Australian actor Bill Hunter, who starred in movies from Down Under, including Strictly Ballroom, Muriel’s Wedding, Gallipoli, and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, died of cancer on Saturday, the Associated Press reports. He was 71. According to Rhoda Roberts, the actor’s ex-wife, Hunter decided to take up acting while working as a stuntman in the 1959 movie On the Beach, which was filmed in Melbourne. As Roberts told The Daily Telegraph of Sydney, “He watched Gregory Peck do 27 takes and thought, ‘A mug could do that.’”
Throughout his long career, Hunter won three Best Actor awards from the Australian Film Industry — that country’s equivalent of the Academy Award. A younger generation of Americans, however, might know him best as the voice of an Aussie dentist-slash-scuba-diver in Pixar’s Finding Nemo.
Aww. RIP Bill Hunter. I was always surprised if an Australian movie didn’t have him in it!
Stacie’s right! For a time, there wasn’t a film coming out of Australia without Bill Hunter. My favorite performance is from Strictly Ballroom but he was a fine actor in so many films.
Aw… Loved him in ‘Strictly Ballroom,’ ‘…Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ (my favorite), and ‘Muriel’s Wedding’ (which I just watched again yesterday). RIP Bill.
Deidre Chambers, what a coincidence!
Aw, dammit. He had such a great presence in all of his movies. “Sure, you can dance any steps you like. It doesn’t mean you’ll… WIN.”
Thanks for your great work Bill. You were a pleasure to watch on screen. I hope wherever you are now, you are loved and happy.
I will never forget his roll in that great Aust comedy.
Remember the ad for the Labor Party! lol.