Australian film director
Jeremy Hartley Sims (born 10 January 1966) is an Australian actor and director.[ 5]
Early life
Jeremy Sims was born in Perth , Western Australia on 10 January 1966,[ 6] and was educated at Wesley College [ 7] from 1977 to 1983.[citation needed ]
In 1987, Sims was studying at University of Western Australia (UWA).[ 8] He graduated in 1990 from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney , with a degree in Performing Arts (Acting).[ 1]
Career
Sims' first appearance on the big screen was a minor part in the 1980 movie Harlequin .[ 9] He is however, remembered by many for his role as Alex Taylor in the risqué television soap opera Chances from 1991 to 1992, in which he was cast the year after graduating from NIDA .[ 10] He was nominated for a Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent for the role in 1992.[ 11]
Sims has starred in several films, including playing Mick, opposite Ben Mendelsohn 's Kev in 1996 crime film Idiot Box .[ 12] [ 13] It was his first lead role in a feature film,[ 10] and saw him nominated for Best Actor at both the Australian Film Institute Awards [ 14] and the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards .[ 15] Other film credits include 2003 film Liquid Bridge with Ryan Kwanten ,[ 16] 2003 Ned Kelly satire Ned ,[ 17] 2009 drama The Waiting City with Radha Mitchell , 2015 romantic drama Ruben Guthrie with Patrick Brammall ,[ 18] 2017 adventure comedy A Few Less Men [ 19] and 2018 quirky comedy drama Swinging Safari , opposite Guy Pearce and Kylie Minogue .[ 20]
Sims' television appearances include the 1997 made-for-television film Kangaroo Palace , which earned him an Australian Film Institute Award nomination for AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama .[ 21] [ 14] In 1999, he appeared in Aftershocks , a mockumentary TV movie about the 1989 Newcastle earthquake . He won an Australian Film Institute Award and was nominated for a Logie Award for his portrayal of John Constable.[ 22] [ 23] That same year he featured in the miniseries Day of the Roses ,[ 9] based on the Granville rail disaster and the TV movie Secret Men's Business alongside Ben Mendelsohn , Simon Baker and Marcus Graham . In 2001, he played Tony Dunne MP in the satirical miniseries Corridors of Power .[ 17]
In 2004, he starred in Fireflies as Tim 'Backa' Burke.[ 17] He had recurring roles in Home and Away in 2009 as David ‘Gardy’ Gardiner [ 17] and Wild Boys in 2011 as Francis Fuller.[ 17] He starred in the 2009 TV film In Her Skin with Guy Pearce .[ 9] He has also had numerous guest roles in series including Police Rescue [ 9] Wildside ,[ 17] Medivac ,[ 24] Farscape ,[ 17] Young Lions , Stingers ,[ 17] The Secret Life of Us ,[ 17] McLeod's Daughters .[ 25] and the Underbelly franchise.[ 26]
Sims is also a director, with no less than five feature films credits to his name. He directed and produced 2006 thriller Last Train to Freo , which received three Australian Film Institute Award nominations.[ 27] In 2010, his second feature, the war drama Beneath Hill 60 was nominated for 12 AFI Awards , five Inside Film Awards , and eight Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, including for Best Director and Best Film. He won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival .[ 27]
In 2014, Sims directed, produced and co-wrote the film adaptation of Last Cab to Darwin , based on the 2003 play of the same name . Starring Michael Caton and Jacki Weaver , it received numerous AACTA Awards nominations.[ 27] including Best Director and won the AACTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and was selected for Toronto International Film Festival in 2015.[ 28] In 2018, he wrote and directed the feature documentary Wayne (about motorsport champion Wayne Gardner ) which was selected for Melbourne International Film Festival that year.[ 28] [ 8] He also directed 2020 film Rams , starring Sam Neill , Michael Caton , and Miranda Richardson , which was met with international acclaim.[ 27]
His director credits for television include 2021 six-part Amazon Prime miniseries Back to the Rafters (spin-off and sequel to long-running drama series Packed to the Rafters ) and eight-part medical rescue series RFDS from 2021 to 2023,[ 27] in which he also appeared. He has also directed episodes of Doctor Doctor , A Place to Call Home , Rescue: Special Ops [ 28] and Home and Away '.'[ 29]
Sims is also developing several projects, including six part series Bluebird (produced by his company Pork Chop Productions) and the drama series Fight or Flight – The Woman who Cracked the Anxiety Code , a drama series, based on a best selling biography by Judith Hoare.[ 28]
Sims has also acted in and directed stage productions at Sydney Theatre Company , Belvoir and Melbourne Theatre Company , as well as overseas at Trafalgar Studios in London and Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.[ 28] In 1995, together with then girlfriend Kym Wilson , Sims formed the theatrical production company 'Pork Chop Productions'.[ 5] [ 30] [ 10] Pork Chop has toured many shows nationally since that time and won a Drover's Award in 2005 for their production of the play, Last Cab to Darwin .[ 31] His stage acting credits include Philip Seymour Hoffman's production of Riflemind , and the Edinburgh Festival / Royal National Theatre Company production of The Secret River .[ 28]
Sims continues to act in selected projects, including the final season of comedy crime drama series Mr Inbetween in 2021.[ 28] In February 2025, he was announced as part of the cast for the second season of historical heist drama series The Artful Dodger .[ 32]
Acting credits
Film
Television
Theatre
Year
Title
Role
Notes
Ref
1986
Chicago Chicago
New Dolphin Theatre, Perth with UWA
1992
Love Letters
Andrew Makepeace III
Sydney Opera House with Les Currie Presentations / STC
1993
Aftershocks
John
Belvoir Theatre Company
[ 17]
1994
The Grapes of Wrath
Tom Joad
Playhouse, Melbourne with MTC
[ 17]
All Souls
Frank
Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company
[ 17]
Picasso at the Lapin Agile
Pablo Picasso
Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne Playhouse, Adelaide , Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney with Company B / Playbox Theatre Company
[ 17]
1995
Twelfth Night
Sebastian
University of Sydney , Monash University, Melbourne , Melbourne Athenaeum , Canberra Theatre , Playhouse, Adelaide with Bell Shakespeare
[ 17]
Pericles
Pericles
University of Sydney , Monash University, Melbourne , Melbourne Athenaeum , Canberra Theatre , Playhouse, Adelaide with Bell Shakespeare
[ 17]
1995; 1997
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Guildenstern
Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney with Pork Chop Productions
[ 15]
1997
The Herbal Bed
Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC
[ 15]
1998
Macbeth
Space Theatre, Adelaide with STCSA
1999
Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano
Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC
[ 17]
2000–2001
The White Devil
Flamineo
Theatre Royal Sydney , Brooklyn Academy of Music with STC
[ 17]
2001
Hamlet
Hamlet
Belvoir Theatre Company with Pork Chop Productions
[ 17]
2002
The Virgin Mim
Mr McDermott, Mim's father
Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC
[ 41] [ 42]
2003
The Club
Sydney Opera House with STC
[ 43]
2005
Festen
Michael
Sydney Opera House with STC
[ 17]
2006
Under Ice
Wharf Theatre, Sydney with Wharf 2 Loud
2007–2009
Riflemind
Sam
Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC / Trafalgar Studios, London
[ 44] [ 45]
2009
God of Carnage
Michael (replaced by Russell Dykstra )
STC
[ 46] [ 47]
2011
Celebrity Autobiography
Comedian
Sydney Opera House with Ross Mollison Productions
[ 17]
2013; 2019
The Secret River
Smasher Sullivan
Sydney Theatre , Playhouse, Canberra , His Majesty's Theatre, Perth , Edinburgh Festival , National Theatre London , NT tour with STC
[ 17]
[ 48]
Directing / writing credits
Film
Television
Theatre
Year
Title
Role
Notes
Ref
1995
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Director / producer
Belvoir Theatre Company with Pork Chop Productions
[ 15]
1996; 2000
Stow and the Dragon
Director
Stables Theatre, Sydney , Seymour Centre, Sydney with Pork Chop Productions
[ 52]
1998
Wank
Producer
Old Fitzroy Theatre, Sydney with Pork Chop Productions / Theatre Hydra
[ 53]
1999
The Wild Duck
Director
Playhouse, Adelaide , Glen St Theatre, Sydney with STCSA / Pork Chop Productions
Night of the Sea Monkey
Producer
Old Fitzroy Theatre, Sydney with Pork Chop Productions / Theatre Hydra
[ 54]
2001
Borderlines
Director
Stables Theatre, Sydney , Riverina Playhouse with Griffin Theatre Company
Hamlet
Director / producer
Belvoir Theatre Company with Pork Chop Productions
[ 17]
2002
The Return
Director
Rechabite Hall, Perth with Perth Theatre Company
2003
The Shape of Things
Director
Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC
[ 55]
2003–2004
Last Cab to Darwin
Director
Australian tour with Black Swan Theatre Company / HotHouse Theatre
2004
The Unlikely Prospect of Happiness
Director
Sydney Theatre with STC
2005
Ruby's Last Dollar
Director
Sydney Opera House , Octagon Theatre, Perth with Pork Chop Productions / Black Swan Theatre Company
2007
Little Britain Live
Director
Vodafone Arena, Melbourne
2007; 2008–2009
Brilliant Monkey
Director
Darlinghurst Theatre, Sydney , Old Fitzroy Hotel Theatre, Sydney , Riverside Theatres Parramatta with Tamarama Rock Surfers / Pork Chop Productions
[ 56]
[ 48]
Awards
Personal life
Sims was engaged to fellow Australian actor and director Kym Wilson in the early 1990s. They were set to be married in 1994, but the wedding was postponed when Wilson accepted a recurring guest role in television series The Man from Snowy River .[ 63]
Sims' first daughter, China was born in 2000.[ 3] He married film director Samantha Lang in 2004, with whom he had two daughters, Frederique[ 3] and Evelyn. They were divorced in 2011.[ 4]
Sims married academic, Dr. Tania Leimbach in Kangaroo Valley in 2015[ 2] and together they have a son, Leroy.[citation needed ]
In June 2005, Sims was found unconscious in a Kings Cross alley in Sydney, and blamed it on exhaustion.[ 3]
References
^ a b "All Alumni" . National Institute of Dramatic Art . 5 June 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023 .
^ a b "Taxi! Jeremy Sims living the good life with success in career and second marriage bliss" . The Daily Telegraph . 29 November 2015.
^ a b c d e "Back from the brink" . The Age . 16 July 2006.
^ a b "Stars on Sunday: Lang farewells Coogee apartment" . www.domain.com.au . 16 October 2017.
^ a b "Company History Archived 25 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine ", Porkchop Productions , 2008, Retrieved 20 April 2010
^ "In Like Sims" . The Sydney Morning Herald . 23 August 2003.
^ "Last Cab to Darwin" . 30th Busan International Film Festival . 2015.
^ a b "Jeremy Sims: On the Cycle of Life With Wayne" . FilmInk . 23 August 2003.
^ a b c d e f "Jeremy Sims – Movies and TV Shows" . SBS .
^ a b c "2. The young and the bloody useless" . Australian Screen .
^ a b "What an awesome foursome!" . TV Week . 8–14 March 1992.
^ "Jeremy Sims" . EM Voices .
^ "Idiot Box (1996)" . Australian Screen .
^ a b c d "Australian Film Institute Awards 1997" . Australian Television Information Archive .
^ a b c d e f g "Tick Press Kit" (PDF) . www.nzfilm.co.nz .
^ a b "Liquid Bridge" . Screen Australia .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an "Jeremy Sims" . Showcast .
^ a b "Ruben Guthrie: Nuances lacking in tale of when the party's over" . The Sydney Morning Herald . 11 July 2015.
^ a b "A Few Less Men" . Screenwest . 2016.
^ a b "Swinging Safari" . FilmInk . 2017.
^ a b "Kangaroo Palace: episode guide" . Australian Television Information Archive .
^ a b "Australian Film Institute Awards 1999" . Australian Television Information Archive .
^ a b "Logie Awards 1999" . Australian Television Information Archive .
^ a b "Medivac aka Adrenalin Junkies" . Australian Television Information Archive .
^ a b "McLeod's Daughters: episode guide" . Australian Television Information Archive .
^ a b "Underbelly Files: cast" . Australian Television Information Archive .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Speaker Bios – Jeremy Sims" . Screen Territory .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Jeremy Sims" . Yellow Creative Management .
^ a b "Home and Away series 35" . Screen Australia .
^ "Pork Chop Productions | theatre australia" . Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2009 .
^ "PAA" . Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 .
^ Knox, David (3 February 2025). "New cast join The Artful Dodger | TV Tonight" . TV Tonight . Retrieved 3 February 2025 .
^ "Placenta" . Screen Australia .
^ "Stars back new film made by Australian teenager" . www.indailyqld.com.au . 31 October 2019.
^ "Australian Television: Chances" . Australian Television Information Archive .
^ "Balmain Boys" . Screen Australia .
^ "Australian Television: Fireflies: cast" . Australian Television Information Archive .
^ Knox, David (20 March 2012). "Jeremy Sims leads Dangerous Remedy | TV Tonight" . TV Tonight .
^ "Australian Television: Mr Inbetween: cast: series 3" . Australian Television Information Archive .
^ "Luke Bracey, Jeremy Sims, Zac Burgess take the old town road to The Artful Dodger S2" . www.if.com.au . 1 February 2025.
^ "Why More Australian Actors are Calling the Shots" . Australian Financial Review . 26 October 2002.
^ "The Virgin Mim" . Variety . 2 September 2002.
^ "Photographs of The Club" . Arts Centre Melbourne . 25 October 2008.
^ "Riflemind" (PDF) . Sydney Theatre Company . 2007.
^ "West End's Riflemind Shutters Oct. 25" . Playbill . 25 October 2008.
^ "Sydney Theatre Company announce 2009 Main Stage Season" (PDF) . www.australianstage.com.au . 2 September 2008.
^ "Graham, Horler Cast In Sydney Theater Company's God of Carnage" . www.broadwayworld.com . 15 May 2009.
^ a b "Jeremy Sims theatre credits" . AusStage .
^ Knox, David (11 May 2023). "Production underway on RFDS season two | TV Tonight" . TV Tonight .
^ "Screen Australia Announces $700,000 of Story Development Funding for 20 Projects" . Screen Australia . 21 March 2023.
^ "Jeremy Sims to direct Everything I Never Did" . Yellow Creative Management . 21 March 2023.
^ "Stow and the Dragon" . Pork Chop Productions .
^ "Wank" . Pork Chop Productions .
^ "Night of the Sea Monkey" . Pork Chop Productions .
^ "Not a Shock in Sight" . The Sydney Morning Herald . 29 December 2003.
^ "Brilliant Monkey - Pork Chop Productions" . Australian Stage . 26 March 2008.
^ "Jury 2013" . Flickerfest . 2014.
^ "PAA" . Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 .
^ "Last Cab to Darwin nominated for eight AACTAs" . Yellow Creative Management . 2015.
^ "2015 AWGIE Awards Nominations" . Yellow Creative Management . 2015.
^ "The 2016 Australian Directors Guild Awards Reveals Nominees; Winners Announced May 6" . www.campaignbrief.com . 12 April 2016.
^ "Rencontres Internationales du Cinema see Antipodes" . www.festivaldesantipodes.com . 2016.
^ "The new 'man' in Kym's life" . TV Week . 19–25 February 1994.
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