Gerald Lepkowski is a British-Australian television and stage actor, who has had guest roles in Australian and British productions, before landing the lead role in drama series '' Dirt Game'' in Australia in 2009.

Early life

Born in 1966 the Sighthill area of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, Lepkowski is the second child of Edward Lepkowski, a carpet fitter of Polish descent; and Catherine Lepkowski (née Murray). He has a brother, Edward Jr, and a sister, Carol. While travelling in Australia in his early twenties, Lepkowski became interested in acting and trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts where he met his future wife, fellow British-born thespian, Frances O'Connor.

Career

Lepkowski worked extensively in

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 ...

on the stage, including playing Tysefew in '' The Dutch Courtesan'', Claudio in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', Roger & Arthur in ''

The Balcony ''The Balcony'' () is a Play (theatre), play by the French people, French dramatist Jean Genet. It is set in an unnamed city that is experiencing a revolutionary uprising in the streets; most of the action takes place in an upmarket brothel that ...

'', Vershinin in '' Three Sisters'', Krogstaad in ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish language, Danish and ; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 De ...

'' and Orsino in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'', all with the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

. From 1994, Lepkowski went on to appear in guest roles in several Australian and British TV series, including '' The Damnation of Harvey McHugh'' and ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' (both 1994), '' Halifax f.p.'' (1996), '' State Coroner'' (1997), '' Monarch of the Glen'' (2001),'' Two Thousand Acres of Sky'' (2003) and ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' (2005). In 2002, Lepkowski landed the lead role in the award-winning Scottish

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 ...

film, '' American Cousins'', starring alongside

Shirley Henderson Shirley Henderson (born 24 November 1965) is a Scottish actress. Her accolades include two Scottish BAFTAs, a VFCC Award and an Olivier Award, as well as BAFTA, BIFA, London Critics' Circle, Chlotrudis, Gotham, and Canadian Screen Award n ...

, Danny Nucci and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

stars

Dan Hedaya Daniel G. Dan Hedaya (born July 24, 1940) is an American actor best known for his supporting roles in films such as '' The Hunger'' (1983), '' Blood Simple'' (1984), ''Commando'' (1985), '' The Addams Family'' (1991), ''Benny & Joon'' (1993), '' ...

and

Vincent Pastore Vincent Pastore (; born July 14, 1946) is an Italian American actor. Often cast as a mafioso, he is best known for his portrayal of Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on the HBO series ''The Sopranos''. He also made notable appearances in the HBO ...

. The same year he appeared in British film, '' Man Dancin''', which starred ''

'' actor

Alex Ferns Alexander Ferns (born 13 October 1968) is a Scottish actor and television personality. His role in ''EastEnders'' as Trevor Morgan from 2000 to 2002 was described as "Britain's most-hated soap villain". He also played the role of Rick Harper ...

. In 2009, he starred in the lead role of '' Dirt Game'', an Australian drama series that aired on

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship (broadcasting), flagship ABC Television (Australian TV network), A ...

. He also starred in season 2 of SBS drama series '' East West 101''. It began airing in mid-October 2009. In 2010, Lepkowski appeared in the Australian telemovie '' Sisters of War'' as Bishop Leo Scharmach. In 2016 he appeared as Zanrush, a red priest, in " The Red Woman", the sixth-season premiere episode of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

''.

Personal life

Lepkowski is married to actor Frances O'Connor, with whom he now has one child, born in 2005. The couple currently reside in the

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, ...

area, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Filmography

Film

As writer / director

Television

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lepkowski, Gerald Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Male actors from Glasgow British expatriate male actors in the United States Scottish emigrants to Australia Scottish people of Polish descent Australian male stage actors Australian male television actors Australian people of Polish descent Australian people of British descent