Toby Schmitz (born 4 May 1977) is an Australian actor and playwright. He was born in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, attended Perth's Scotch College and briefly studied law at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

. He graduated from the acting course at

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

in 1999 and has performed many times on stage for Sydney Theatre Company, Company B at

Belvoir St Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat ...

and

Griffin Theatre Company 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 ...

. He has also appeared in film and television, and writes plays.

Theatre credits

His Sydney Theatre Company credits include ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sn ...

'' directed by

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...

, the premiere and national tour of

David Williamson David Keith Williamson AO (born 24 February 1942) is an Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays. Early life David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 24 February 1942, and was brought ...

's '' The Great Man'' directed by

Robyn Nevin Robyn Anne Nevin (25 September 1942) is an Australian actress, director, and stage producer, recognised with the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards and the JC Williamson Award at the Helpmann Awards for her outstanding contributions to Austra ...

, and leading roles in

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's ''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...

'',

Andrew Upton Andrew Upton (born 1 February 1966) is an Australian playwright, screenwriter and director. He has adapted the works of Gorky, Chekhov, Ibsen and others for London's Royal National Theatre and the Sydney Theatre Company. He wrote the original p ...

's '' Hanging Man'', Tony McNamara's ''The Great'',

Brendan Cowell Brendan Cowell is an Australian actor, playwright, and director. Early life and education Cowell was born in Sydney and grew up in the beachside suburb of Cronulla. He credits his mother and high school drama teacher with encouraging him to ...

's ''Self Esteem'',

Nina Raine Nina Raine is an English theatre director and playwright, the only daughter of Craig Raine and Ann Pasternak Slater, and a grand niece of the Russian novelist Boris Pasternak. She graduated from Christ Church, Oxford in 1998 with a First in Eng ...

's ''Rabbit'' and

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's ''

Travesties ''Travesties'' is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. The play centres on the figure of Henry Carr, an elderly man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he was writing '' Ulysses'' ...

''. Several of these productions toured to Melbourne and other Australian capital cities. For Griffin Theatre Company, he played the central role of Luke Boyce in

Louis Nowra Mark Doyle, better known by his stage name Louis Nowra, (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights. His works have been performed by all o ...

's The Boyce Trilogy – '' The Woman with Dog's Eyes'' (2004), '' The Marvellous Boy'' (2005) and '' The Emperor of Sydney'' (2006), all directed by

David Berthold David Berthold is one of Australia's most prominent theatre directors and cultural leaders. He has directed for most of Australia's major theatre companies, as well as in London and Berlin, and has led several key arts organisations. He was Artis ...

. For Company B he played the title role in

's ''Ruben Guthrie'' (2008 and 2009). He performed the role of Coleman in ''

The Lonesome West ''The Lonesome West'' is a play by British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, part of his Connemara trilogy, which includes ''The Beauty Queen of Leenane'' and ''A Skull in Connemara''. All three plays depict the murderous occurrences in the we ...

'' at Belvoir St Theatre in 2009. He also appeared in

Strange Interlude ''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill began work on it as early as 1923 and developed its scenario in 1925; he wrote the play between May 1926 and the summer of 1927, and complete ...

in 2012 played the title role in

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in 2013. He also appeared in the premiere of Brendan Cowell's ''Men'' for Rogue Star Productions. In 2000, he directed a production of

Howard Korder Howard Korder is an American screenwriter and playwright. He is the author of the 1988 coming-of-age play '' Boy's Life'', which earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nomination. His play ''Search and Destroy'' was adapted into a film in 1995. ...

's ''A Boy's Life'' at the Bondi Pavilion. In 2008 he directed

Neil LaBute Neil N. LaBute (born March 19, 1963) is an American playwright, film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best-known for a play that he wrote and later adapted for film, '' In the Company of Men'' (1997), which won awards from the Sundance F ...

's '' This Is How It Goes''. In 2010, he played the eponymous character

in the enormously successful

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 ...

production in Brisbane, directed by David Berthold and in 2011 he played Benedick in

Bell Shakespeare 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 wa ...

's Much Ado About Nothing. In 2015, Schmitz appeared in

's adaptation of Chekhov's play '' Platonov'', titled ''The Present'', for the Sydney Theatre Company. The play was directed by John Crowley and featured Cate Blanchett,

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 ...

Marshall Napier James Marshall Napier (22 October 1951 – 14 August 2022) was a New Zealand-born character actor, playwright and graphic artist. He is known for a succession of strong supporting roles in Australasian films and television shows. He has also h ...

, and

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, ...

. That production moved in 2016/17 to the

Ethel Barrymore Theatre The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theater at 241 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1928, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the Elizabethan, Mediterranean, and Adam styles ...

in New York City for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut of Schmitz and the rest of the cast.

Television credits

His many television credits include ''

McLeod's Daughters ''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting eight seasons. It stars Lisa Chappell and Bri ...

'', ''The Heartbreak Tour'', ''

The Cooks ''The Cooks'' was an Australian television drama series that ran for one season on Network Ten during the summer of 2004/05. It was a co-production with subscription television and screened on the UKTV channel on Foxtel. It was produced by Penny ...

