Simon Gareth Burke (born 8 October 1961) is an Australian actor, active in films, television and theatre.

Biography

Simon Burke began his career at the age of 12, starring in Michael Cove's ''Kookaburra'' (1974); a painful look at a dysfunctional working-class family, focusing particularly on an almost autistic young boy. Soon after at the age of 13, Burke starred in

Fred Schepisi Frederic Alan Schepisi ( ;Pauline Kael, Kael, Pauline (1984). ''Taking It All In''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 55. born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. His credits include ''The Cha ...

's acclaimed feature film '' The Devil's Playground'' for which he won the AFI Award for Best Actor at the Australian Film Institute Awards. He remains the youngest person ever to be honoured with this award. Since then he has enjoyed great success both in Australia and internationally in film, television, stage, concert appearances and cabaret. In 2014, Burke starred in Matchbox Pictures/ NBC-Universal's highly acclaimed miniseries '' Devil's Playground'' in which he reprised the role of Tom Allen that he created as a 13-year-old. He was the co-creator and executive producer of the project, and in the same year it won both the

AACTA The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) is a professional organisation of film and television practitioners in Australia. The academy's aim is "to identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements i ...

and

Logie Award The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

for Most Outstanding Telefeature or Miniseries. He has since starred in numerous film, television and theatre productions in Australia and the UK. He starred as Captain

Georg von Trapp Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp (4 April 1880 – 30 May 1947) was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Navy who became the patriarch of the Trapp Family, Trapp Family Singers. Trapp was the most successful Austro-Hungarian submarine commander of ...

in ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

alongside Connie Fisher and then Summer Strallen. He also played the role of Mr Banks in ''

Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...

'' in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland. Burke was Federal President of Actors Equity Australia (2004–14). He is currently a Vice President of the International Federation of Actors (FIA), a global federation of performers, trade unions, guilds and professional associations. On 10 September 2015, at the Queens Birthday Honours ceremony presided over by the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

, General

David Hurley David John Hurley (born 26 August 1953) is an Australian former senior officer in the Australian Army who served as the 27th governor-general of Australia from 2019 to 2024. He was previously the 38th governor of New South Wales from 2014 to ...

, Burke was made an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AO) with the following citation: ''For distinguished service to the performing arts as an actor, singer and producer, and through senior advocacy roles for performers' rights and access to professional development and education programs''. Simon Burke is also well remembered for his long term stint as a presenter on the children's television series Play School from 1988 to 2007 then 2013 and again in 2020.

Personal life

In 2016 he publicly identified himself as being gay.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0121865/

Bibliography

* Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995''. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 338.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Simon 1961 births Australian children's television presenters Australian gay actors Australian male child actors Australian male film actors Australian male stage actors Australian male television actors Best Actor AACTA Award winners Living people Male actors from Melbourne Officers of the Order of Australia Television personalities from Melbourne