As far as producing famous and wildly talented movie stars go, Australia is one country that never seems to stop consistently churning out megastars. Over the years, the talent that has come out of the famous land down under has been exceptional. Whatever the secret behind the wealth of stars that have come out of there, the acting world will always be grateful for the memorable moments and unforgettable performances that have emanated from them.
Australian film stars have asserted their talent across every genre or film and some of the biggest franchises to ever exist in Hollywood — in addition to dominating the casts of superhero fanfare, and producing what is probably one of the greatest living actors in history. Whether they're still alive or not, here we pay homage to the greatest movie stars to have ever come out of this unique continent.
20 Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan may be best known for his comedic turns as the legendary Crocodile Dundee from the famous film franchise, but the man behind this iconic character is also a celebrated actor and entertainer. Hogan has a career that stretches back to the '70s, and has won a host of honors over the course of it.
Aside from being named The Australian of the Year in 1985, he has won a Golden Globe for Best Actor for Crocodile Dundee. If that's not impressive enough, he was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his portrayal of the famous reptile wrangler.
19 Jai Courtney
This young and talented actor hails from Cherrybrook, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Jai Courtney has already developed something of a niche for being in awesome action and science-fiction blockbusters. Not only has he played the iconic Detective John McClane's son in A Good Day to Die Hard, but he's also taken on the role of Kyle Reese in Terminator Genisys.
With his star firmly on the rise, Jai can also boast film credits from other major roles such as playing the villain in Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher, and recurring roles in the Divergent films, and Suicide Squad. With a CV that can already boast such iconic credits,there's no telling how far Jai's career can still go, given how young he still is.
18 Emily Browning
Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia in 1988, Emily Browning is still a relatively young actress whose best years are likely still ahead of her. She's been acting since 1998, initially making appearances in Australian made for TV films and series. Her talent soon saw her landing larger roles in Hollywood films, such as her part alongside Jim Carrey in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
She's since become well known for her darker roles in films like the critically acclaimed drama biopic, Legend, and the underrated psychological fantasy, Sucker Punch. Browning's television career has been just as impressive after being cast in the main role in American Gods. She's also been in music videos, done voice over roles for a video game, and won various awards.
17 Hugo Weaving
Although he was born in Colonial Nigeria, Hugo Weaving has resided in Australia all his career. He's even been recognized as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Weaving's impressive acting credits stretch back to 1981, and he's been nominated for, and won a slew of Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) awards, in addition to international honors as well.
Weaving has been a part of some truly legendary film and novel franchises that has seen him play iconic roles like Elrond in The Lord of the Rings films and Agent Smith in The Matrix franchise. He's also taken on the voice roles for these characters in their video game adaptations, and is one of Australia's most celebrated actors.
16 George Lazenby
He's probably best known by western audiences for his single turn as the legendary character James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. However, George Lazenby is an actor with Australian roots whose career has spanned a far wider range and time period. Now 83, Lazenby continued acting long after he managed to land the role as Bond back in 1969.
He's since overcome many hardships as an actor and been in many films and TV series since, including a run in the early '90s erotic Emmanuelle films. Lazenby has previously received a Lifetime Achievement Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as Bond.
15 Eric Bana
Born Eric Banadinović, this fantastic Australian actor has become known professionally as Eric Bana. A native of Melbourne, Australia, Bana also has Croatian roots on his father's side, and a partly German heritage from his mother. Bana boasts a stellar career as an actor. After originally starting off in the late '90s doing Australian shows, he got a break by landing a role in the acclaimed war film, Black Hawk Down.
He then went on to gain international fame by playing the globally popular Marvel character, Bruce Banner, in Hulk. The next year, Bana enjoyed the standout role of his career when he played the iconic Hector in the epic film Troy, alongside Brad Pitt as the legendary warrior Achilles — the pair having their most memorable scene from the film being nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight.
14 Rose Byrne
As an actress with a wonderful range, Rose Byrne has taken Hollywood by storm after her early days in the industry when she mostly appeared in Australian films and TV shows. A native of New South Wales, Australia, Byrne also has Scottish and Irish ancestry - which makes her role as Moira MacTaggert in the X-Men film franchise more poignant since the Marvel character is originally a Scot.
Rose Byrne has since also been in a wide variety of films and her true brilliance lies in how comfortably and effortlessly she seems to flit between genres. A true chameleon as an actress, Byrne has been in everything from raunchy comedies like Bad Neighbors, to horror franchises like Insidious, epics like Troy, and Science-Fiction icons like Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. Byrne has been nominated for and won a diverse range of awards and is one of the most celebrated Australian actresses around.
