Sullivan Stapleton

Like Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe before him, Sullivan Stapleton launched his career in his native Australia prior to making his mark in Hollywood as the breakthrough star of the Academy Award-nominated film "Animal Kingdom" (2010). Sullivan landed his first onscreen acting appearance in the Australian TV-movie "Baby Bath Massacre" (1994). A string of little-seen features and homegrown dramas followed before the actor joined the cast of Australia's long-running soap opera "Neighbours" (Network Ten, 1985- ), which followed the lives of various families residing in Melbourne. On the popular program, Stapleton landed a recurring role in 1998 as the boyfriend of an aspiring swimmer (Emily Milburn). Sullivan equally charmed Australian viewers on another televised serial, the cult favorite "The Secret Life Of Us" (Network Ten, 2001-05). While "Neighbours" tackled the lives of suburban families, "The Secret Life Of Us" centered on a group of young professionals living in the same apartment building in the Australian beachside town of St Kilda.

Sullivan leaped to the big screen in 2007 with his first role in a mainstream feature, "The Condemned." The action thriller featured an ensemble cast that included former professional wrestler Steve Austin and legendary British footballer Vinnie Jones. The film revolved around a group of Central American prisoners sent by a sadistic television producer to a remote island, where they must fight each other to death until the sole survivor is granted freedom. That same year, Sullivan took on a less violent role in the coming-of-age drama "December Boys," starring Daniel Radcliffe as an orphan from the Australian outback who is sent to a beachside holiday, where he encounter various people who change his life outlook. Sullivan played Fearless, a motorbike driver who performed in a local carnival. The hardworking actor further established his international presence with a role as a drug dealer in "Animal Kingdom" (2010). The crime drama film featured an ensemble of Australian talents such as co-stars Guy Pearce and Joel Edgerton, who along with Sullivan, portrayed members of a notorious Melbourne crime family. Inspired by real-life events, "Animal Kingdom" premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and earned Sullivan a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Australian Film Institute Awards. In 2011, Sullivan co-starred with Philip Winchester on the military drama "Strike Back" (Cinemax, 2010- ) where he portrayed an American Delta Force operative who teams up with a British intelligence officer to take down an international terrorist organization.