Brendan_Cowell
Brendan Cowell
Australian actor and writer
Brendan Cowell is an Australian actor and writer.
Brendan Cowell | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 16, 1976 Sydney, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, screenwriter, playwright |
| Years active | 1986-present |
Cowell was born in Sydney and grew up in the beachside suburb of Cronulla. He credits his mother and high school drama teacher with encouraging him to explore his creative side.[1]
He attended Charles Sturt University in Bathurst to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre/Media.[1]
Stage
Cowell won the Patrick White Playwrights' Award for his third play, Bed[2] along with a collection of other awards. His play Ruben Guthrie showed at the Belvoir St Theatre in 2009 to sell-out houses.[3] It had a new production at La Boite Theatre in 2011, starring Gyton Grantley and directed by David Berthold.[4]
He won some acclaim for his portrayal of the title role in Bell Shakespeare's 2008 Production of Hamlet[5] and acted in Sydney Theatre Company's production of True West, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, in 2010.[6]
The Sublime (Melbourne Theatre Company) was shortlisted for the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting in the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards 2015.[7] His play Happy New was performed in London in 2013, starring Joel Samuels, Lisa Dillon and William Troughton. It had previously premiered in Australia.[8]
In 2017 he starred as Galileo Galilei in the Young Vic's production of Bertholt Brecht's Life of Galileo.[9]
Television
Cowell played the enigmatic Tom on Australian cable TV's Love My Way, for which he also wrote several episodes, and played Todd for the first two seasons on Life Support on SBS TV, for which he also wrote sketches.[citation needed]
In 2017 Cowell joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 7 as Harrag, an Ironborn sea captain allied to Theon Greyjoy.[citation needed]
In 2024, it was announced that Cowell had begun filming for ABC drama Plum.[10]
Film
Cowell's acting work in film include roles in the 2007 crime drama Noise, the World War 1 war film Beneath Hill 60, the romantic comedy I Love You Too.[citation needed] and a notable role in Avatar: The Way of Water as Captain Mick Scoresby.
Other writing
In 2010 Cowell published his first novel, How it Feels.[11]
Cowell dated Rose Byrne for six years until they parted ways amicably in early 2010.[12]
Film
| † | Denotes productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Siege of Barton's Bathroom[13][14] | Dominic Barton | Short |
| 1999 | Kick | Macca | |
| Monster! | Nate | TV film | |
| 2000 | Bored Olives | Robert | |
| The Monkey's Mask | Hayden | ||
| 2001 | To End All Wars | Wallace Hamilton | |
| 2003 | Clutch | Brian | Short |
| 2004 | Floodhouse | Herringbone John | |
| 2005 | Deck Dogz | Kurt | |
| 2006 | Suburban Mayhem | Interviewer | Voice role |
| 2007 | Noise | Graham McGahan | |
| 2008 | Three Blind Mice | Glenn Carter | |
| Ten Empty | Shane Hackett | ||
| 2010 | Beneath Hill 60 | Oliver Woodward | |
| I Love You Too | Jim | ||
| Bee Sting | Tom Stanners | Short | |
| 2011 | Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away | Benny O'Connell | TV film |
| 2012 | Save Your Legs! | Rick | |
| I Missed My Mother's Funeral | Young Man | Short | |
| 2013 | The Darkside | ||
| The Outlaw Michael Howe | British Soldier | TV film | |
| 2015 | Last Cab to Darwin | Publican | |
| Observance | Employer | ||
| Black Chook | Jim Bloke | Short | |
| 2016 | A Thousand Words | James | Short |
| Broke | Kirk | ||
| Comedy Showroom: The Letdown | Harry | TV film | |
| 2017 | National Theatre Live: Yerma | John | |
| The Current War | Confederate Soldier | ||
| 2022 | Avatar: The Way of Water | Captain Mick Scoresby | |
| 2024 | Avatar 3 |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Water Rats | Jonathan Freeman | Episode: "Family Matters" |
| 2001-2002 | Life Support | Todd | Series regular |
