Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn first rose to prominence in Australia with his breakout role in the 1987 coming of age drama film The Year My Voice Broke. He has gone on to co-star in the films Animal Kingdom (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), and Starred Up (2013). He co-starred in the 2014 films Lost River with Christina Hendricks, Exodus: Gods and Kings with Christian Bale and Black Sea with Jude Law. In 2015, he starred in the American drama film Mississippi Grind with Ryan Reynolds. The following year, he was cast as Orson Krennic in the epic space opera film Rogue One, the first installment of the Star Wars anthology series. He portrayed King George VI in the 2017 war drama film Darkest Hour with Gary Oldman. The same year, it was announced that he would be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Talos. He has played the character in Captain Marvel (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and the Disney+ series Secret Invasion (2023).
_(cropped).jpg)
In 2018, he played the antagonist Nolan Sorrento in Steven Spielberg's dystopian science fiction adventure film Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline's novel of the same name. He also co-starred in the drama film Untogether, written and directed by his then-wife Emma Forrest and action-adventure film Robin Hood as the Sheriff of Nottingham. The same year, he starred in the drama film The Land of Steady Habits with Connie Britton.
Mendelsohn's Australian television work includes playing Warren Murphy on the soap opera Neighbours (1986–1987), a recurring role on the drama series Love My Way (2006–2007), and a main role in the drama series Tangle (2009). In 2015, he was cast as Danny Rayburn in the American Netflix original thriller drama television series Bloodline (2015–2017). The role earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2016.[1] From 2019 to 2020, he voiced the character of Special Agent Mace in the animated series Infinity Train. Then in 2020, he starred in the HBO psychological thriller-horror crime drama series based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Stephen King, The Outsider.
Film
edit-3_(36334506924)_(cropped).jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Still Point | Peter | ||
| 1987 | The Year My Voice Broke | Trevor Leishman | ||
| 1989 | The Big End | – | Short film | [2] |
| Lover Boy | Gazza | |||
| 1990 | Return Home | Gary | ||
| Nirvana Street Murder | Luke | |||
| The Big Steal | Danny Clarke | |||
| Quigley Down Under | O'Flynn | |||
| 1991 | Spotswood | Carey | ||
| 1992 | Map of the Human Heart | Farmboy | ||
| 1993 | Say a Little Prayer | Nursery Manager | ||
| 1994 | Sirens | Lewis | ||
| Metal Skin | Robert ‘Dazey’ Day | |||
| 1996 | Cosi | Lewis Riley | ||
| Idiot Box | Kev | |||
| Drive By Shooting | – | Short film | [3] | |
| 1997 | Tangerine Dream | – | Short film | [4] |
| True Love and Chaos | Jerry | |||
| Amy | Robert Buchanan | |||
| 1998 | Love Brokers | Jimmie J | ||
| Little America 2 | Jimmy | Short film | [5] | |
| 2000 | Sample People | John | ||
| 2000 | Vertical Limit | Malcolm Bench | ||
| 2001 | Mullet | Eddie "Mullet" Maloney | ||
| 2002 | Black and White | Rupert Murdoch | ||
| 2005 | The New World | Ben | ||
| 2006 | Hunt Angels | Rupert Kathner | ||
| 2008 | $9.99 | Lenny Peck (voice) | ||
| Australia | Captain Emmett Dutton | |||
| 2009 | Knowing | Phil Beckman | ||
| Prime Mover | Johnnie | |||
| Beautiful Kate | Ned Kendall | |||
| 2010 | Animal Kingdom | Andrew "Pope" Cody | ||
| Needle | Detective Meares | |||
| 2011 | Killer Elite | Martin | ||
| Trespass | Elias | |||
| 2012 | Killing Them Softly | Russell | ||
| The Dark Knight Rises | John Daggett | |||
| The Place Beyond the Pines | Robin Van Der Hook | |||
| 2013 | Adoration | Harold | Also known as Adore or Two Mothers | |
| Starred Up | Neville Love | |||
| 2014 | Lost River | Dave | ||
| Exodus: Gods and Kings | Viceroy Hegep | |||
| Black Sea | Fraser | |||
| 2015 | Slow West | Payne | ||
| Mississippi Grind | Gerry | |||
| Guns for Hire | Kyle Sullivan | Also known as The Adventures of Beatle | ||
| 2016 | Una | Ray Brooks | ||
| Rogue One | Director Orson Krennic | |||
| 2017 | Darkest Hour | King George VI | ||
| I Am Heath Ledger | Himself | Documentary | ||
| 2018 | Ready Player One | Nolan Sorrento | ||
| Untogether | Martin | |||
| The Land of Steady Habits | Anders Hill | |||
| Robin Hood | Sheriff of Nottingham | |||
| 2019 | Captain Marvel | Talos | ||
| Spider-Man: Far From Home | Uncredited cameo; post-credits scene | |||
| The King | King Henry IV | |||
| Babyteeth | Henry Finlay | |||
| Spies in Disguise | Killian (voice) | |||
| Gorillaz: Reject False Icons | Himself | |||
| 2021 | Cyrano | De Guiche | ||
| 2023 | To Catch a Killer | Chief Investigator Geoffrey Lammark | Also known as Misanthrope | |
| The Marsh King's Daughter | Jacob Holbrook | |||
| 2024 | Freaky Tales | The Guy | ||
| 2025 | Roofman | Filming | ||
| Bethlehem[6] | Nahash | Filming |
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Special Squad | Spud | Episode: "Slow Attack" | |
