Tony Briggs (born 3 July 1967) is an Australian actor, writer and producer. He is a former track and field athlete. He is best known for creating the stage play '' The Sapphires'' (later a 2012 film) telling the true story of an Aboriginal singing group, including his mother and aunt, who toured

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

during the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

Career

Television

Between 1987 and 1988, Briggs had the recurring role of banker Pete Baxter on television 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 ...

''. This was followed by many roles in television series such as ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

'', '' Stingers'' and ''

The Man From Snowy River The Man from Snowy River may refer to: * "The Man from Snowy River" (poem), an 1890 Australian poem by Banjo Paterson. * '' The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses'' an 1895 poetry collection by Banjo Paterson (including the above) * ''The Man ...

''. From 1997 he appeared in children's television series ''

Ocean Girl ''Ocean Girl'' (titled ''Ocean Odyssey'' in the UK) is an Australian science fiction TV series aimed for family audiences and starring Marzena Godecki as the lead character. The show is set in the near future, and focuses on an unusual girl n ...

'' as Dave Hartley. From 2009, Briggs appeared in the television series '' The Circuit'' as Mick Mathers. In 2011, Briggs played Bilal in '' The Slap'', based on the book by Christos Tsiolkas. He also had a small role in ''

Redfern Now ''Redfern Now'' is an Australian drama television series, that first aired on ABC1 in 2012. The program follows the lives of 6 Aboriginal Australian families living in the urban hub of Redfern, Sydney. The series provides insight into contempo ...

'' in 2012. In 2016, he played the role of Boondee in the television drama series ''

Cleverman A cleverman is a traditional healer and keeper of culture in many Aboriginal cultures of Australia. The roles, terms for, and abilities of a cleverman vary between different Aboriginal nations. Some clevermen heal bodily injuries and illnesse ...

'' and Brett in '' Nowhere Boys: Two Moons Rising''. In 2017 he had a role in '' Seven Types of Ambiguity'' and was involved in creating and writing the series '' The Warriors'' as well as appearing in a small role.

Theatre

Briggs wrote the Helpmann Award winning play '' The Sapphires'' which was first performed in 2004. It tells the story of The Sapphires, a singing group of four

Koori Koori (also spelt koorie, goori or goorie) is a demonym for Aboriginal Australians from a region that approximately corresponds to southern New South Wales and Victoria. The word derives from the Indigenous language Awabakal. For some people ...

women who tour

during the

. It is inspired by the true story of his mother, Laurel Robinson, and aunt, Lois Peeler, who toured Vietnam as singers in 1968. Briggs adapted the play for the 2012 film '' The Sapphires''.

Film

His movie roles include ''

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

'' in 2002, ''

Bran Nue Dae __NOTOC__ ''Bran Nue Dae'' is a 1990 musical set in Broome, Western Australia, that tells stories and of issues relating to Indigenous Australians. It was written by Jimmy Chi and his band Kuckles and friends, and was the first Aboriginal Aust ...

'' in 2009 and ''

Healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells i ...

'' in 2014. A terrific little classic ''

Joey (1997 film) ''Joey'' is a 1997 Australian children's film. The film was released as the theatrical film by Roadshow Entertainment on December 26, 1997, in Australia. The film was also released as the direct-to-video film by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on June 16, 1 ...

'' in 1997.

Recognition and awards

In 2013, Briggs was awarded the

Bob Maza Fellowship Robert Lewis Maza (25 November 1939 – 14 May 2000), known as Bob Maza, was an Aboriginal Australian actor, playwright and activist. Early life and education Robert Lewis Maza was born on Palm Island in North Queensland on 25 November 1939, ...

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

to further his international career.

Athletics career

Briggs was a successful 400m hurdler and was runner-up at the

Australian Athletics Championships The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athlet ...

from 1990 to 1992. He also finished third at the 1990 Championships in the 110m hurdles. He was an

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

athletics scholarship holder from 1986 to 1987.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Tony Living people 1967 births 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors Australian male film actors Australian male soap opera actors Australian male stage actors Helpmann Award winners Indigenous Australian male actors