Zbych Trofimiuk (born 7 April 1979) is a Czech-Australian language teacher, academic, and actor. He is known for his award-winning performance as Mike Masters in the children's television adventure series '' Sky Trackers'', and as the lead character Paul Reynolds in the children's

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series '' Spellbinder''.

Personal life

Born in Prague in the Czech Republic in 1979, to Prague-born sculptor

Zoja Trofimiuk Zoja Trofimiuk (born 1952) is an Australian sculptor and printmaker, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She specializes in cast glass; her studio is in Melbourne. Education Trofimiuk studied at the in Prague, Czech Republic, from 1969 until 1 ...

and Jurek Trofimiuk, the languages of his early years were Czech, Polish, and German. At four years old, he emigrated with his parents to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, where he began to learn English. In 2004, he graduated from Melbourne's

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in Performance Studies.

Career

Television

Trofimiuk is known for his work as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

in Australian television productions. In 1990, he appeared in

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's ''Choices'', a short series of mini-dramas about peer pressure and the choices individual children have to make. In 1994, he appeared in an episode of Network 10's short-lived continuation of the popular Australian soap opera, ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera/serial which was broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 22 November 1993, and subsequently on Network Ten from 13 April 1994 to 5 November 1994. Altogether, 14 ...

''. In 1995, Trofimiuk starred in leading roles in two drama series for children: first in the educational adventure series '' Sky Trackers'', playing Mike Masters, for which he won the Australian Film Institute's Young Actor Award; and second as the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

, Paul Reynolds, in the science fiction series '' Spellbinder''. Both ''Sky Trackers'' and ''Spellbinder'' won the Australian Film Institute's Award for Best Children's Television Drama (in 1994 and 1996 respectively). Also in 1995, Trofimiuk guested in an episode of the second series of '' Snowy River - The McGregor Saga.''

Theatre

In 2005, Trofimiuk performed in the play "Bunny", written and directed by Benjamin Cittadini, at the La Mama Theatre in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

. In 2007, he co-directed La Mama's production "Elmo" with its playwright Cittadini. The play was a follow-up to "Bunny," and the second play in the author's "Trilogy of Love Stories."

Film

Trofimiuk played the role of Kane in the 2006 independent film ''Clean''.

Teaching and research

Since 2006, Trofimiuk has taught

English as a foreign language English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...

, as a teacher in Australia's English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) scheme; and he is an educational researcher at Melbourne's

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

, in the Digital Education Research Group.

Awards

* Australian Film Institute's Young Actor Award, for ''Sky Trackers'', 1994 *Premier's VCE Award, 1996

Filmography

Television

Film

Theatre

References

External links

* 1979 births Living people Australian male child actors Australian male television actors Czechoslovak emigrants to Australia Male actors from Prague Victoria University, Melbourne alumni {{Australia-actor-stub