September 1940 – 30 July 2012) was a New Zealand-Australian film and television actor, writer and director, he worked also in Australia.
Early career
Hardy was born in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
and began his training at the New Zealand Players' Drama School. He traveled to Britain where he studied at the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and was a gold medal student. This brought interest from the
Royal Shakespeare Company and the
Royal National Theatre where he secured contracts.
He returned to his home of New Zealand in a touring production of ''
The Comedy of Errors
''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. ...
'' with the
Royal Shakespeare Company (1966) and remained to help expand the country's theatre industry. He emigrated to Australia in 1972.
Career 1972-2012
Jonathan Hardy had a long and very successful career for over 40 years. He appeared in over 20 films, guested in over 26 television series, acted in many television movies and mini-series.
His preference was to work on stage and had long engagements with major theatre companies in both
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 ...
and
Sydney.
His roles ranged from a Christmas pantomime of ''Cinderella'', ''Shakespeare,'' topical plays such as ''And in the End : The Life and Death of John Lennon'' and roles in operas.
Throughout his career, he worked across these media at the same time, demonstrating his versatility and ability to meet the demand of any roles offered.
Theatre
Hardy was part of the cast in the first public performance of
Kenneth G. Ross
Kenneth Graham Ross (born 4 June 1941) is an Australian playwright, screenwriter, and lyricist best known for writing the 1978 stage play ''Breaker Morant'', that was based on the life of Australian soldier Harry "Breaker" Morant.
With the ...
's important Australian play ''
Breaker Morant
Harry "The Breaker" Harbord Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902), more popularly known as Breaker Morant, was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, bush poet, military officer, and war criminal who was co ...
'', presented by the
Melbourne Theatre Company
The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...
at the
Athenaeum Theatre, in
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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 metropol ...
, on Thursday, 2 February 1978.
In his obituary he is quoted by Mark Juddery as saying,
The actor is in control in the theatre,..., so the theatre is much more an actor's medium.
also,
Television is not anything but an actor's image, ... If my image happens to fit, then I do the job. Whereas on stage you can create an illusion, on television … it's pretty cliched.
Film
Hardy's film work included ''
The Devil's Playground'' (1976) which he was nominated for an
Australian Film Institute award, ''
Mad Max
''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic action film series and media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ''Mad Max 2'' (1981, released in the Unite ...
'', ''
Mr. Reliable'' and ''
Moulin Rouge!
''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and cour ...
''.
Along with
David Stevens and
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States.
Beresford's notable films he has directed include '' B ...
he co-wrote the screenplay for the film ''
Breaker Morant
Harry "The Breaker" Harbord Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902), more popularly known as Breaker Morant, was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, bush poet, military officer, and war criminal who was co ...
'': for which he received an
Australian Film Institute award (1980), and was nominated for an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
(1981).
At , he was the co-winner of Best Artistic Contribution for Scarecrow (1982)
He also won a
New Zealand Film and TV Award in 2001 for Best Short Film Performance for ''Camping with Camus''.
Hardy directed and wrote the movie ''
Backstage'' starring the Grammy nominated pop vocalist
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single "Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a ...
.
He is best known to international audiences, for providing the voice of
Dominar Rygel XVI in the science fiction series ''
Farscape''. ''Farscape'' was filmed in Australia but was a US production and although it was unsuccessful in Australia, Hardy developed a cult following.
Awards
1993
Matilda Award Winner for performance - Romeo and Juliet, The Shaughraun
Private life
Hardy's partner for over 40 years was actor-director David Letch.
They worked on many projects together.
Hardy had a successful heart transplant.
Death
Hardy died, aged 71, at his home in the
Southern Highlands of New South Wales on 30 July 2012.
Selected filmography - features
* ''Moving On'' (1947) - Anne's Boyfriend
* ''
The Adventures of Barry McKenzie
''The Adventures of Barry McKenzie'' is a 1972 Australian comedy film directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Barry Crocker, telling the story of an Australian ' yobbo' on his travels to the United Kingdom. Barry McKenzie was originally a chara ...
'' (1972) - Groove Courtenay
* ''
The Devil's Playground'' (1976) - Brother Arnold
* ''
The Mango Tree'' (1977) - Joe Speight
* ''
Mad Max
''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic action film series and media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ''Mad Max 2'' (1981, released in the Unite ...
