Brandon Walters (born 16 January 1996) is an

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

Australian actor known for his performance as Nullah in the 2008 film ''

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

''.

Early life

Born in

Broome, Western Australia Broome, also known as Rubibi by the Yawuru, Yawuru people, is a coastal Pearl hunting, pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The town recorded a population of 14,6 ...

, Walters was diagnosed with

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

at the age of 6, but overcame the cancer after spending a year in a Perth hospital in 2003.

Career

'' director

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...

had been searching for a young aboriginal boy to fill the role of "Nullah" for over 12 months when one of the film's casting directors saw Walters with his father at a Broome swimming pool in 2007; he also responded to an Australia-wide radio callout for auditions. He later received a letter from Luhrmann saying that he was "very, very interested" in him. Walters, who had never before left Western Australia, and a group of other boys who had auditioned for the role were flown to Sydney to attend acting workshops at

Fox Studios Australia Disney Studios Australia (formerly known as Fox Studios Australia) is a Film, motion picture and television production facility in Sydney that has operated as part of The Walt Disney Company since 2019. Occupying the site of the former Sydney ...

. He and his family went camping with Luhrmann at Broome's

Eighty Mile Beach Eighty Mile Beach also spelled Eighty-mile Beach or 80-mile Beach, and formerly called 90-mile Beach, lies along the north-west coast of Western Australia about half-way between the towns of Broome and Port Hedland. Despite its name, it is so ...

, which was when Walters decided to take the role and become involved in the film. When Walters joined the cast, he had never heard of the film's stars

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian and British actor, singer, and producer. Beginning in theatre and television, Jackman landed his breakthrough role as Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' film franchise and the Marvel Cinem ...

. Walters had only ever seen a few films, but was nevertheless quoted by Luhrmann as having "natural cinematic chemistry". Though Kidman and Walters were shy upon their first meeting with each other, she said that they bonded on the set of the film and "I feel very protective of him... ndif the film does really well he's going to need a lot of protection"; reportedly, Kidman and Luhrmann set up a trust fund for Walters to secure his future. Luhrmann, who also cast Walters in a

Tourism Australia Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for promoting Australian locations as business and leisure travel destinations. The agency is a corporate portfolio agency of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and ...

advertising campaign, claimed, "Our next leading man is about four-foot high,

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

long, sort of gold hair, and is an Aboriginal boy." For his performance as Nullah, Walters won a

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

for New Talent and received nominations for Best Young Actor at the

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards The Critics' Choice Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Written ballots are ...

and Most Promising Performer at the

Chicago Film Critics Association The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film criticism, film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film cri ...

Awards. He also starred in the first (2012) season of the

ABC3 ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...

series '' Bushwhacked!'', but was replaced in the second (2014) season by Kamil Ellis. In 2020, Walters appeared in two television series: the comedy-drama Operation Buffalo and the murder mystery series Mystery Road.

Personal life

Walters has two children with his former partner. In 2020, he was convicted of several offences in the

Magistrates Court of Western Australia The Magistrates Court of Western Australia is the first tier court in Western Australia, a state of Australia. It has jurisdiction in respect of criminal and civil matters, as well as a range of administrative matters. The court came into exi ...

, including drink driving, driving on a suspended licence, and smashing his former partner's car window.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Brandon Living people 1996 births Australian male child actors Australian male film actors Indigenous Australian male actors Indigenous Australians from Western Australia Male actors from Western Australia People from Broome, Western Australia 21st-century Australian male actors