Jackson Anthony

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Jackson Anthony is one of the most celebrated actors in Sri Lankan cinema (refer to Cinema of Sri Lanka). Though he has won most of his fame from his bright career as an actor (in Television, Stage and cinema) his competence in other careers related to media and arts is impressive. He has appeared before the Sri Lankans as an actor, director, singer, screenwriter, novelist, lyricist, etc.

He was educated at Galahitiyawa Central College. He then attended the University of Colombo where he obtained a degree in Bachelor of Arts and continued his education to do the Master of Arts and Mass Communication at Sri Jayawardanapura University. Afterwards he won recognition throughout Sri Lanka with his performances in a variety of fields. With his entry into the fields of cinema and television as an actor his name came to be recognized everywhere. He is admired for his realistic performance in the roles of arrogant, assertive and rude characters. His performances have attracted the critics immensely due to the expressionistic and realistic qualities in them. In 2004, under the direction of the famous director and writer, Somaratne Dissanayanke, he took up a role in the blockbuster film, Sooriya Arana. In this movie he brought to life the role of a hunter whose trade is suddenly encumbered after the arrival of a Buddhist monk to the forest. This bagged him awards at many Award Ceremonies. During his career he has won many awards for his performances at Sarasavi Awards,Presidential Awards, OCIC Awards, and so on. Jackson Anthony’s son performed the role of the hunter’s son in the movie.

A few of the movies he has acted in, are (Link at the Internet Movie Database)

Visidela (1994) Lokuduwa (1994) Agnidahaya (2002) Sooriya Arana (2004) Mille soya (2004) Randiya dahara (2004) Guerilla marketing (2005) Dheewari (2006) Kurulu Pihatu (2006)

Currently Jackson Anthony acts as the Creative Director of the Swarnavahini Televison Channel where his creativity has brought to the people new trends in television programmes. He is acclaimed for his concept and presentation of ‘Maha sinhalaye Vansa Kathawa’ (The Chronological Story of Sri Lanka) telecast through Swarnavahini channel. With many erudite Historians brought together this probably became the most comprehensive programme dedicated to the History of Sri Lanka. Other famous programmes created by him include exploratory programmes like “Ganga dige” and “Salanhanthe”.

"Salang hanthe", the documentary/travel programme which reveals the history and civilization of Lesotho

A picture of Jackson Anthony from "Salang hanthe"

Despite the fact that he was born a Christian his service to the revival of all religions and cultures is significant. He has used his diverse abilities in many fields of media to revive the endangered cultural values of Sri Lanka.