John Stanton (actor)

John Stanton (born 28 October 1944) is an Australian stage, film and television actor.

Early life

Stanton was born in Brisbane, Queensland. He attended Brisbane Grammar School for his secondary education where he was a prolific runner and swimmer.

Stage

Stanton moved to Melbourne to further his career. He played the major supporting role of Peter Handcock (to Terence Donovan's leading role of Breaker Morant) in the first public performance of Kenneth G. Ross's play Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts, presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne on 2 February 1978. He has since played a great many other roles on stage including the lead in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Television

Stanton's early television work included a stint in the soap opera Bellbird in 1972, and various guest-starring roles in the Crawford Productions police dramas Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police, and acted in the miniseries Against the Wind. Despite having made two earlier appearances as different characters in Homicide, Stanton was cast as a regular character, lead detective Pat Kelly, in 1973–74. In his final episode, Pat Kelly engaged in a romance with a woman played by his real-life wife Jill Forster, with whom he previously appeared in an episode of Matlock Police.

After leaving Homicide, Stanton continued to make guest appearances in TV dramas, and was later signed to replace the departing Gerard Kennedy in Division 4 – however, the series was summarily cancelled upon Kennedy's leaving, and Stanton's character of Sen. Det. Tom Morgan appeared in the final episode only. He then played the regular lead role of Nick Manning in the later years of soap opera The Box. Jill Forster at that time also played the regular role of prim secretary Enid Parker in The Box, and in the storyline Enid eventually had a one-night stand with Stanton's character. When Stanton and Forster became expectant parents in real life and Forster left The Box to have the baby, likewise Enid fell pregnant and left to have the baby, and in the story Nick was the father. When Forster returned for the show's final episode in 1977 Enid's baby was played by Stanton and Forster's real-life child.

In 1981 he played the title character of Det. Sgt. Steve Bellamy in the police series Bellamy, and then took the role of the title bagman in the comedy film Kitty and the Bagman (1982). He was acclaimed in his role as Malcolm Fraser in The Dismissal.

During the early 1990s Stanton portrayed the character of Oliver Blackwood in the TV series The Man from Snowy River, and appeared in a recurring role as Bryce Redstaff in McLeod's Daughters from 2003–07.^[1]

Voiceover roles

Stanton was the English language announcer for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Opening Ceremony. He was also the voice on one or more television ads for the Opening Ceremony Official Album. He has also been the voice-over announcer for numerous television and radio ads, including Forty Winks bedding. He is also doing voice overs for Designer Direct.^[2]

He is the narrator for the 8-part TV series Australians at War, which commenced Anzac Day, 25 April 2001.^[3]

He was also the narrator of the infamous Australian commercial Grim Reaper.

References