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| The term "All-star cast" is thrown
around loosely these days, but rarely has an Australian
film better deserved the title than Ned Kelly.
With a collection of world-renowned stars from Australia
and beyond, these are the talented people who will bring
life to the legend. | |
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Heath Ledger has four distinct looks
during the film, some of which required four hours in
the make-up chair |
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, Ned Kelly
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 Heath Ledger stars as Ned
Kelly, the legendary Australian outlaw and leader of the
Kelly Gang, who battles against injustice and persecution.
"I'd read a lot about Ned as a kid.
I was excited at the thought of giving life to the
legend" says Ledger. "For a while, (director) Gregor
Jordan and I had been looking for a project to do
together and there had been a number of ideas floating
about. When Gregor called and said he would not do this
without me, I thought: Let's go for it."
In the
lead up to filming Ledger was given a photograph, "Of
the real Ned two days before he was hanged, and I looked
into that portrait and it's all in his eyes, he is very
dignified, very proud, and that was enough."
A
native of Australia, Heath Ledger has been making waves
in Hollywood since moving to the United States in 1997.
It was in Ledger's home-town of Perth where his acting
career took flight. At the age of ten, he enrolled in
the local theatre company and, while performing on
stage, began landing roles on Australian
television.
In 2000, Ledger starred in Columbia's
"A Knight's Tale" where he portrayed a peasant
squire who takes on the identity of his dead master. He
recently starred in "Four Feathers" directed by
Shekhar Kapur.
He also stars in Twentieth Century
Fox's "The Order", where he portrays a priest who
must physically take on other people's sins.
Prior to "Four Feathers", Ledger was seen
opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry in the
critically acclaimed "Monster's Ball" for Lions
Gate. Ledger portrayed Billy Bob Thornton's son in this
drama set in Louisiana.
In 1999 he had his first
leading role in the Australia film "Two Hands"
and cemented a close working relationship with Gregor
Jordan. He went on to star in "10 Things I Hate About
You", a modern day telling of Shakespeare's "Taming
of the Shrew" opposite Julia Stiles and the box office
hit "The Patriot" opposite Mel Gibson, as the son
of a man fighting for the American Revolution.
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| Heath Ledger | Naomi Watts | Orlando Bloom | Geoffrey Rush | Philip Barantini | Laurence Kinlan | Joel Edgerton | Kerry Condon |
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, Julia Cook
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 Naomi Watts plays Julia Cook, the
gentrified, married, English lover of Ned and a fictional
character.
Watts liked her character
because she saw "A parallel between Julia and Ned, even
though they are from vastly different backgrounds. Julia
is married and wants out of that situation but can't
escape. Her destiny is being controlled by others in
much in the same way that Ned's is, so she identifies
with him. Also, most of the time, Ned is in a state of
struggle and chaos, but with Julia, we see a different
side of him."
Watts earned widespread acclaim for
her work in David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive". Her
portrayal of the aspiring young Betty brought her Best
Actress Awards from a number of critics organizations,
including the National Society of Film Critics and the
Chicago Film Critics, among others.
Watts
recently starred in "The Ring" for Dreamworks,
and will also be seen in Miramax's "Plots With A
View", starring opposite Brenda Blethyn, and James
Ivory's "Le Divorce" for Fox Searchlight opposite
Kate Hudson. She will also star opposite Sean Penn and
Benicio Del Toro in "21 Grams".
Born in
England, Watts moved to Australia at the age of 14. Her
first major film role came in "Flirting",
directed by John Duigan. Watts also produced and starred
in the short film "Ellie Parker", which screened
in competition at the 2001 Sundance Film
Festival.
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| Heath Ledger | Naomi Watts | Orlando Bloom | Geoffrey Rush | Philip Barantini | Laurence Kinlan | Joel Edgerton | Kerry Condon |
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, Joe
Byrne
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 Orlando Bloom plays Joe
Byrne, Ned Kelly's best friend and trusted lieutenant
in the Kelly Gang.
When first approached about a
role in "Ned Kelly", Bloom was aware of the
project but did not know the history of the man. "I
thought it was about a bunch of guys shooting guns and
riding horses, making havoc wherever they went, but then
I discovered they were unjustly persecuted and were
fighting for freedom and for justice" Bloom recalls. "I
made a good connection with Gregor at the meeting and
flew to London for the audition".
Originally
Bloom had been asked to look at the parts of Steve Hart
and Joe Byrne, but he was immediately drawn to the role
of Joe. "He was Ned's right hand man, his first
lieutenant", he says. "Joe would live or die for the
loyalty of his friends, especially Ned. He would go to
hell and back, and that is what he does. I felt this was
the foundation for a strong character."
