Aaron Fa'aoso is an Australian actor, screenwriter and producer, known for his roles in ''

East West 101 ''East West 101'' was a drama series airing on the SBS network. The series was produced and created by Steven Knapman and Kris Wyld, the team behind other drama series such as '' Wildside'' and ''White Collar Blue''. It ran from 2007–2011, ...

'', ''

The Straits ''The Straits'' is an Australian television drama series for ABC1 filmed in Cairns, the Torres Strait Islands and other Far North Queensland locations. The series is based on an idea by actor Aaron Fa'aoso and produced by Penny Chapman and He ...

'' (which he also wrote and produced) and ''

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

''. He established Lonestar Productions in 2013, which brings stories of the people of the Torres Strait Islands and north Queensland 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 Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often groupe ...

people, his family having moved from

Saibai Island Saibai Island, often shortened to just Saibai ( mwp, Saybay), 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 o ...

to Australia in 1947. He is also of Samoan and

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

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

Bamaga Bamaga ( , ) is a small town and locality about from the northern tip of Cape York in the north of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Northern Peninsula Area Region. It is one of the northernmost settlements in continental Australia and i ...

on the Cape York Peninsula,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

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

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

football in the

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

and Super League competitions. He moved from Cairns to Sydney to pursue a rugby career, joining the Canterbury Bulldogs 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 SBS is a national public television network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2018, SBS had a 7.7% audience share. As of 2022, SBS is the lowe ...

. In late 2007 to early 2008 he appeared in the first series another SBS drama series, ''

'', playing Detective Sonny Koa. Later that year he had a guest role in '' Sea Patrol'', 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 ''

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

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'' 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 ra ...

. Fa'aoso has appeared as a recurring character in the ABC sketch comedy series, ''

'' (2014–2020).

Lonestar Productions

Fa'aso's main interest is in telling

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

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.

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 The Deadly Awards, commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The event was held from 1995 to 2013. Description T ...

, for Male Actor of the Year * 2012: Winner, Deadly Awards, Television Show of the Year, for ''The Straits'' * 2012: Winner,

AWGIE Award The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...

, Television Mini-Series – Original, for ''The Straits''<

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 Torres Strait Islands culture