13 Chris Hemsworth
If this list were about modern-day Australian icons, there's a distinct chance that Chris Hemsworth would be at the top of that list. Hemsworth was born and partially raised in Melbourne, Australia, He's been around the acting scene since 2002 and initially gained attention in his homeland for his recurring role in the popular soap opera, Home and Away.
However, shortly after landing roles in films like 2009's Star Trek and the horror cult classic, The Cabin in the Woods, Hemsworth landed the role of a lifetime when he was one of the earliest major characters cast in the MCU. The role was of course as the iconic Marvel character and Norse God of Thunder, Thor.
Hemsworth's popularity has since soared as an actor as he's played the legendary character multiple times across blockbuster live action MCU films, series, and in voice roles for animated shows and videogames. Hemsworth has also appeared in other blockbusters such as Netflix's gritty action film, Extraction, with a sequel to the wildly entertaining film already in post-production. Chris Hemsworth is now one of the most beloved and recognizable stars to ever come out of Australia, in addition to him becoming a sex symbol and one of the most desired men in the world.
12 Sam Worthington
Although born to English parents in England, Sam Worthington was moved to and raised in Perth, Australia from a young age. The hugely talented actor began his career at the turn of the century before being cast alongside Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell in Hart's War. While it took some time to truly make a name for himself, it's safe to say that breakthrough was a truly epic one.
In 2009, after already making a notable appearance in Terminator Salvation, Worthington auditioned for a film blindly (he wasn't told what the film was). That film turned out to be one of James Cameron's masterpieces, Avatar. This iconic film has of course since birthed a franchise, and became the highest grossing film of all time. Worthington reprized his role as the titillating Jake Sully and his blue-faced "Na'vi" character in Avatar: The Way of Water, and has since been signed up for the next three upcoming sequels of this massive film franchise.
11 Errol Flynn
As far as Australian icons of cinema go, they don't come much more legendary than Errol Flynn. Flynn was Born in Tasmania, Australia in 1909, and later established himself as a legendary American film star. Flynn's acting credits were too vast to list in totality as he had a career that included appearances which stretched from the 1930s until his untimely death at 50-years-old in 1959. He was known for playing romantic heroes and his good looks often led him to taking on roles such as the legendary ladies' man in The Adventures of Don Juan.
Flynn's career and his personal life in some ways epitomized the worst of old Hollywood. While a screen legend and a desired movie star for his looks and charm, Flynn also became known as a womanizer, a hard drinker, and a drug user, in addition to even facing statutory rape charges that he was later acquitted of. Despite all his controversies, Flynn has always been remembered as being one of the greatest Australian actors to have ever lived.
10 Joel Edgerton
Born in New South Wales, Australia, Joel Edgerton has become one of the most celebrated Australian actors and filmmakers of his time. Edgerton's filmography includes appearances in dozens of movies, including many that also included credits as a writer and producer.
Some of his most iconic roles include his acclaimed performance in Warrior where he starred alongside Tom Hardy, and his riveting performance in the psychological science-fiction film, It Comes at Night. Edgerton has won close to a dozen AACTA awards and been nominated for dozens more.
9 Margot Robbie
She may have become an international icon largely due to her association with one character, but Margot Robbie is certainly an actress with a depth and range that goes far beyond her portrayal of the beloved DC character, Harley Quinn. A native of Queensland, Australia, Robbie's acting career kicked off in 2008.
She's since been in TV shows such as Pan Am, music videos, and done voice roles in video games. Robbie's film roles have seen her paired with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, star in the Quentin Tarantino flick Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and receive an Academy Award nomination for her role in I, Tonya. Robbie is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful Hollywood stars around today, and has been nominated for over 50 awards so far in her career, winning 14 of them along the way.
8 Hugh Jackman
Again, if one character could make an icon, Hugh Jackman certainly found his through one of the all-time most popular Marvel characters, Wolverine. Despite being around the acting scene since the early '90s, the Australian native actor was basically unknown when he first landed one of the most sought-after roles in superhero films today. Jackman's casting as Wolverine in X-Men is now cinematic history since the actor has gone on to pretty much own the role, delighting audiences and fans in it for close to 25 years in nine major film appearances, with a hugely anticipated one on the way as Jackman returns for Deadpool 3.
