Jeremy Cumpston
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jeremy Cumpston (born ) is an Australian doctor, actor and director, best known for his work as Connor Costello in Australian hospital drama ''
All Saints All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday. All Saints, All Saints Day or Feast of All Saints may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''All Saints'' (film), a 2017 Christian drama film * ''All Saints'' (TV series), an Australian hospital drama * ...
'' (1998 to 2001).


Early life and education

Jeremy Cumpston was born around 1967 in Darwin, Australia, to Noelene and Trevor Cumpston. Noelene's mother was
Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...
- Aboriginal of Barkandji heritage, and her father was a white Australian, the head doctor of the New Broken Hill Mines. Trevor was a
radiographer Radiographers, also known as radiology technologists, radiologic technologists, diagnostic radiographers and medical radiation technologists, are healthcare professionals who specialise in the imaging of human anatomy for the diagnosis and tr ...
based in Darwin working on a program to provide X-ray screenings for tuberculosis in remote Aboriginal communities when Jeremy was born, three and a half years after his sister art photographer and curator
Nici Cumpston Nicole Jane "Nici" Cumpston is an Australian art photographer, painter, curator, writer, and educator. After being appointed inaugural curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) in 2008, ...
. The family moved to Canada, where Cumpston's father was the hospital administrator for a small town. When Jeremy was eight they briefly returned to Australia but then went back to Canada, and this time his father worked at the hospital base for the world's second largest nickel mine, in
Thompson, Manitoba Thompson is a List of cities in Manitoba, city in north-central Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada, the largest city and most populated municipality in Northern Manitoba. Situated along the Burntwood River, Thompson is located north of Lake Winnipeg a ...
, located north of the 63rd parallel. At age 11, Cumpston and his parents and four sisters returned to live in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. At the end of Year 12 he decided to study medicine, despite his love of drama. While Cumpston pursued his medical career, he was still interested in acting, so auditioned and was accepted into the
Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (FFAM). It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus ...
(VCA). He couldn't defer his intern year so he had to pass up the place. After completing his internship at Wollongong Hospital and Sydney's Prince Henry Hospital, Cumpston enrolled in classes at the Actors Centre Australia, where his classmates included
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 ...
and
Jason Clarke Jason Clarke (born 17 July 1969) is an Australian actor. He has appeared in many TV series, and is known for playing Tommy Caffee on the television series '' Brotherhood''. He has also appeared in many films, often as an antagonist. His film r ...
. He worked as general practitioner for some time before heading off to
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
for three years' full-time acting study at the
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a performing arts school in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1980, it is notable for being the most comprehensive performing arts school in Aus ...
(WAAPA).


Career

Whilst in his final year at WAAPA in 1995, Cumpston worked as a GP full-time for six weeks during his holidays to save money, which enabled him to produce and then perform in the one-man play ''Shadow Boxing''. He performed in
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
and had a return season in Perth. This was the first play produced by the Tamarama Rock Surfers theatre company, which he co-founded with Michael Gwynne and his sister Zena Cumpston in 1994. After graduation, Cumpston obtained an agent. This led to a role with 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 Theatre ...
's 1996 production of the musical ''
Miracle City ''Miracle City'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Nick Enright and music by Max Lambert. Synopsis It is conceived as a real time, live-to-air Christian television show ''Ministry of Miracles'' hosted by Tennessee evangelical family Ricky ...
'', directed by
Gale Edwards Annette Gale Edwards (born 14 November 1954) is an Australian theatre director, who has worked extensively throughout Australia and internationally. She has also directed for television and film. Professional career Edwards began her career at ...
. Next came the lead in the New England Theatre Company's production of ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' and then the role of
Mercutio Mercutio ( , ) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, Mercutio is one of the named characters in the ...
in the Glenn Elston production of ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' in the
Sydney Botanic Gardens The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government are ...
. Cumpston founded the
Old Fitzroy Theatre The Old Fitzroy Theatre (also called the Old Fitz Theatre) is a pub theatre in Woolloomooloo Woolloomooloo ( ) is a harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1.5 kilometres east of the central business ...
in 1997 with the other members of the Tamarama Rock Surfers. The group continued until 2015. In 1997, Cumpston took a role at an Aboriginal medical centre in Sydney's western suburbs while continuing to audition and work on guest roles in ''Murder Call'' and ''Roar''. The Tamarama Rock Surfers' first Sydney project, ''Road'', directed by Simon Lyndon, was produced by Cumpston and he performed in it. He then directed ''Three Strikes'' at the Old Fitzroy Hotel, which had a sellout season. From 1998 to 2001 Cumpston played the "lovable rogue" nurse Connor Costello in the Australian medical drama ''
All Saints All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday. All Saints, All Saints Day or Feast of All Saints may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''All Saints'' (film), a 2017 Christian drama film * ''All Saints'' (TV series), an Australian hospital drama * ...
''. During his time on the show, Cumpston kept up his real medical career by writing a medical column in a weekly magazine and working in a clinic on Saturdays. In 1998, Cumpston directed ''Pitchfork'' and co-produced '' Diary of a Madman''. In 1999 he is directed and starring in ''Amco Riders'' at the Old Fitzroy Hotel in Sydney. Cumpston directed
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
s ''Free'' in 2003, ''The Sky is Always Beautiful'' in 2007 and ''The Last Race'' in 2011. Cumpston directed the movie ''Bilched'', written by his son
Hal Cumpston Hal Cumpston is an Australian actor, producer and writer. Early life Cumpston grew up in Sydney and attended Waverley College where he was heavily involved in drama. Both of his parents work in the film Industry. His father Jeremy Cumpston, ...
. The film was shot in 2019 and received a national release in Australia. At the 2019
Chelsea Film Festival Chelsea Film Festival (CFF) is an international film festival and a non-profit organization based in New York which screens independent films from emerging and established directors. The festival offers a wide range of films, including documentar ...
it won the award for Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor ( Frederick Du Rietz), and the Grand Prix Best Feature Film. In his medical career, Cumpston ran a series of cosmetic clinics, Ageless Clinics, across
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. In 2020 his license to practice expired and he was called on by AHPRA to provide proof of proper professional indemnity insurance coverage to the Medical Board of Australia. In 2024, Cumpston appeared in season 3 of '' Total Control''.


Personal life

During his time in ''All Saints'', Cumpston worked with his then partner, props buyer and later producer, Rachel Lane, who is the mother of his eldest son
Hal HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bengaluru, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...
, born in 1999. In 2005, Cumpston married Jessica Brentnall and had two sons and a daughter together before separating in 2010.


Filmography


Television


Film/Shorts


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumpston, Jeremy Living people 1960s births Australian directors Australian male television actors Australian medical doctors Indigenous Australian male actors University of Adelaide Medical School alumni Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people)