Bloom,
who made his major feature film debut in "Lord of the
Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", graduated from
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
Bloom was born in Canterbury, Kent. At 16, he
moved to London where he joined the National Youth
Theatre for two seasons and then gained a scholarship to
train with the British American Drama Academy. On
completion of his scholarship, Bloom played the lead in
"A Walk in the Vienna Woods." Bloom's screen debut was
in the feature film "Wilde". He was then accepted
to Guildhall and chose to put his screen career on hold
for the opportunity to further his education.
Bloom was seen in "Black Hawk Down",
directed by Ridley Scott, and recently completed filming
on Working Title's "The Calcium Kid". He will
star in the upcoming film "The Pirates of the
Caribbean" with Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush, and
will appear opposite Brad Pitt in
"Troy".
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| Heath Ledger | Naomi Watts | Orlando Bloom | Geoffrey Rush | Philip Barantini | Laurence Kinlan | Joel Edgerton | Kerry Condon |
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,
Superintendent Hare
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 Geoffrey Rush portrays
Superintendent Hare, who is brought in on behalf of the
law and given carte blanche to track down, capture or,
if necessary, kill Ned Kelly.
"When I read the
script, the role jumped out at me because Hare doesn't
actually say much, but he is very much an encroaching
presence on the lives of these four youths" says Rush.
"To me, the story is really about doomed youth, and my
character is the perpetrator of that doom."
Rush
spent a lot of time researching, accessing information
from the archives and records of the Australian Victoria
Police Museum. "I wanted to find out why Ned took the
road he did and realised that at that point in history,
Ned would have only had two options - one was to go down
the path of law and order and the other was to be an
outlaw."
Rush's career has spanned over 70
theatrical productions and some 20 feature films. After
taking a degree in English at the University of
Queensland, Rush travelled to Paris in 1975 to study at
the Jaques Lecoq School of Mime, Movement and Theatre.
On his return to Australia, he soon became a principal
member of the LIGHTHOUSE ensemble. Later, Rush directed
stage productions in Australia for a number of leading
theatre companies.
Rush's Australian film credits
include "Starstruck", "Oscar and Lucinda", "Children
of The Revolution" and "A Little Bit Of
Soul". Rush won an Oscar for Best Actor for his lead
role as pianist David Helfgott in "Shine", as
well as receiving a SAG Award, a Golden Globe Award, New
York and Los Angeles Film Critics' Awards, a Broadcast
Film Critics' Award, a BAFTA Award, a Film Critics'
Circle of Australia Award and an AFI award. More
recently, Rush starred opposite Barbara Hershey in the
critically acclaimed "Lantana" and opposite Judy
Davis in "Swimming Upstream", for which he was
nominated as Best Actor for an AFI award.
Rush's
international films include; "Les Miserables",
"Elizabeth", for which he received a BAFTA
nomination for Best Supporting Actor and "Shakespeare
in Love", for which he received a BAFTA Award, an
Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for Best
Supporting Actor. Rush also featured in "Mystery
Men", "House on Haunted Hill" and "Quills",
for which he received both an Oscar nomination for Best
Actor and a Golden Globe nomination for Best
Actor.
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| Heath Ledger | Naomi Watts | Orlando Bloom | Geoffrey Rush | Philip Barantini | Laurence Kinlan | Joel Edgerton | Kerry Condon |
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, Steve
Hart
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 Philip Barantini plays Steve Hart,
another member of the Kelly Gang who joins the Kelly brothers
and Joe Byrne as an outlaw.
A relative
newcomer, Barantini's young age helped him secure the
role of the youthful Steve Hart.
"I remember at
the audition they gave us large fluorescent water
pistols to use as guns," says Barantini. "We both
refused, opting for our mobile phones. I got really into
the scene and then everyone in the room cried. A few
days later I got the call to say I had the
part."
Philip Barantini was born in Liverpool in
1980. He attended school in Widnes until the age of 16.
Whilst at school, he became involved in drama, appearing
in productions of the "Seven Sided Dice" and "Robin
Hood".
Barantini came to London aged 17 to shoot
the BBC Drama "Big Cat". After "Big Cat" he was cast in
a new UK Television Program, "Dream Team", playing
footballer Billy O'Neill. The show ran for two series on
Sky Television.
His next television role was in
the series "Band Of Brothers", an HBO/BBC mini-series.
Barantini had a small role in the feature film "The
Escapist", before being cast in "Ned Kelly".
Barantini has also completed shooting the feature film
"The Great Ceili War".