'', ''

White Collar Blue ''White Collar Blue'' is an Australian television series made by Knapman Wyld Television for Network Ten from 2002 to 2003. Starring Peter O'Brien as Joe Hill and Freya Stafford as Harriet Walker, the series dealt with a division of the po ...

'', '' Water Rats'', ''Fat Cow Motel'' (ABC), '' Home and Away'',''

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

'', and the Steven Spielberg/

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

produced miniseries '' The Pacific''. He also be appeared in the third instalment of the Underbelly Files series of telemovies, titled ' The Man Who Got Away', portraying notorious drug smuggler and organised crime figurehead David McMillan. In 2012, he teamed up with

Angus Sampson Angus Sampson (born 1979) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his performances in the ''Insidious'' film series, ''The Mule'', '' Mad Max: Fury Road'', and the Peabody-winning second season of '' Fargo''. Early life Samp ...

in Season 1 of the Australian word game '' Randling'', hosted by Andrew Denton on

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...

. In 2014, Schmitz joined an ensemble cast in the Starz dramatic series '' Black Sails'' as historical pirate Calico Jack Rackham. ABC series producers cast Schmitz as Lewis Hughes, a smooth and unrequited SC in the 2017 legal drama '' Newton's Law'', starring

Claudia Karvan Claudia Karvan (born 19 May 1972) is an Australian actress, producer and scriptwriter. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film, '' Molly'' (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in ''High Tide'' (1987). She portrayed a teacher in ...

Film credits

His film credits include ''

The Rage in Placid Lake ''The Rage in Placid Lake'' is a 2003 Australian film starring Ben Lee and Rose Byrne. It features Placid Lake (Lee), a seventeen-year-old boy who has led a suburban hippie life with his neurotic, Free love, free loving parents. The film documen ...

'', ''

Somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards ...

'', ''Agoraphobia in the Desert of the Real'', ''The Heist'', ''My Last Ten Hours with You'', ''Emulsion'', ''Solo'', '' Heaven'', '' Right Here Right Now'', for which he was also writer and co-executive producer, and ''

Three Blind Mice "Three Blind Mice" is an English-language nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number o ...

'', a film which has played at numerous international film festivals and won awards including the 11th FIPRESCI International Critics Award at the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...

presented to the Best Film in the World Cinema section. He also appeared in '' Griff the Invisible'', which was released in 2010.

Schmitz as playwright

Schmitz is also an award-winning playwright. After a solid grounding in writing revue and stand-up comedy at university in Perth, Schmitz wrote his first play, ', while studying acting at NIDA. It was presented as a director's project there in 1998 and was later restaged at Belvoir St Theatre. In 2002, Schmitz won Sydney Theatre Company's Patrick White Playwrights' Award with his play ''Lucky'', which was later produced by the

Australian Theatre for Young People Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) is a not-for-profit national youth theatre company located in Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia. It was founded in 1964 by Eleanor Witcombe. History The first committee was formed in 1964 and c ...

. ''Chicks Will Dig You'' was performed as part of Company B's 2003 B Sharp season. It won the Australian National Playwrights' Centre/New Dramatists Award in 2004, and was shortlisted for the 2003

Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award The NSW Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights, formerly the Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award, is an Australian annual award for early-career playwrights in New South Wales, offered by Belvoir St Theatre and Arts NSW from 199 ...

. In 2007, he wrote and directed

Capture the Flag Capture the flag (CTF) is a traditional outdoor sport where two or more teams each have a flag (or other markers) and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base", and bring it safely back to their own base. ...

for Tamarama Rock Surfers. His other plays include ''This Blasted Earth'', ''Pan'', ''Cunt Pi'', and ''Grazing the Phosphorus'', commissioned by the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Awards

* 2010 Sydney Theatre Awards Nomination for 'Best Actor in a Supporting Role' for ''Measure for Measure'' * 2008 Sydney Theatre Awards Nomination for 'Best Actor in a Supporting Role' for ''The Great'' * 2008 Sydney Theatre Awards Nomination for 'Best Actor in a Lead Role' for ''Ruben Guthrie'' * 2004 Recipient of the Australian National Playwrights' Centre/New Dramatists Award for ''Chicks Will Dig You'' * 2003 Shortlisted for the

for ''Chicks Will Dig You'' * 2002 Co-recipient of the Sydney Theatre Company/ Sydney Morning Herald Patrick White Playwrights' Award for ''Lucky''

References

The Australian interview for ''Private Lives'', 2012

* ttp://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/theatre/toby-schmitz-in-ruben-guthrie.aspx Time Out Sydney interview for ''Ruben Guthrie'', 2009
''Putting on the Schmitz'': Sydney Morning Herald interview for ''Travesties'', 2009

CitySearch interview for ''This is How It Goes'', 2008

Threedworld interview for ''Travesties'', 2009

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitz, Toby Australian male stage actors Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Australian people of German descent Australian dramatists and playwrights 1977 births Living people People educated at Scotch College, Perth University of Western Australia alumni Male actors from Perth, Western Australia