Jackman has also proved himself as a brilliant dramatic actor in critically acclaimed films such as Australia and Les Misérables. He's been nominated for 17 major awards, winning two Tony Awards, one Grammy Award, one Golden Globe, and one Emmy Award to date - in addition to being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and conclusively earning his reputation as one Australia's greatest ever acting exports.
7 Toni Collette
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With an amazing career that dates back to the early '90s, Toni Collette has wracked up over a 100 appearances across film, television, and theater productions. She's won five AACTA awards, a Golden Globe, a Primetime Emmy Award, and been nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA award, a Tony Award, and starred Broadway productions.
Collette is known for her amazing range as an actress, often attracting acclaimed projects and starring in everything from serious independent dramas, to psychological horror films like Hereditary. She's also an accomplished producer, and one of Australia's most celebrated actresses.
6 Guy Pearce
Rising to prominence in the late '90s for his role in the critically acclaimed L.A Confidential, Guy Pearce has since become one of Australia's most notable actors. With memorably brilliant roles like Fernand Montego in The Count of Monte Christo, Pearce has established himself as an actor of rare skill and repute.
He's since been in major films such as Iron Man 3 and Alien Covenant. He also boasts a Primetime Emmy Award win for Best Actor, a Screen Actor's Guild Award, in addition to other major award nominations. Pearce remains one of the most underrated actors, one who hasn't always received the kind of acclaim he often deserved for some of his performances.
5 Russell Crowe
As another once relatively unknown Australian actor, the legendary Russell Crowe can also trace his breakout role to the massively acclaimed film L.A Confidential. By 2000, Russell was being considered to play the iconic Marvel and X-Men character Wolverine, but turned it down. While many other stars may have kicked themselves for turning down what became a career-defining role for HugH Jackman, Russell Crowe probably made the correct decision since he turned down the role to star in the Roman epic, Gladiator.
Crowe of course went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in Gladiator after missing out on the same award a year earlier for The Insider. He would later be nominated again for his role in A Beautiful Mind. Russell Crowe has also won and been nominated for dozens of other major honors. His list of brilliant credits and awards have rightly defined him as one of Australia's greatest ever actors.
4 Nicole Kidman
To this day, Nicole Kidman remains one of the most iconic stars in Hollywood. Despite being born in Hawaii, her parents were both Australian, and she holds dual citizenship. Kidman's immense body of acting work stretches back to the early '80s and includes too many iconic films, TV shows, and theater productions to mention.
She's been nominated for a staggering 309 awards to date, winning over 100 of them along the way. This includes the Academy Award for Best Actress in The Hours. For her accomplishments, Kidman remains one of the most celebrated actresses to ever come from an Australian background and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
3 Heath Ledger
In one of the most tragic events in Hollywood history, now legendary actor Heath Ledger passed away from an accidental overdose in 2008. Born in Perth, Australia, what made this event more tragic was that before his death, he played the Joker in The Dark Knight, a role which would posthumously be ranked as one of the most memorable ones in cinema history.
Although having already been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in Brokeback Mountain, Ledger would go on to posthumously win the award for his role as the Joker. Despite his life and amazing career having been cut short so tragically and early, Ledger has since earned a huge cult following as an actor. Many of his fans believe that, had he lived, he would have likely gone on to become one of the most iconic screen legends in history. Given the evidence from his role as The Joker, who could argue with this theory?
2 Geoffery Rush
Australian screen legend Geoffrey Rush has been acting since the early '80s and is one of the continent's most celebrated living actors. Rush is only among one of 24 other actors to have won the so-called Triple-Crown of acting, having won an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award — in addition to three BAFTAs and two Golden Globes.
Aside from his many award-winning movies like Shine, Rush is best-known for his portrayals of Captain Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise. A true screen legend, Rush continues to standout as an actor today.
1 Cate Blanchett
Speaking of living legends, the Melbourne-born actress Cate Blanchett practically needs no introduction. Blanchett isn't just known as Australia's finest ever acting export, but as one of the greatest actors in history — period! Her almost supernatural ability to churn out awe-inspiring performances with meticulous grace and screen presence has cemented the now 53-year-old actress as a living legend of the screen.
Aside from winning two Academy Awards for her roles in The Aviator and Blue Jasmine, Blanchett has been nominated for a staggering eight Oscars in total (most recently in the brilliant film TÁR). She currently has 364 award nominations to her name and 166 wins so far. She has four BAFTAs, four Golden Globes, and three SAG awards to her name, and too many more nominations to also mention. As one of the greatest living performers of our time, cinephiles around the world can only wait with bated breath to see how many more sensational performances this unbelievable actress is still yet to give the world.
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