Ben O'Toole is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as Rex Coen in ''Bloody Hell'', his recurring roles in several Australian TV series such as ''Amazing Grace'', as well as for his supporting roles in films such as ''

Hacksaw Ridge ''Hacksaw Ridge'' is a 2016 epic biographical war film directed by Mel Gibson and written by Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, based on the 2004 documentary '' The Conscientious Objector'' directed by Terry Benedict. Set in World War II, A ...

'' (2016) and '' 12 Strong'' (2018).

Early life

O'Toole was born in

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 ...

and grew up in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. He began performing in the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

while he studied acting at the

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a performing arts school in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1980, it is notable for being the most comprehensive performing arts school in Aus ...

(WAAPA) near

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Career

After graduating in 2011, O'Toole's first screen appearance was in a web series titled ''Sintillate Studios''. He eventually relocated to

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 ...

where he continued his work in theatre and acted in several short films. His first appearance in an internationally released film was in ''

The Water Diviner ''The Water Diviner'' is a 2014 drama film starring and directed by Russell Crowe, in his directorial debut, and written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight. The film follows an Australian farmer, Joshua Connor (Crowe), who travels to Turkey ...

'' in 2014, alongside

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...

. That same year, he was cast in the role of Pete in the first three seasons of the TV series ''Love Child''. In 2016, he played the role of Corporal Tom (second in command to drill sergeant Howell played by

Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. He is known for starring as a leading man in numerous comedy films during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award ...

) in the award-winning biographical war film ''

'', directed by

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

. O'Toole moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in early 2016. He acted in commercially successful Hollywood films that provided more international exposure and showcased broader recognition of his acting abilities. His first leading role was the

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

, ''Everybody Loves Somebody'' (2017), which was well received by critics. In 2018, he performed as main actor in the Australian film ''

Nekrotronic ''Nekrotronic'' (formerly ''Nekromancer'') is a 2018 Australian comedy science-fiction horror film. It was co-written and directed by Kiah Roache-Turner, and stars Ben O'Toole and Monica Bellucci. It tells the story of demons that steal people's ...

'', which was nominated for Best Makeup at the 9th AACTA Awards, but otherwise was rather poorly received both by audiences and critics. Since the beginning of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, O'Toole has almost exclusively appeared in Australian productions. In addition to his performances in series television, he landed the lead role in the horror comedy ''

Bloody Hell ''Bloody'', as an adjective or adverb, is an expletive attributive commonly used in British English, Irish English, New Zealand English and Australian English; it is also present in Canadian English, Indian English, Malaysian/Singaporean E ...

'', where he assumed the role of protagonist and also embodied the hallucinations of his alter ego. O'Toole has also appeared regularly in theatre. In 2022 he appeared in '' The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.'' In 2024, he reprised his 2013 role of Happy in ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by the 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 ...

.''

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Source:

References

External links

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Profile on InstagramArtist profile at the acting agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:OToole, Ben Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Living people Year of birth missing (living people)