| 2002 | Young Lions | Jason Doone | 2 episodes |
| White Collar Blue | Daniel Hudson | 1 episode | |
| 2003 | Fat Cow Motel | Jack Green | Mini-series |
| 2004 | Salem's Lot | Dud Rogers | Mini-series |
| 2004-2007 | Love My Way | Tom Jackson | Series regular |
| 2008 | Review with Myles Barlow | As himself | Season 1 Episode 3 |
| 2010 | Rush | Blake Fincher | Episode: "Cooked" |
| 2011 | The Slap | Craig | Episode: "Richie" |
| 2012 | Howzat! Kerry Packer's War | Rodney Marsh | Mini-series |
| 2013 | The Borgias | Mattai the Hebrew | 5 episodes |
| 2014 | Wastelander Panda | Isaac | 6 episodes, voice role |
| Soul Mates | Harry Cunston | Episode: "Self Destruction" | |
| 2014-2016 | Black Comedy | Various roles | 4 episodes |
| 2016 | Brock | Allan Moffat | Mini-series |
| 2017 | Game of Thrones | Harrag | 3 episodes |
| 2017-2019 | The Letdown | Harry | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Press | Peter Langley | Series regular |
| 2020 | The End | Christopher Brennan | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | The Twelve | Garry Thorne | 10 episodes |
| 2023 | The Castaways | Mike Brasse | 5 episodes |
| 2025 | Plum [15] | Peter Lum | 6 episodes |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Sweet Dreams | |
| Running Down These Dreams | ||
| Free | ||
| Wasted on the Young | ||
| I Love U | ||
| Baggage Claim | ||
| The Doppelgangers | ||
| Chrono-logic | ||
| 2004-2007 | Love My Way[16][17][18] | 8 episodes episodes: (#1.3) (#1.7) (#2.6) (#2.7) (#2.9) (#3.1) (#3.5) (#3.8) |
| 2005 | Europe[19] | |
| 2010 | How It Feels | |
| 2007 | Ten Empty[20] | |
| 2011 | The Slap[19] | Episode #1.3: "Harry" |
| 2012 | Save Your Legs![21] | |
| 2013 | The Outlaw Michael Howe | |
| 2015 | Ruben Guthrie | |
| 2025 | Plum | Writer / Exec Producer 6 episodes |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Europe |
| 2013 | The Outlaw Michael Howe |
| 2015 | Ruben Guthrie |
- "Brendan Cowell – Actor-writer-director-producer". Alumni.csu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "Sydney Theatre Company – Patrick White Playwrights' Award". Sydneytheatre.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "Ruben Guthrie, Productions | Belvoir St Theatre". Belvoir.com.au. 5 July 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "All things Ruben Guthrie: An Interview with David Berthold (La Boite)". Aussietheatre.com.au. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "Hamlet | Bell Shakespeare". Australianstage.com.au. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "True West | Sydney Theatre Company". Australianstage.com.au. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards" (PDF). SL Magazine. 8 (4): 36. Summer 2015.
- Bleakley, Paul (28 May 2013). "Happy New | Chickens, childhood and Brendan Cowell". Australian Times News. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- "Life of Galileo". 6 May 2017.
- "Production underway on new ABC drama Plum | TV Tonight". 17 January 2024.
- Theo Chapman (11 January 2011). "How It Feels | Book Review | Brendan Cowell's First Novel". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- Dennehy, Luke (7 February 2010). "Rose Byrne and Brendan Cowell split". Sunday Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- Leerentveld, Erwin (29 March 2023). "Film : The Cast: Bartons on the Web". Bartons on the Web.
- Leerentveld, Erwin (29 March 2023). "Jocelyn Moorhouse Interview". Bartons on the Web.
- "Screen Australia". Screen Australia. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "Screen Australia". Screen Australia. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "Screen Australia". Screen Australia. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "Screen Australia". Screen Australia. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "Pan Macmillan Australia: About the Book". Panmacmillan.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "Screen Australia". Screen Australia. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
