Hugh Keays-Byrne
Born: 1947-05-18 in Kashmir, India
Died: 2020-12-02
Known For: Acting
Biography
Hugh Keays-Byrne (May 18, 1947 – December 2, 2020) was a British-Australian actor and film director. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was best known for playing the main antagonist in two films from the Mad Max franchise: Toecutter in Mad Max (1979), and Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). He also played Toad in the 1974 biker film Stone, and Grunchlk on the science fiction series Farscape. Keays-Byrne was born in Srinagar, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (part of the British Raj then, India now) to British parents; his family returned to Britain when India was partitioned. He began his career as a stage actor. Keays-Byrne made his first television appearance in 1967 on the British television programme Boy Meets Girl. He was part of Peter Brook's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Royal Shakespeare Company, which toured Australia in 1973. Keays-Byrne decided to remain in Australia after the tour ended. In 1974, he acted in the TV movie Essington, then made his first film appearance in the motorcycle picture Stone (1974). This was followed by supporting roles in films like The Man from Hong Kong (1975), Mad Dog Morgan (1976), The Trespassers (1976) and Snapshot (1979). After his first starring role in the 1978 TV movie Death Train, Keays-Byrne was cast as the violent gang leader Toecutter in Mad Max (1979). Director George Miller had Keays-Byrne and the other actors for the gang travel from Sydney to Melbourne in a group on motorcycles, as there was no money for airplane tickets. In an early international print of the film, Keays-Byrne was dubbed with a bad American accent, which Miller later regretted. Keays-Byrne then continued to act in post-apocalyptic and science fiction films like The Chain Reaction (1980), Strikebound (1984), Starship (1985) and The Blood of Heroes (1989). In 1992, he made his directorial debut and acted in the film Resistance. He also appeared in TV miniseries adaptations of Moby Dick (1998) and Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1999). Keays-Byrne played Grunchlk in the science fiction television series Farscape (1999–2003) and its conclusion Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (2004). George Miller also cast him as the Martian Manhunter in the planned 2009 movie Justice League: Mortal. Keays-Byrne returned to the Mad Max franchise in the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road as the main villain Immortan Joe. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning 6, and Keays-Byrne was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain. Description above from the Wikipedia article Hugh Keays-Byrne, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
2025
- It’s a Mad Max World as Self (voice archive) - actor
2017
2015
- Mad Max: Fury Road as Immortan Joe
- The Madness of Max as Self
2011
- Sleeping Beauty as Man 3
2004
- Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars as Grunchlk
1999
- Farscape as Grunchlk
- Voyage au centre de la terre as McNiff
- Journey to the Center of the Earth as McNiff
- Huntsman 5.1 as Bain
1998
- Moby Dick as Mr. Stubb
1992
- Resistance as Peter
1989
- The Blood of Heroes as Lord Vlle
1988
- Badlands 2005 as Moondance
- Dadah Is Death as Hammed
1987
- Treasure Island as (voice)
- Les Patterson Saves the World as Inspector Farouk
1986
- Kangaroo as Kangaroo
- For Love Alone as Andrew
1985
- Burke & Wills as Ambrose Kyte
1984
- Lorca and the Outlaws as Danny
- Where the Green Ants Dream as Mining Executive
- Strikebound as Idris Williams
1983
- Going Down as Bottom
1982
- Ginger Meggs as Captain Hook
1980
- The Chain Reaction as Eagle
1978
- Blue Fin as Stan
- The Death Train
1977
- Barnaby and Me as Huggins
1976
- The Trespassers as Frank
- Mad Dog Morgan as Simon
1975
- The Man from Hong Kong as Morrie Grosse
- Polly My Love
1974
- Stone as Toad