Gyton James Grantley (born 17 July 1980) is an Australian actor and comedian, best known for his portrayal of convicted
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
er and
drug trafficker Carl Williams in the hit Australian television show ''
Underbelly'', for which he was nominated for both Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series and Most Popular Actor for the
2009 TV Week Logie Awards and the 2008 AFI award (winning for Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series). Grantley won the 2009 Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor.
Early life
Grantley was educated at the
Anglican Church Grammar School
The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, Day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in ...
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 ...
, where he graduated in 1997. During his school years, he was a
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player and a
rower. He was also heavily involved in drama and theatre-sports, and won the Headmaster's Prize for Drama in his senior year. He later attended the
Queensland University of Technology
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...
.
Career
Television
Grantley began his television acting career in 2001, appearing in ''
Fat Cow Motel''. Over the next two years, he had small guest roles in ''
Marking Time'', ''
Small Claims
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it ma ...
'' and ''
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 ...
''. In the summer of 2005 / 2006, he had a role in the short lived series ''
headLand
A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...
''. In 2006, he had a small role in
Foxtel
NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...
's ''
Supernova
A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...
'' series and in 2007, had a 10-episode guest role in ''
Home and Away
''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...
''.
In 2008, Grantley shot to fame in the high rating drama, ''
Underbelly'', where he played antagonist and criminal
Carl Williams. With this role he won the 'Most Outstanding Actor' award at the
Logies.
In 2009, he starred in ''
30 Seconds'' and season two of ''
East West 101''.
In 2012, Grantley was cast in a new series, ''
House Husbands'', playing the character Kane Albert. In 2015, Grantley left the series after its fourth season, however returned in the fifth-season finale for a brief appearance.
He was announced in late 2013 that he would be reprising his role of
Carl Williams in the sequel/spin-off series ''
Fat Tony & Co.'' which was not placed under the ''
Underbelly'' franchise (for financing reasons) and focused on the rise and fall of
Tony Mokbel, who also featured in the original series, played by
Robert Mammone. Grantley reprised his role of
Carl Williams for the final time in ''
Informer 3838
''Informer 3838'' is an Australian television series focusing on criminal barrister-turned police informer Nicola Gobbo (codenamed informer 3838) and her involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings. It is a spin-off of the '' Underbelly'' ...
'' in 2020, he has since said that the role which made him famous led to people to call him 'Carl' almost everyday.
In 2017 Gyton took on his first TV presenting role as Host of Channel 10's ''Pooches at Play'', a lifestyle show all about dogs and our relationship with them. In 2018 he is performing in the theatrical production ''Hand to God'' and continues his hosting role on ''Pooches at Play''.
Grantley is also a voice over artist.
Film
He appeared in two short film entries for the 2009
Tropfest Short Film Festival, including ''Being Carl Williams'' where Grantley, playing himself, is abducted by two criminals who mistake him for
Carl Williams after his role in ''
Underbelly''.
Theatre
He appeared as Ron Weasley in the Australian production, in Melbourne, of ''
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child''.
Filmography
Television
Film
Personal life
Grantley is actively involved with the Australian organisation, Polished Man, which helps support and raise awareness for children affected by violence.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grantley, Gyton
1980 births
21st-century Australian male actors
AACTA Award winners
Australian male film actors
Australian male television actors
Living people
Logie Award winners
People educated at Anglican Church Grammar School
Queensland University of Technology alumni