John Jarratt
Born: 1951-08-05 in Wongawilli, New South Wales, Australia
Known For: Acting
Biography
Jarratt was born and grew up in Wongawilli, a small rural town near Wollongong, New South Wales and later in the Snowy Mountains area. Jarratt’s father was a coal miner and later a concreter, who worked on the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme. His 5x great-grandfather, George Jarratt, born 1833, came from Croxton in Cambridgeshire, England; his son, John, married a Mary Kelly from Ireland. While in high school, Jarratt directed and acted in a school play which was a great success and led to his school principal recommending him for an acting career. Jarratt graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1973. His screen debut was in The Great Macarthy. He also appeared in Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock in 1975 and Summer City in 1977 with Mel Gibson. Jarratt had the lead role in the mini series The Last Outlaw playing Ned Kelly in 1979. He played a major supporting role as a young Australian soldier in Vietnam war movie The Odd Angry Shot, 1980. In the late 1980s, Jarratt recognised he had a problem with binge drinking and related violence and joined Alcoholics Anonymous, an organisation in which he continues to be active. In the 1990s, he was a presenter on the lifestyle show Better Homes and Gardens with then-wife Noni Hazlehurst. He had guest roles in Inspector Morse, Police Rescue, Blue Murder, Water Rats and Blue Heelers in the 1990s and 2000s. He joined the cast of McLeod’s Daughters in 2001, and left the show in 2006. In 2010, Jarratt appeared in a commercial for Husqvarna. In May 2013, Jarratt filmed a guest star role in the third instalment of the ABC telemovie series, Jack Irish: Dead Point. In 2005, he had a major role in the Australian film Wolf Creek, playing the villain Mick Taylor.[5] In 2007, he appeared in two films, Rogue and The Final Winter. Jarratt also had a small role in the 2008 film, Australia, as a soldier. In 2008, Jarratt launched his own film production company, Winnah Films. Winnah’s first feature film, Savages Crossing (originally carrying the working title Flood) went into principal photography outside Ipswich, Queensland in February. In 2009, he appears as the father of a teenage girl via phone in Telstra’s “Next G” commercials. In 2010, Jarratt starred in the ensemble exploitation extravaganza, Bad Behaviour, written and directed by Joseph Sims. In the same year, Jarratt also had a role in the supernatural horror movie Needle. He made a cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained in 2012, appearing as an employee of the Le Quint Dickie Mining Company alongside Tarantino himself, both appearing with Australian accents. In February 2013, Jarratt reprised his role as Mick Taylor, filming the Wolf Creek sequel, Wolf Creek 2, with Matt Hearn producing and Greg McLean directing. The film was released on 20 February 2014. In January 2014, a new thriller called StalkHer began filming on the Gold Coast, Queensland. The film is co-directed by Jarratt, who also stars in the production. The producer of the film is ‘OZPIX’, a production company partly owned by Jarratt. Filming was completed in February 2014, and will screen later in the year.
Filmography
2025
- Zombie Plane as John Jarratt
- Double or Nothing as Col
- Shed as The Stranger
2024
- What About Sal? as Tommy
2022
- Darby and Joan as Detective Senior Sergeant Bill Carlton
2021
- The Possessed as Jacob Chandler
- Christmas Down Under as Robert Parker
- Love You Like That as Roy
2017
- Hero as Officer Henry
2016
- Observance as Snitch
- Wolf Creek as Mick Taylor
- Red Dog: True Blue as Lang Hancock
2014
- Jack Irish: Dead Point as Sen. Sgt Laurie Olsen
2013
- Wolf Creek 2 as Mick Taylor
2012
- Django Unchained as The Le Quint Dickey Mining Co. Employee
- Shiver as Vinnie Rood
- 100 Bloody Acres as Burke
- Territory Cops as Narrator
2011
- Savages Crossing as Phil
2010
- Needle as Paul, the Coroner
- Bad Behaviour as Ricky
2008
- Australia as Sergeant
- Not Quite Hollywood as Self
2007
- Rogue as Russell
- The Final Winter as Colgate
2006
- The Making of 'Wolf Creek' as Self
2005
- Wolf Creek as Mick Taylor
2001
- McLeod's Daughters as Terry Dodge
- Outriders
1996
- Water Rats as Colin McGuire
- Dead Heart as Charlie
1995
- All Men Are Liars as Barry
- Blue Murder as Jack Richardson
1994
- Talk as Mac
1993
- Blue Heelers as Charlie Glover
- Joh's Jury as Kev
1992
- The Time Game as Joe
1991
- Pirates Island as The Jackel
- Police Rescue as Dave
1988
- Midnight Dancer as Graeme
- Touch the Sun: Top Enders as Jack
1987
- Inspector Morse as Sergeant Scott Humphries
- Australian Dream as Todd
- Dark Age as Steve Harris
1985
- The Naked Country as Mick Conrad
1984
- Crime of the Decade as Terry
- The Settlement as Martin
1983
- Chase Through the Night as Clurry
1982
- Fluteman as Fluteman
- Next of Kin as Barney
- We of the Never Never as Dandy
1980
- The Last Outlaw as Ned Kelly
1979
- The Odd Angry Shot as Bill
1978
- Blue Fin as Sam Snell
- The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith as Michaels
- Plunge Into Darkness as Toby
- The Sound of Love as Dave
- Father, Dear Father as George
- Little Boy Lost as Vic Tanner
1977
- The Tree
- Summer City as Sandy
1976
- Bluey as Walter Kite
1975
- The Great MacArthy as MacArthy
- Picnic at Hanging Rock as Albert Crundall