Christopher Elliott (actor)

Christopher Elliott (born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1962) is an Australian actor represented by Carolyn White in Sydney and in New York by Vincent Ponte at New Eastwood Talent.

He grew up at 14 Sheldon Street Nudgee, Qld., and attended Virginia Primary School 1967-1974 and then Brisbane Grammar School 1975-1979.

Study

Christopher joins a list of exclusive alumni of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, including Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, and Melanie Griffith. Christopher graduated in May 1995 after 2 years in the fulltime conservatory program. His teachers included the late Alice Winston, Tom Oppenheim (School Director and Stella's grandson), and James Tripp.

Having performed mostly in TV and film, Christopher returned to Adler New York in January 2008 to do a year's refresher in their fulltime Evening Conservatory classes.

Career

Television

Without a lesson, Christopher made his first ever television appearance in 1988 on Australia's Most Wanted as "The Floppy Hat Bandit", and soon after on the same series as "The Glen Iris Rapist" and the "Deepdene Fire Witness". His work before he had even trained was received very well by casting agents and roles followed as a dad in Animal Park and an American cop in the US TV series Time Trax - both the telemovie and Episode 7.

In 1992 Christopher decided to study Acting and left Australia for professional actor training at Stella Adler NY, where he learnt the heightened technique developed by Stella Adler, founded on the work of Konstantin Stanislavsky.

Since graduating in 1995, his roles as a villain have been so well received he been mostly cast in this genre, including several episodes of Stingers as the dodgy and sleazy wharf manager Kevin Trainer and the dodgy Mr. Bayer, the dodgy Doctor Townsend in State Coroner, the dodgy Deer Farmer Simon Morse in Blue Heelers.

At the turn of the century Christopher secured the lucrative role in the Internationally Award winning Thunderstone 3 in which Christopher portrays the regular role of goofy Agent Cummings who tries so hard to lay down the law, and is always being outwitted by a child prodigy.^[1] The series won the Best TV Series in the World for Children at the English Film and Television Awards.^[2]

In his non bad guy roles, Christopher has been cast as a journo opposite Lisa McCune in MDA, several roles on Neighbours including Trevor Marsh and the quirky and bizarre Doctor Strand (the botox doctor),^[3] a newsreader in Backlands - a telemovie based on a true story of the backpackers who disappeared in Queensland,^[4] Bethany's photographer in Pacific Drive, and the journo Des Lonergan in Bush Patrol.

More recently he returned to his bad guy roles being cast in Behind Mansion Walls as a drug dealer, filmed in Sydney along with a role in Deadly Women, also filmed in Sydney.

Film

Christopher's first appearance in film was before he'd had a lesson, where he secured a role in the Australian Movie Flynn 1989, starring Guy Pearce. Christopher had a small role playing a member of Errol Flynn's film crew (the clapper board man).

In 2008 during his return to Stella Adler New York for a year of further study, Elliott was cast as Nikolai in Under Jakob's Ladder a Cube City film^[5] alongside leading actor Jeff Stewart (Reg from The Bill TV series).

Writer/co-director of Cube City, Robert Munoz, auditioned 1,000 people for the film, which was shot on location in Chester, New York in April/May 2009. During the shoot Robert told Christopher that at his audition he brought an understated evil to the role which they hadn't anticipated so they changed the script to accommodate it.

His other films include a role in the Australian film The Line playing a corrupt anti-corruption officer in 2005. He is also heard as a voice of one of the letter writers in the Australian film The Dead Letter Office.

Theatre

Christopher's first appearance on stage was before he had studied acting. He was cast in Centerpiece Melbourne's 1990 production of Oliver Twist in Melbourne. After graduating from Adler he performed in New York Off Off Broadway in Pericles, and Cloud Nine.

Immediately on his return to Australia in June 1995 Christopher contacted Brisbane theatres, and auditioned for the role of Miguel Cervantes/Don Quixote in the 1995 Brisbane production of Man of La Mancha. After casting him in the lead role, Directors Robbie and Dave Parkin told Chris they had cast everyone except for the lead because they couldn't find the right person. With time running out they said to Christopher that they were wondering "maybe the guy we are looking for is still overseas." Rehearsals started that week.

Elliott also played Flan in the Melbourne production of Six Degrees of Separation at Chapel Street Theatre, and George in the Melbourne production of Amendment to Terror at La Mama Theatre.

In 2008 Elliott returned to New York and was cast as the Old Man in the Off Off Broadway production of the Sam Shepard play Fool For Love.^[6] In the audience was Larry Loonin, director of the Fool For Love production in the 1970s.

Music

Elliott's hobby is songwriting, specializing in American country music and R&B. As a 17-year-old, he used to sing at the Northern Suburbs Country Music Club, where he met Keith Urban, who offered to play guitar for him when he sang.

In 1994 Elliott won the Gold Coast Music Awards with his song "I Still Miss You".

Personal life

On 21 July 2009, Elliott married in Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. They have two children.

Filmography

Television

Stage

References

External links

• Christopher Elliott Official Website
• Christopher on the OZTV Credits website for Blue Heelers Ep. 228 "The Stag"
• Cast of Thunderstone
• Stingers Episode Christopher on the International Movie Database Website for Stingers
• Christopher Elliott at the Internet Movie Database