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| Heath Ledger | Naomi Watts | Orlando Bloom | Geoffrey Rush | Philip Barantini | Laurence Kinlan | Joel Edgerton | Kerry Condon |
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, Dan
Kelly
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 Laurence Kinlan plays Dan
Kelly, Ned's younger brother. The fourth member of the
Kelly gang, Dan is instrumental in the incident that leads
to the Kellys' branding as outlaws.
Director Gregor Jordan wanted Kinlan for
the role of Dan after seeing the young Irish actor on
stage in Dublin. Kinlan's performance that night at the
Abbey Theatre convinced Jordan he was right for Ned's
sensitive younger brother.
It was the role Kinlan
always wanted to play. "It was everything - the fact Ned
and Dan were Irish and their Dad came from around where
I am from, and the idea of making a film about a bunch
of outlaws riding horses - that was very appealing," he
says.
Laurence Kinlan was born in Dublin. His
first role was playing the lead in Alan Bleasdale's
drama, "Soft Sand Blue Sea" for Channel 4. His film
features include "Angela's Ashes", "Saltwater",
"Everlasting Piece", "On The Nose" (directed by
David Caffrey), and "Country" (directed by Kevin
Liddy). He appeared in the series "The Bill", also
directed by David Caffrey, and was recently seen as one
of the main characters in RTE's new series "On Home
Ground". Kinlan's theatre appearances include the role
of Leonard in "On Such As We", directed by Wilson Milam
at the Abbey Theatre.
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| Heath Ledger | Naomi Watts | Orlando Bloom | Geoffrey Rush | Philip Barantini | Laurence Kinlan | Joel Edgerton | Kerry Condon |
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, Aaron Sherritt
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 Joel Edgerton plays Aaron
Sherritt, a friend of the Kelly Gang, who is torn between
loyalty to his friends and pressure from the police.
"I found great empathy with him, because
when you are in that situation, being seen to be
affiliated with Ned Kelly, it would be a hard decision,
whether to go down with the rest of them, or assist the
police," says Edgerton.
Joel Edgerton graduated
from Theatre Nepean Drama School in 1994. An
accomplished young actor, he has garnered an impressive
list of credits both locally and
internationally.
Edgerton gained recognition for
his roles in The Bell Shakespeare Company's stage
productions "Henry V" and "Henry IV", parts I and II.
For the Sydney Theatre Company, his credits include
"Third World Blues", "Blackrock" and "Love for
Love".
Edgerton's numerous television roles
include the US telemovie "The Three Stooges" and most
notably in the successful Australian drama series "The
Secret Life of Us".
Among his feature film
appearances are "Erskineville Kings" alongside
Hugh Jackman; "Praise" and "Sample
People". Most recently Edgerton appeared as Uncle
Owen in "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" with
Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman, and "The Hard
Word" with Rachel Griffiths and Guy
Pearce.
Edgerton's career continues to go from
strength to strength, with achievements thus far
culminating in his inclusion as one of Variety
Magazine's 2002 '10 Actors to Watch'.
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| Heath Ledger | Naomi Watts | Orlando Bloom | Geoffrey Rush | Philip Barantini | Laurence Kinlan | Joel Edgerton | Kerry Condon |
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, Kate Kelly
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 Kerry Condon plays Kate Kelly, the
younger sister of Ned and Dan, who attracts the affections
of loutish policeman Alex Fitzpatrick.
Through Condon's research she discovered that "The Kelly
family originally came from near where I am from, so I
liked the idea of going to Australia to work on a film
that cuts across both Irish and Australian history".
"The role is fundamental in the story because Kate is
the sister that the gang is outlawed for protecting,"
says Condon.
Kerry Condon was born in Ireland in Tipperary, and grew
up in the small town of Thurles. She then went on to study
at the Dublin Theatre Arts School. In her final year of
schooling she auditioned for Angela's Ashes for director,
Alan Parker. It was an open audition and anyone could
attend. After three auditions Kerry was given the part.
Her next two feature films were as Marietta Flynn in "Rat"
directed by Steve Barron and Eileen in "How Harry Became
A Tree" directed by Goran Paskaljevic.
When she was 19 years old she was offered the role of
Ophelia in "Hamlet" for the Royal Shakespeare Company,
directed by Steven Pimlott, the youngest actress ever
to play that role for the RSC. This took her to London
where she has remained ever since.
Other Theatre work includes; "The Lieutenant of Innishmore"
also for the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Wilson
Milam and "The Lonesome West" for the Everyman Theatre
in Liverpool, directed by Paddy Kineen.
Television credits include her role as Mairead Reilly
in the BBC Production of "Ballykissangel".
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| Heath Ledger | Naomi Watts | Orlando Bloom | Geoffrey
Rush | Philip Barantini | Laurence Kinlan | Joel Edgerton | Kerry Condon |
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