| 1985 | A Country Practice | Luke Dawson | 2 episodes: "A Little Knowledge Pt 1", "A Little Knowledge Pt 2" | |
| 1985 | The Henderson Kids | Ted Morgan | 20 episodes | |
| 1985 | Zoo Family | Martin | Episode: "The Good, The Bad and Martin" | |
| 1986 | Prime Time | Bartholomew "Bart" Jones | ||
| 1986 | Fame and Misfortune | John | 6 episodes | |
| 1986–1987 | Neighbours | Warren Murphy | 19 episodes | |
| 1987, 1989 | The Flying Doctors | Brad Harris, Brian | 2 episodes: "Realms of Gold", "Blues for Judy" | |
| 1988 | The Insiders - A Journey through Form S | Michael | Educational video | |
| 1988 | All the Way | Lindsay Seymour | 3 episodes | |
| 1989 | This Man... This Woman | Matthew Clarke | 2 episodes | |
| 1989, 1994, 1996 | G.P. | Phillip Barton, Max Fisher, Ben Mason | 4 episodes | |
| 1991 | Col'n Carpenter | Grant Fuller | Episode: "Coming Home" | |
| 1994 | Roughnecks | Joe 90 | Episode: "Joe 90" | |
| 1995 | Snowy River: The McGregor Saga | Dale Banks | Episode: "High Country Justice" | |
| 1995 | Police Rescue | Dean Forman | Episode: "Wild Card" | |
| 1995 | Halifax f.p. | Peter Donaldson | Episode: "My Lovely Girl" | |
| 1996 | Close Ups | Biz | Episode: "Security" | |
| 1997 | Good Guys, Bad Guys | Brian O'Malley | Episode: "Unfinished Business" | |
| 1998 | The Singer and the Swinger | Lee Gordon | Documentary | [7] |
| 1999 | Queen Kat, Carmel & St Jude | Vince McCaffery | 4 episodes | |
| 1999 | Sellebrity Sellection | Himself | Television short film; also producer | |
| 1999 | Secret Men's Business | Doug Peterson | Television film | |
| 2001 | Love is a Four Letter Word | Episode: "Faff" | ||
| 2001 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Alexander Hall | Episode: "Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story" | |
| 2001 | Australian Story | Himself/host | Episode: "The Prodigal Son" | |
| 2002 | Farscape | Sko | Episode: "I-Yensch, You-Yensch" | |
| 2005 | Second Chance | Dr. Larry Stewart | Television film | |
| 2005 | The Secret Life of Us | Rob | 5 episodes | |
| 2006–2007 | Love My Way | Lewis Feingold | 15 episodes | |
| 2009 | Tangle | Vince Kovac | 10 episodes | |
| 2009 | Who Do You Think You Are? | Himself | 1 episode | |
| 2013 | Girls | Salvatore Johansson | Episode: "Video Games" | |
| 2013, 2015 | Axe Cop | Ben / Sun Thief (voice) | 4 episodes | |
| 2015–2017 | Bloodline | Danny Rayburn | Main role | |
| 2019–2020 | Infinity Train | Special Agent Mace (voice) | Recurring role | |
| 2020 | The Outsider | Ralph Anderson | Miniseries; also executive producer | |
| 2023 | Star Wars: The Bad Batch | Orson Krennic (voice) | Guest role, episode: "The Summit" | |
| 2023 | Secret Invasion | Talos | Main role; miniseries | [8][9] |
| 2023 | Faraway Downs | Captain Dutton | TV miniseries | [10] |
| 2024 | The New Look | Christian Dior | Main role | [11] |
| 2025 | Andor | Orson Krennic | Post-production |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | On Our Selection | Andy Pettigrew (The Son) | MTC at Arts Centre Playhouse, Melbourne | |
| 1992 | Così | Lewis Riley | Belvoir Street Downstairs Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1999 | Coloured Inn | Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (IPAC) – Bruce Gordon Theatre, Wollongong | ||
| 2002 | My Zinc Bed | Paul Peplow | Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney | |
| 2004 | Petunia Takes Tea | Newtown Theatre, Sydney for Short and Sweet (festival) | [12] | |
| 2004 | The Glass Menagerie | Tom Wingfield | MTC at Arts Centre Playhouse, Melbourne | |
| 2005 | Julius Caesar | Marc Antony | Wharf Theatre, Sydney for Sydney Theatre Company |
References
edit- ^ Li, Shirley (18 September 2016). "Ben Mendelsohn Wins Best Drama Supporting Actor at 2016 Emmys". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ Bodey, Michael (13 June 2017). "Ben Mendelsohn: From dish pig to Hollywood's A-list". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "Drive By Shooting (1996) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "Short Films". Tania Lacy. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "Little America 2 (1998) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ Angel Studios Sets ‘Bethlehem’ From ‘Sound Of Freedom’s Alejandro Monteverde; Sam Worthington, Ben Mendelsohn, Gael García Bernal & Deva Cassel Star
- ^ "The Singer and the Swinger - Film details | Rent DVDS online - Kino - arthouse, foreign and classic movies".
- ^ Gelman, Vlada (10 December 2020). "Secret Invasion, Marvel Series Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Coming to Disney+". TVLine. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ Albers, Caitlin (15 May 2021). "Here's Who's Directing Marvel's 'Secret Invasion' Disney+ Series". Collider. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ "Faraway Downs Cast & Character Guide". Screen Rant. 28 November 2023.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (10 May 2022). "Ben Mendelsohn and Juliette Binoche to Star as Dior and Chanel in Apple Fashion Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ^ "Fancy a quickie?".
- ^ "AusStage".