- Paul Bertram,The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, 1972. The first Australian film to earn $1m and keep the Australian film Industry alive. But not necessarilybecause the young-ish comic passed on being Curly. Producer Philip Adams suppposed “he was concerned over his ability to work with professional actors.” A dozen years later he became a global superstar by creating and debuting as Crocodile Dundee. And pro actors were concerned about working with fame.
- Tom Selleck, Three Men And A Baby, 1987. “That’s Hollywood,” said one of the 200 richest Australians.
- Patrick Bergin, Mountains of the Moon, 1989. During director Bob Rafelson’s seven-year obsession to film the lives of the 19th Century Nile explorers Richard Burton and John Henning Speke, Crocodile Dundee opened and launched a new name – to delight The Money Men.
- Patrick Swayze, Ghost, 1990. “Everyone else turned it down, too.” Hogan’s excuse? Too busy writing his own fantasy flop, Almost An Angel.
- Barry Humphries, Finding Nemo, 2002. The name, of the great white shark was obvious. Bruce. After the Jaws shark. And the cliché name of Australian guys – and all 15 contenders were Aussies. From the stars like Hogan, Humphries, Bryan Brown, Comedy Company players Kim Gyngell, Russell Gilbert, Mark Mitchell and Melbourne TV host Bert Newton to lesser known mortals: Jamie Dunn, Ross Higgins, John Jarratt, Ray Meagher, Peter Moon, Glenn Robbins and Michael Veitch.
- David Wenham, Van Helsing, 2004. Hey, one Aussie was enough! Hugh Jackman had the title role.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 6