GARY FILES

The only Australian graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, Gary won a Telegram Award for acting in Toronto and in 1991 an AWGIE from the Australian Writer’s Guild. In 2008 he was also nominated for an A.F.I. award for best supporting actor in Dogstar an animated TV series. Gary’s career spans three countries - Canada, England and Australia. As a writer / actor and director he has worked in all media in all three.

He was artistic director of the Period Pieces Company and artistic director of Crossing the Line (performed readings of stage plays by book and television writers) as part of the 1998 Melbourne Writer’s Festival. He has directed plays for both those companies as well as Alison’s Rub for La Mama at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Dorothy Parker Says at Chapel Off Chapel and We’re All Here for the National Theatre Co. at TheatreWorks. He has voiced many commercials, documentaries and Film and TV animations both here and overseas. As part of the voice team in London for Century 21 Productions he voiced, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and The Secret Service. In Australia he appeared in both series of Dogstar for Media World/BBC and Disney and also voiced and manipulated the lead muppets in the ABC children's series The Arcade Show and Smedley's Weekly. Other voice leads were in the animated features Abra-Carabra and The Littlest Convict.

His feature film credits include The Dirty Dozen, Money Movers, Mull, Evil Angels and The Club and his television work includes appearances for the BBC in Theatre 625 in Bruno and The Young Visitors, also the series Softly, Softly and The Shadow of the Noose and for the CBC he was one of the leads in the series The Frankie Howerd Show. In Australia he has featured in: City Homicide, Blue Heelers, MDA, Marshall Law, Pig’s Breakfast 1 & 2, Stingers, Corelli, The Flying Doctors, Neighbours, A Country Practice, Rafferty’s Rules, The Sullivans, Kingswood Country, Rusty Bugles and Cop Shop.

Gary has worked extensively for many leading theatre companies here and overseas including, in the U.K.: The Bristol Old Vic, the Liverpool Playhouse, and in the musicals Oh What A Lovely War for Theatre Workshop London and Your Own Thing in London's West End. In Canada he has worked for: The Stratford Shakespearian Festival, Theatre Calgary, National Arts Centre - Ottawa, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Theatre Plus and the Toronto Arts Theatre. In Australia: the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia as well as with Playbox and La Mama.

In radio he has worked as actor and writer for the C.B.C., B.B.C., & A.B.C. Gary started writing for performance for CBC Radio in Canada in 1970 and has since branched out into all other media. He was awarded an AWGIE by the Australian Writer’s Guild for Uncle Vinny’s Wireless - his ABC Radio serial in four episodes. He has written and performed the lead in the short film The Wardrobe and also performed another short film Desperate for Creswick Creative Pictures He wrote and performed To The Ends of The Earth for the ABC Radio National programme Hindsight -- about the Canadian convicts based in Tasmania. He has done extensive work for ABC Radio writing and performing in a large spectra of programmes from Current Affairs to the Book Programme and Radio Helicon.