Paul Keane (born 16 September 1957) is an Australian actor well known for playing original character Des Clarke in the soap opera ''

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 ...

'', opposite Elaine Smith who played his wife

Daphne Clarke Daphne Clarke (also Lawrence) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Elaine Smith. Daphne was created by Reg Watson as one of ''Neighbours twelve original characters. The producer had originally wan ...

. Other TV credits include ''

Bliss BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C b ...

'' and ''

Flight into Hell ''Flight into Hell'' is a 1985 television miniseries about German pilot Hans Bertram and his co-pilot who go missing in 1932, based on Bertram's book of the same name, and in what was also known as 1932 Kimberley rescue.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Austra ...

''. Keane trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1983. After leaving ''Neighbours'', Keane appeared in three short films before he quit acting and took up work in a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. After struggling to cope with fame, Keane developed a drug addiction which he battled for ten years. In November 2014, it was announced that Keane would be one of the former cast members returning to ''Neighbours'', reprising his role of Des Clarke for the show's 30th anniversary in 2015. Keane also appeared in a documentary special celebrating the anniversary titled '' Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite'', which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015. Keane reprised the role of Des when the character returned for Neighbours 35th anniversary in March and December 2020 and again for the final episode of the show in July 2022.

References

External links

* Australian male soap opera actors 1957 births Living people {{Australia-actor-stub