Wayne Linden Jarratt (19 April 1957 – 14 May 1988) was an Australian stage and television actor in the 1980s, remembered for his role in internationally renowned TV

cult series A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'' as friendly prison officer Steve Faulkner. He played the part for 71 episodes, as a supporting cast member first appearing in the penultimate episode of Season 3 (10 November 1981), but opted to leave the series to take a stage role. His final appearance was in Season 4, bowing out in Episode 316 (5 October 1982).

Biography

Jarratt attended Balgowlah Boys High in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

from 1969–1974. He acted from the age of 11 and starred in various school plays. After leaving school, he had to choose between a career in acting or naval architecture. He chose acting and graduated from

NIDA Nida or NIDA may refer to: People * Nida Allam (born 1993), American politician * Nida Fazli (1938–2016), Indian Hindi and Urdu poet and lyricist * Nida Eliz Üstündağ (born 1996), Turkish female swimmer * Eugene Nida (1914–2011), American l ...

in 1977, before joining the

South Australian Theatre Company The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

for three years. He took on a number of stage roles, including Happy in

Nimrod Theatre Company The Nimrod Theatre Company, commonly known as The Nimrod, was an Australian theatre company based in Sydney. It was founded by in 1970 by Australian actor John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "go ...

's production of ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montag ...

'' in 1982. He had a small role in ''

The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...

'', before joining the cast of ''Prisoner''. Jarratt preferred small character roles, saying "I'm not after a constant spotlight. My main ambition is to make myself as versatile as possible." After leaving ''Prisoner'', Jarratt appeared in the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...

's production of

Michael Gurr Michael Gurr (29 October 1961 – 2 May 2017) was an Australian actor, playwright, author, speech writer and screenwriter. Early life Gurr was born in East Malvern, in Melbourne where his father was a kidney doctor at the Alfred Hospital and his ...

's '' A Pair of Claws''. In February 1985, he played Bottom in

Kim Carpenter Kim David Carpenter is an Australian visual artist, theatre director, designer and devisor. For thirty years he was artistic director of his company, Kim Carpenter's Theatre of Image. Early life Carpenter was born in Newcastle, New South Wale ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' at The Nimrod, alongside

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six AACTA Awards, Australian Academy of Cinema and Tel ...

and

Angela Punch McGregor Angela Punch McGregor (born 21 January 1953, in Sydney) is an Australian stage and film actress. Film credits Her film credits include: ''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'' (1978), ''Newsfront'' (1978), '' The Island'' (1980), '' The Survivor'' ...

. He received praise from ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

s Mick Barnes, who said his performance was "beautifully played". Jarratt died of a brain tumour at the age of 31 on 14 May 1988 in the Neringah Hospital,

Wahroonga Wahroonga is a suburb in the North Shore (Sydney)#Upper North Shore, Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia ...

Filmography

References

External links

* 1957 births 1988 deaths Australian male soap opera actors Australian male stage actors 20th-century Australian male actors National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni {{Australia-tv-actor-stub