Russell Dykstra (born 31 December 1966) is an Australian actor of screen, stage and TV.

Early life

Dykstra grew up in the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

suburb of Calamvale. Dykstra first appeared on stage at age 10 in a theatre production of ''

Toad of Toad Hall ''Toad of Toad Hall'' is a play written by A. A. Milne – the first of several dramatisations of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel ''The Wind in the Willows'' – with incidental music by Harold Fraser-Simson. It was originally produced by Willia ...

''. He later studied acting at the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland (branded as UniSQ and formerly branded as USQ) is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It offe ...

, and in his early career worked alongside fellow actor

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy ...

with the Grin and Tonic theatre troupe. Dykstra also studied at the school of

Jacques Lecoq Jacques Lecoq (15 December 1921 – 19 January 1999) was a French stage actor and acting movement coach. He was best known for his teaching methods in physical theatre, movement, and mime which he taught at the school he founded in Paris known as ...

in Paris and

Philippe Gaulier Philippe Gaulier (born in Paris, 4 March 1943) is a French master clown, pedagogue, and professor of theatre. He is the founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a prestigious French theatre school in Étampes, outside Paris. He studied under Jacques Lec ...

in London.

Career

Dykstra’s one-man show ''Children of the Devil'' toured nationally in 1996-98 with funding from the

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

, earning him a Matilda Award and a Victorian Green Room Award nomination for Best Actor. Shortly thereafter Dykstra made his feature film debut in the critically acclaimed ''

Soft Fruit A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

'', directed by Christina Andreef, for which he received an

AFI Award The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsi ...

for Best Actor in a Leading Role (1999) and a Film Critics’ Circle Award nomination (2000). In 2007 Dykstra was nominated for an

for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''

Romulus, My Father ''Romulus, My Father'' is a biographical memoir, first published in 1998, written by the Australian philosopher Raimond Gaita. The memoir outlines the life of his father, Romulus Gaita (1922 – May 1996). Plot Romulus Gaita fled his hometown ...

'' directed by

Richard Roxburgh Richard Roxburgh (born 23 January 1962) is an Australian actor, writer, producer, and director. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including three AACTA Awards (including AFI), three Logie Awards, ...

Romulus, My Father (film) ''Romulus, My Father'' is a 2007 Australian drama film directed by Richard Roxburgh. Based on the Romulus, My Father, memoir by Raimond Gaita, the film tells the story of Romulus (Eric Bana) and his wife Christine (Franka Potente), and their stru ...

, Wikipedia retrieved 12/04/13 Other film appearances include ''

Oranges and Sunshine ''Oranges and Sunshine'' is a 2010 Australian drama film directed by Jim Loach as his directorial debut. It stars Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham, with a screenplay by Rona Munro, based on the 1994 book ''Empty Cradles'' by Margaret Hu ...

'', '' Clubland'', ''

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...

'', ''

Garage Days ''Garage Days'' is a 2002 Australian comedy-drama film directed by Alex Proyas and written by Proyas, Dave Warner and Michael Udesky. ''Garage Days'' is the story of a young Sydney garage band desperately trying to make it big in the competitiv ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''View from Greenhaven Drive'', ''

The Wannabes ''The Wannabes'', (US title: ''Criminal Ways''), is a 2003 Australian comedy film starring Nick Giannopoulos, Russell Dykstra, Isla Fisher, Ryan Johnson, Michael Carman, Lena Cruz, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Costas Kilias, Chantal Contouri and ...

'' and ''

Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger ''Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger'' is a 2008 Australian independent teen film written and directed by Cathy Randall. It stars Danielle Catanzariti, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Toni Collette. The film follows Jewish 13-year-old Esther (Catanzariti), ...

''. Dykstra’s theatre credits are extensive, including ''

God of Carnage ''God of Carnage'' (originally in French ''Le Dieu du carnage'') is a play by Yasmina Reza that was first published in 2008. It is about two sets of parents; the son of one couple has hurt the son of the other couple at a public park. The paren ...

'', ''

The Wonderful World of Dissocia ''The Wonderful World of Dissocia'' is a play written and directed by Anthony Neilson about a young woman suffering from dissociative disorder. The idea was originally workshopped with a group of students at LAMDA in 2002 but was later re-written ...

'', ''The Unlikely Prospect of Happiness'', for the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

and ''Babyteeth'', ''Ray’s Tempest'', ''The Underpants'', ''

The Laramie Project ''The Laramie Project'' is a 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project (specifically, Leigh Fondakowski, writer-director; Stephen Belber, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts, Stephen Wangh, Amanda Gronich, Sara Lambert, ...

'', ''Yibiyung'' and ''The Ham Funeral'' for Company B. His performances in ''Toy Symphony'' and ''Stuff Happens'' earning him national theatre

Helpmann Awards 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 t ...

for Best Supporting Actor in 2006 and 2008 and a Sydney Theatre Award (2007). Dykstra has also worked with the

Malthouse Theatre Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD. ...

, Theatre of Image,

Griffin Theatre Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Green. Artistic direc ...

Ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...

La Boite Theatre La Boite Theatre is an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite was established in 1925 and is Australia’s longest continuously running theatre company. Playing a vital role in the cultural landscape, La Boite Theat ...

and The Queensland Theatre Company. Television credits include the Australian TV series ''Spirited'', ''Wild Boys'', ''My Place'', ''Scorched'', ''Blackjack'', ''ABC TV’s Loot'', ''All Saints'' and ''White Collar Blue''. Dykstra is perhaps most well known for his portrayal of the character Barney, in the award winning ABC TV series ''Rake''. In 2013 Dykstra appeared as Uncle Fester in the Australian production of the Broadway musical ''

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...

''. For this performance Dykstra was honored with his third Helpmann Award, for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical (2013). Currently Dykstra is playing

Pumbaa Timon and Pumbaa are an animated meerkat and warthog duo introduced in Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 1994 animated film ''The Lion King'' and The Lion King (franchise), its franchise. Timon was played through his many appearances by N ...

in the Australian tour of

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...

''. For this performance Dykstra received a Sydney Theatre Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical (2013) and was nominated Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical at the 14th Annual

. In 2015 Dykstra won his second Equity Award, for Most Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series, for his portrayal of Barney in the ABC TV series ''Rake''."http://if.com.au/2015/04/23/article/Equity-Ensemble-Awards-winners/AJWUOZEIVQ.html"
retrieved 11/05/15

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dykstra, Russell Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Australian male stage actors Helpmann Award winners Living people Male actors from Brisbane 1966 births 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors