John Hargreaves(1945-1996)
- Actor
John Hargreaves was the
quintessential Australian man. An actor of sparkling, biting wit, he
once said he would easily give up his remarkable career if it ever
bored him, in favor of metallurgy because it was something that always
interested him. Despite his lengthy list of credits in his home
country, he never really achieved international "stardom" because of
his essentially Australian nature. He felt that overseas work offers
would or should come - without the benefit of seeming to chase after
it. Although he enjoyed the success of his films internationally, he
abhorred the "hoopla" of film festivals and what he deemed "the
cocktail party circuit." Which left his chief competitors, Bryan Brown,
Mel Gibson and New Zealander Sam Neill in the enviable position of
being the top "Australian" names overseas. John worked constantly,
shifting gears easily between film, television and theater. He died of
AIDS in 1996.