'' (1979) - Police Commissioner Labatouche (as Jonathon Hardy)
* ''Klynham Summer'' also known as ''The Scarecrow'' (1982) - Charlie Dabney
* ''
Lonely Hearts'' (1982) - Bruce
* ''Constance'' (1984) - Randolf Grieve
* ''
Death Warmed Up'' (1984) - Ranji Gandhi
* ''
Wills & Burke'' (1985) - John Macadam
* ''
My Letter to George'' (also known as ''Mesmerized'') (1985) - Burley
* ''Lie of the Land'' (1985) - Doctor Max Steiner
* ''
The Delinquents'' (1989) - Magistrate
* ''Bloodmoon'' (1989) - Mayor
* ''
Terrain
Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin wo ...
'' (1994)
* ''Tunnel Vision'' (1995) - Henry Adams
* ''
Mr. Reliable'' (1996) - Reverend McIntyre
* ''
Ned Kelly
Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...
'' (2003) - The Great Orlando
* ''Wishbone'' (2006) - Homeless Man
* ''
Moulin Rouge!
''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and cour ...
'' (2001) - Man In The Moon
* ''Severance'' (2015) - Therapy Group
Selected filmography - Television
1972 ''Mandog'' (TV Series) 5 episodes
1974 ''Rush'' (TV Series) 1 episode
1976 ''Andra'' (TV Series) 8 episodes
1976 ''
Power Without Glory
''Power Without Glory'' is a 1950 historical novel written by Australian author Frank Hardy, following the life and ambitions of John West, a politician born into a working-class family who rises to prominence in Australian federal politics. ...
'' (TV Series) 3 episodes
1977 ''
Bluey'' (TV Series) 1 episode
1977 ''
Young Ramsay
''Young Ramsay'' was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1977 to 1980 on the Seven Network. It was produced by Crawford Productions as two series of 13 episodes each.
Cast
* John Hargreaves as Peter Ramsay
* Serge Lazareff as R ...
'' (TV Series) 1 episode
''
The Trial of Ned Kelly
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (TV Movie)
1978 ''
The Truckies'' (TV Series) 1 episode
1978 ''
Against the Wind'' (TV Mini-Series)
1979 ''
The John Sullivan Story'' (TV Movie)
1980-81 ''
Prisoner: Cell Block H'' (TV Series) 3 episodes
1981 ''
Under the Mountain'' (TV Series) (as Jonathon Hardy) 1 episode
1983 ''Nearly No Christmas'' (TV Movie)
1984 ''Heroes'' (TV Series) 2 episodes
1989 ''
Mission: Impossible'' (TV Series) 1 episode
1990 ''
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. ...
'' (TV Series) 1 episode
''
A Country Practice'' (TV Series) 1 episode
1992 ''
The Adventures of Skippy'' (TV Series) 2 episodes
1995 ''
G.P.'' (TV Series) 1 episode
1995 ''
Mission Top Secret
''Mission Top Secret'' is an Australian TV series aired between 1992 and 1995.
The pilot for the series was a 1991 telemovie of the same name. This was part of the ''South Pacific Adventure'' series on a budget of $1 million.Ed. Scott Murray, ' ...
'' (TV Series) 1 episode
1996 ''Twisted'' (TV Series) 1 episode
''
The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years'' (TV Movie)
''
Snowy River: The McGregor Saga'' (TV Series) 1 episode
''
Medivac'' (TV Series) 1 episode
1997 ''Terrain'' (TV Movie)
1998 ''
All Saints'' (TV Series) 1 episode
''
State Coroner'' (TV Series) 1 episode
2000 ''
Above the Law'' (TV Series) 1 episode
1999-2003 ''
Farscape'' (TV Series) Voice of Dominar Rygel XVI 86 episodes
2003 ''
The Secret Life of Us
''The Secret Life of Us'' is an Australian television drama series set in the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is primarily a drama with some comedic moments. The series was produced by Southe ...
'' (TV Series) 1 episode
''
Stingers'' (TV Series) 1 episode
''
MDA
MDA, mda, or ''variation'', may refer to:
Places
* Moldova, a country in Europe with the ISO 3166-1 country code MDA Politics
* Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (2018), ruling coalition government in the Indian State of Meghalaya led by National Pe ...
'' (TV Series) 2 episodes
2004 ''
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars'' (TV Mini-Series) Voice of Dominar Rygel XVI
2012 ''Magical Tales'' (TV Series) 1 episode (final television appearance)
Selected acting performances Australia
1972 ''Flash Jim Vaux'' (
Nimrod Theatre Company
The Nimrod Theatre Company, commonly known as The Nimrod, was an Australian theatre company based in Sydney. It was founded by in 1970 by Australian actor John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "g ...
