Russell Dykstra (born 31 December 1966) is an Australian actor of screen, stage and TV.

Early life

Dykstra grew up in the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

suburb of Calamvale. Dykstra first appeared on stage at age 10 in a theatre production of ''

Toad of Toad Hall ''Toad of Toad Hall'' is a play written by A. A. Milne – the first of several dramatisations of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel '' The Wind in the Willows'' – with incidental music by Harold Fraser-Simson. It was originally produced by Willi ...

''. He later studied acting at the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland (branded as UniSQ and formerly branded as USQ) is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It offe ...

, and in his early career worked alongside fellow actor

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Emm ...

with the Grin and Tonic theatre troupe. Dykstra also studied at the school of

Jacques Lecoq Jacques Lecoq (15 December 1921 – 19 January 1999) was a French stage actor and acting movement coach. He was best known for his teaching methods in physical theatre, movement, and mime which he taught at the school he founded in Paris known a ...

in Paris and

Philippe Gaulier Philippe Gaulier (born in Paris, 4 March 1943) is a French master clown, pedagogue, and professor of theatre. He is the founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a prestigious French theatre school in Étampes, outside Paris. He studied under Jacques Lec ...

in London.

Career

Dykstra’s one-man show ''Children of the Devil'' toured nationally in 1996-98 with funding from the

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...

, earning him a Matilda Award and a Victorian Green Room Award nomination for Best Actor. Shortly thereafter Dykstra made his feature film debut in the critically acclaimed ''

Soft Fruit A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, ras ...

'', directed by Christina Andreef, for which he received an AFI Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (1999) and a Film Critics’ Circle Award nomination (2000). In 2007 Dykstra was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''

Romulus, My Father ''Romulus, My Father'' is a biographical memoir, first published in 1998, written by the Australian philosopher Raimond Gaita. The memoir outlines the life of his father, Romulus Gaita (1922 – May 1996). Plot Romulus Gaita fled his hometown o ...

'' directed by

Richard Roxburgh Richard Roxburgh (born 23 January 1962) is an Australian actor, writer, producer, and director. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including three AACTA Awards (including AFI), three Logie Awards, ...

. Romulus, My Father (film), Wikipedia retrieved 12/04/13 Other film appearances include ''

Oranges and Sunshine ''Oranges and Sunshine'' is a 2010 Australian drama film directed by Jim Loach as his directorial debut. It stars Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham, with a screenplay by Rona Munro, based on the 1994 book ''Empty Cradles'' by Margaret Hu ...

'', '' Clubland'', ''

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...

'', '' Garage Days'', ''

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...

'', ''View from Greenhaven Drive'', ''

The Wannabes ''The Wannabes'', (US title: ''Criminal Ways''), is a 2003 Australian comedy film starring Nick Giannopoulos, Russell Dykstra, Isla Fisher, Ryan Johnson, Michael Carman, Lena Cruz, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Costas Kilias, Chantal Contouri and ...

'' and '' Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger''. Dykstra’s theatre credits are extensive, including ''

God of Carnage ''God of Carnage'' (originally in French ''Le Dieu du carnage'') is a play by Yasmina Reza that was first published in 2008. It is about two sets of parents; the son of one couple has hurt the son of the other couple at a public park. The pare ...

'', '' The Wonderful World of Dissocia'', ''The Unlikely Prospect of Happiness'', for the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

and ''Babyteeth'', ''Ray’s Tempest'', ''The Underpants'', ''

The Laramie Project ''The Laramie Project'' is a 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project (specifically, Leigh Fondakowski, writer-director; Stephen Belber, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts, Stephen Wangh, Amanda Gronich, Sara Lambert, ...

'', ''Yibiyung'' and ''The Ham Funeral'' for Company B. His performances in ''Toy Symphony'' and ''Stuff Happens'' earning him national theatre

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

for Best Supporting Actor in 2006 and 2008 and a Sydney Theatre Award (2007). Dykstra has also worked with the Malthouse Theatre, Theatre of Image,

Griffin Theatre Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Green. Artistic direc ...

, Ensemble, La Boite Theatre and The Queensland Theatre Company. Television credits include the Australian TV series ''Spirited'', ''Wild Boys'', ''My Place'', ''Scorched'', ''Blackjack'', ''ABC TV’s Loot'', ''All Saints'' and ''White Collar Blue''. Dykstra is perhaps most well known for his portrayal of the character Barney, in the award winning ABC TV series ''Rake''. In 2013 Dykstra appeared as Uncle Fester in the Australian production of the Broadway musical ''

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over ...

''. For this performance Dykstra was honored with his third Helpmann Award, for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical (2013). Currently Dykstra is playing

Pumbaa Timon and Pumbaa are an animated meerkat and warthog duo introduced in Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 1994 animated film ''The Lion King'' and The Lion King (franchise), its franchise. Timon was played through his many appearances by N ...

in the Australian tour of

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

''. For this performance Dykstra received a Sydney Theatre Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical (2013) and was nominated Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical at the 14th Annual

. In 2015 Dykstra won his second Equity Award, for Most Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series, for his portrayal of Barney in the ABC TV series ''Rake''."http://if.com.au/2015/04/23/article/Equity-Ensemble-Awards-winners/AJWUOZEIVQ.html"
retrieved 11/05/15

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dykstra, Russell Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Australian male stage actors Helpmann Award winners Living people Male actors from Brisbane 1966 births 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors