Michael Hamish Budd (born 2 July 1974) is an Australian film actor, director and producer. Budd is best known for playing Esmael in '' The Cold Light of Day''.

Career

Budd's initial break in Hollywood came in 2001 when

the Wachowskis Lana Wachowski (born June 21, 1965, formerly known as Larry Wachowski) and Lilly Wachowski (born December 29, 1967, formerly known as Andy Wachowski) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans ...

selected him as a body double and stand in for

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...

in ''

The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Laure ...

'' and ''

The Matrix Revolutions ''The Matrix Revolutions'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the third installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, released six months following ''The Matrix Reloaded''. The film stars ...

''. After 200 shoot days, the directors cast him in his own role as Zion Controller. In 2008, Budd starred a in a music video for

roll deep Roll Deep (formerly Roll Deep Entourage) are a British grime crew. They were founded in 2001 by Wiley shortly before the disbandment of UK garage crew Pay As U Go Cartel. The group have had two UK No. 1 singles, " Good Times" and " Green Ligh ...

called ''Moving in Circles'' which featured

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in th ...

. Budd studied acting and staging in London. He graduated from the

Meisner technique The Meisner technique is an approach to acting developed by American theatre practitioner Sanford Meisner. The goal of the Meisner approach is for the actor to not focus on themselves and instead concentrate on the other actors in the immediate ...

with the Impulse Company in 2010 he then went on to play on stage in works of

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

and

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 ...

and

Mamet Mamet may refer to: * Clara Mamet (born 1994), American actress and musician; daughter of David Mamet *David Mamet (born 1947), American playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and film director * Milton Mamet, fictional character from the American tele ...

plays, in particular playing Othello in a shortened version of ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'' in the Tristan Bate Theatre in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's West End. In 2011

Mabrouk El Mechri Mabrouk el Mechri (born 18 September 1976) is a French director, screenwriter, and actor. Biography El Mechri was born in Versailles near Paris, France. He has directed a number of films. After his three shorts ''Mounir et Anita'', ''Generation C ...

cast Budd as Esmael in '' The Cold Light of Day'', set and shot completely in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He played a Mossad agent, with dialogue in both

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and English. In 2012/13, Budd directed and produced '' Love of My Life'', a horror thriller in which he also starred alongside Peter O'Brien and

Diarmid Heidenreich Diarmid Heidenreich (born 1975) is an Australian film and television actor. Heidenreich graduated from Waverley College in Sydney's east, in 1993 before going on to become a well-known actor. Television career Heidenreich began his television ca ...

. The film premiered in the United States at the Mt. Hood Independent Film Festival in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and won the Best Horror/Thriller award. Following its success, "Love of My Life" was released on Video on Demand with

Gravitas Ventures Gravitas Ventures is an independent film distribution company owned by Anthem Sports and Entertainment. The company was founded by Nolan Gallagher in Los Angeles, California in 2006 and moved its headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio in 2019, where it f ...

. Budd's second feature film, '' Life of the Party'', starring Christopher Kirby, completed filming in December 2016.The screenplay, co-written by Budd, was included in the Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' permanent Core Collection. It premiered on 14 September 2018 at the Arena Cinelounge Sunset Los Angeles. In 2020, Budd began shooting '' Ruby's Choice'' for the Glenn Family Foundation and the Sir Owen Glenn legacy, an Australian drama that explores the topic of

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

. The film stars

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

and

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 50% of the profits will be dedicated to dementia research. The production faced challenges due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, but it was eventually completed under strict guidelines in Windsor. ''Ruby's Choice'' premiered at Margaret River HEART for CinefestOZ in August 2021. On 7 March 2022, ''Rubys Choice'' premiered at the 37th

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...

. On Oct 19 and 20 2022, New Port Beach film festival Ruby's Choice was sold out with positive reviews. On the 24th of September 2023, at the

Burbank International Film Festival The Burbank International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held since 2009 in Burbank, California, United States. It was founded by Val Tonione, and awards are distributed to filmmakers that have focused on social and environmental i ...

(BIFF) as

Michael Budd Michael Hamish Budd (born 2 July 1974) is an Australian film actor, director and producer. Budd is best known for playing Esmael in '' The Cold Light of Day''. Career Budd's initial break in Hollywood came in 2001 when the Wachowskis selected ...

, triumphed in two significant categories, winning Best Foreign Film and Best Feature Film with Ruby's Choice. The prestigious event, attended by a star-studded audience, coincided with the honouring of the legendary filmmaker

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

.https://nbff2022.eventive.org/films/631030d8232f31002353af43

Director credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Budd, Michael 1974 births Living people Australian male film actors Australian film directors Australian film producers Australian screenwriters Mass media people from New South Wales