); ''The Last Supper Show (''Nimrod Theatre Company)
1973 ''Jumpers'' (Melbourne Theatre Company); ''The Prisoner Of Second Avenue'' (Melbourne Theatre Company); ''The Plough and the Star'' (Melbourne Theatre Company); B''atman's Beach-Head'' (Melbourne Theatre Company); ''Paying The Piper'' (Melbourne Theatre Company); ''The Last of the Knucklemen'' (Melbourne Theatre Company); ''Flash Jim Vaux'' (Melbourne Theatre Company)
1974 ''The Last of the Knucklemen'' touring production (Melbourne Theatre Company); ''Coralie Lansdowne Says No'' (Melbourne Theatre Company)
1977 ''The Merchant of Venice'' (Melbourne Theatre Company); ''Cop Out'' (Melbourne Theatre Company)
1978 ''Breaker Morant'' (Melbourne Theatre Company)''; Richard III'' (Melbourne Theatre Company)''; The Beaux' Stratagem'' (Melbourne Theatre Company)''; Fools' Shoe Hotel'' (
Australian Performing Group
The Australian Performing Group (APG) was a Melbourne-based experimental theatre repertory ensemble formed in an official capacity in 1970 from the La Mama theatre group. Created to address a dissatisfaction with Australia's theatrical climate, th ...
)
1979 ''The Immortalist (''Hoopla Theatre Foundation); ''The Alchemist'' (Melbourne Theatre Company)''; Hamlet (''Melbourne Theatre Company''); Cinderella'' (Melbourne Theatre Company)
1980 ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (''Melbourne Theatre Company); ''Hamlet'' (Melbourne Theatre Company); ''Comedians'' (Mercury Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand)
1991 ''The Crucible'' (Royal Queensland Theatre Company)
1992 ''Shadow and Splendour'' (Royal Queensland Theatre Company); ''Twelfth Night''; ''Hotel Sorrento'' (Royal Queensland Theatre Company)
1993 ''The Beaux Stratagem'' (Royal Queensland Theatre Company); ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Queensland Theatre Company); ''The Shaughraun or The Loveable Rascal'' (Queensland Theatre Company); ''A'' ''Christmas Carol'' (Oxford Productions International); ''And a Nightingale Sang'' (Queensland Theatre Company)
1994 ''Hysteria, or Fragments of an Analysis of an Obsessional Mind'' (Melbourne Theatre Company); ''The Shaughraun (The Lovable Rascal)'' (Melbourne Theatre Company);
1995 ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead'' (Pork Chop Productions); ''The Shaughraun (The Lovable Rascal)'' (Melbourne Theatre Company)
1996 ''The Surgical Table'' (Renegade Theatre); S''mpatico'' (Sydney Theatre Company); ''The Life of Galileo'' (Sydney Theatre Company); ''Coriolanus'' touring production (
Bell Shakespeare Company
Bell Shakespeare is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other classics. It is based in Sydney.
The Bell Shakespeare vision is to create theatre that allows audiences of all walk ...
)
1997 ''Pygmalion'' (Sydney Theatre Company); ''QTC Oz Shorts 1'' (Queensland Theatre Company);
2002 ''Great Expectations (''Melbourne Theatre Company)
2003 ''A Tree, Falling'' (Chapel off Chapel)
2004 ''12th Night'' touring production (Bell Shakespeare Company); One Flea Spare (Queensize Productions)
2005 ''Treemonisha'' narrator (The Queensland Choir); ''The Department Store'' (Parnassus' Den)
2006 ''And in the End : The Life and Death of John Lennon'' (The Walrius Group); ''Renaissance'' (Parnassus' Den)
2007 ''Paul'' (Company B Belvoir)
Selected singing performances Australia
1975 ''The Double Dealer'' (Melbourne Theatre Company)
1976 ''Don Pasquale'' (
Victorian Opera
Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill as ...
Company)
1998 ''Tannhauser'' (
Opera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder ...
)
Selected productions as director/producer Australia
1974 ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' (Melbourne Theatre Company) Director
1976 T''he Italian Girl in Algiers'' (Victoria State Opera) Director
1979 ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (Canberra Opera Society) Producer
1980 ''Nine Little Australians! Season Two'' (Melbourne Theatre Company) Director
Selected productions as playwright/adaptor Australia
1976 ''The Diary of a Madman'' (Melbourne Theatre Company) also appeared as an actor Adaptor
1997 ''Jungfrau'' (Playbox Theatre Company) Writer
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Jonathan
1940 births
2012 deaths
Australian male television actors
Australian male film actors
Heart transplant recipients
New Zealand male television actors
New Zealand male film actors
New Zealand emigrants to Australia