Aaron Fa'aoso is an Australian actor, screenwriter and producer, known for his roles in '' East West 101'', '' The Straits'' (which he also wrote and produced) and ''

Black Comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

''. He established Lonestar Productions in 2013, which brings stories of the people of the

Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their tot ...

and

north Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...

to the screen.

Early life and education

Fa'aoso was born into the Kheodal (Crocodile) and Samu (Emu) clans of

Torres Strait Islanders Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

people, his family having moved from

Saibai Island Saibai Island, commonly called Saibai (), is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, located in the Torres Strait of Queensland, Australia. The island is situated north of the Australian mainland and south of the island of New Guine ...

to the mainland of Australia in 1947. He is also of Samoan and

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

n descent. He grew up in "a big Torres Strait Islander community" in Bamaga on the

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. He graduated high school, and worked as a sexual health worker in Bamaga, and played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

football in the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission Limited (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League Limited known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australi ...

and Super League competitions. He moved from

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to pursue a rugby career, joining the

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

rugby league club.

Career

Fa'aoso began his acting television career in 2006, where he played Eddie Gaibui on '' RAN'', a six-part drama which aired on SBS One. In late 2007 to early 2008 he appeared in the first series another SBS drama series, '' East West 101'', playing Detective Sonny Koa. Later that year he had a guest role in ''

Sea Patrol ''Sea Patrol'' is an Australian television drama that ran from 2007 to 2011, set on board HMAS ''Hammersley'', a fictional patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The series focused on the ship and the lives of its crew members. Despi ...

'', which aired on Network Nine. In 2009 he appeared in season two of ''East West 101'' and starred in the film '' Subdivision''. In 2011, he returned to star in the third and final season of ''East West 101'' on SBS. In 2012, he appeared the last four episodes of the Australian drama TV series '' Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms''. Also in 2012, he wrote, produced and starred in ABC Television's's 10-part drama series '' The Straits'', about a

crime family. The series was highly praised by critics, with one calling it ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'' of the

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ...

. Fa'aoso has appeared as a recurring character in the ABC

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

series, ''

'' (2014–2020). In 2022 Fa’aoso published his memoir with Michelle Scott Tucker. ''So Far, So Good'' was the first memoir to be published commercially by a Torres Strait Islander.

Lonestar Productions

Fa'aso's main interest is in telling Indigenous stories. To that end, he created Lonestar Productions in 2013. The company makes films in the Torres Strait and Cape York regions, and has produced documentary series such as '' Blue Water Empire'' (about the history of the Torres Strait Islander people) and ''Strait to the Plate'' (food in the islands), in which Fa'aoso features.

Other roles

Since at least 2018 and Fa'aoso is on the board of Screen Queensland.

Recognition and awards

* 2006: Nominated at the AFI Awards for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in Television Drama for ''RAN'' * 2007: Nominated at the Logies for Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding New Talent for ''RAN'' * 2011: Finalist in the Deadly Awards, for Male Actor of the Year * 2012: Winner, Deadly Awards, Television Show of the Year, for ''The Straits'' * 2012: Winner, AWGIE Award, Television Mini-Series – Original, for ''The Straits''< In February 2024, Fa'aoso was announced as one of six recipients of the Talent Gateway program, a joint initiative of Screen Australia and Australians in Film. The program aims to help develop their skills and creative connections necessary for Australian screenwriters and directors to succeed further in the international market.

Filmography

Film

Television

Personal life

In 2012 he pleaded guilty to wilful damage and disorderly conduct following an incident at a Cairns nightclub and was placed on a good behaviour bond for six months and ordered to pay costs plus damages. The incident happened on the anniversary of a family tragedy, and the magistrate took into account Fa'aoso's previous good character. Cairns Mayor Val Schier described Fa'aoso as "a role model who is highly regarded"

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fa'aoso, Aaron Living people 1976 births 21st-century Australian male actors Actors of Samoan descent Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Australian people of Samoan descent Australian people of Tongan descent Indigenous Australian male actors Culture of the Torres Strait Islands