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Damian Walshe-Howling
Australian actor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Damian Walshe-Howling is an Australian actor, well known for his role as Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin in the Australian underworld drama Underbelly, for which he won the Best Supporting or Guest Actor in a Drama Series at the 2008 AFI Awards.
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Early life and education
Walshe-Howling was born in the inner south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. His Italian mother, Iris (née. Romanella) was an actress, involved in the theatre at La Mama and the Pram Factory, a director and drama teacher. His father was a professor of third generation Irish background.[1][2] Aspiring to be an actor too, Walshe-Howling performed in small theatre shows as a child.[1] He attended a high school that specialised in the arts, before he spent a year studying drama, dance and music at Rusden College.[3] He started professionally in the industry around the age of 19.[1]
In 1999, he studied at New York's Atlantic Theater Company, specifically their technique 'Practical Aesthetics', both internationally and in Australia.[4][5]
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Career
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Television
Walshe-Howling appeared in an episode of the 1990 anthology series More Winners.[3] He had a guest role in long-running soap opera Neighbours in 1993, before he got his first big break starring in Blue Heelers as Constable Adam Cooper.[3][6] He left in 1998, and returned for the series finale in 2006. His first major television role after leaving the series, was as rock singer Mac in The Secret Life of Us (2001),[7] earning him an Australian Film Institute Award nomination for Best Actor in a Guest Role in a Television Drama Series for his performance.[8][9]
Other guest roles followed in Marshall Law (2002), Stingers (2003),[10] Wilfred (2007), All Saints (2007), East West 101 (season 2), Rescue: Special Ops and Satisfaction.[8]
In 2008, Walshe-Howling's next major break was starring as real-life crime figure Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin in the first season of Channel Nine’s Australian underworld drama Underbelly.[6] The role won him a 2008 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting or Guest Actor in a Drama Series[6][11] and also saw him nominated for a Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actor in 2009.[11] That same year, he hosted the Seven Network's factual series Crash Investigation Unit.[12]
In 2010, Walshe-Howling hosted the Nine Network’s reality show Customs;[8] and in 2011, he had a guest role in Steven Spielberg’s Terra Nova (2011).[8] In 2012, he appeared in Australian TV drama series Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms[7] as Bandidos vice president Mario 'Chopper' Cianter, and also appeared in long-running children's series, Play School.
In 2014, he appeared in a supporting role in the ABC TV comedy drama series, Old School,[7] alongside Bryan Brown and Sam Neill.[13] He also had a supporting role as star prosecutor Owen Mitchell in three seasons of the ABC’s legal drama series, Janet King.[14][13]
He has most recently been seen in US Netflix superhero series Titans, ABC crime drama Jack Irish opposite Guy Pearce and 2023 crime series Last King of the Cross with Lincoln Younes.[13]
Film
Walshe-Howling starred in 2000 TV movie Halifax f.p.: A Person of Interest, opposite Rebecca Gibney. That same year, he also appeared in A Wreck A Tangle, playing Benjamin.[6] His first film role after departing his regular role on Blue Heelers was as Milo in 2001 comedy-drama He Died with a Felafel in His Hand[7][6] with Noah Taylor.
He appeared in a cameo role in 2003 biographical film Ned Kelly, about the famed Australian bushranger, opposite Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom, after being invited by director Gregor Jordan.[15] He then starred in the 2006 modern day reimagining of Macbeth[7][8] alongside Sam Worthington. Prior to his breakthrough role in Underbelly, he appeared opposite Joel Edgerton in short film Saturn’s Return. He was set to star in Point Break 2, however, due to the 2008 financial crisis, the film did not go ahead.[16]
He next starred in survival horror film The Reef with former Underbelly co-star Gyton Grantley. The movie was released in Australian cinemas in March 2011.[17] In 2013, he had a supporting role in crime film Mystery Road.[10]
In 2020, he appeared in the 2020 Australian sci-fi thriller 2067,[18] alongside Ryan Kwanten.[10]
Theatre
In 2008, Walshe-Howling appeared in the Bell Shakespeare production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. He also went back to his theatre roots with a lead role as Neil in B Sharp production of A View of Concrete.[8][10]
His other theatre credits include Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Mojo, Crave, Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love and Brendan Cowell’s Melbourne production of Men. In 2015 he performed in the Black Swan Theatre Company production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. In 2019 he appeared as Marco in Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge.[10]
Filmmaker
Walshe-Howling is also an accomplished filmmaker. He made his debut with his 2007 short film The Bloody Sweet.[19] After submitting the film to Flickerfest, it made the Australian content section of the competition. A few months later, he was approached to present Flickerfest on Extra, a tv show on Movie Extra, which he went on to host for two years.[1]
His 2012 short film Suspended, which he wrote, produced and directed, screened in official competition at Flickerfest, the 2012 Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland,[19] the 2012 Nashville Film Festival,[10] the 2012 St Kilda Short Film Festival,[20] the 2013 Canberra Short Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival and Cannes Cinephiles.[10]
In 2015, his short film MESSiAH was one of four winners of the third annual Lexus Short Film Competition, in California.[19] The win enabled him to collaborate with The Weinstein Company and the film then premiered at the Sydney Film Festival.[7]
His 2016 short film Unspoken, which he wrote and directed, was awarded Best Short CinefestOZ in 2024, before taking out the International Grand Prize at the 2025 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, France’s second-largest film festival after Cannes.[19]
He also completed a Director’s Attachment with Peter Andrikidis on Screentime's 2018 miniseries Underbelly Files: Chopper.[10]
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Recognition and awards
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Personal life
Walshe-Howling said in 2010, that he had been single for many years.[1]
When it was announced that the first series of Underbelly was banned (for legal reasons) in Melbourne the day before it was due to go to air, Walshe-Howling moved to Sydney to maximise his work opportunities.[1]
While on the set of 2010 film The Reef, he stood on a venomous stonefish, known to be fatal to humans. Production was shut down for 24 hours, while he was in hospital.[15]
An extra, who appeared in 2012 miniseries Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms, Rebecca Wilson, launched a sexual harassment suit against Walshe-Howling, alleging he "forcibly kissed" her during filming in 2011. After a preliminary hearing in 2019, the parties reached an out-of-court settlement and proceedings were dismissed.[25][26]
Walshe-Howling taught an advanced acting course at Brave Studios at the Cotton Mills in Footscray, Melbourne.[6]
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Filmography
Film
As actor
As director / producer / writer
Television
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Theatre
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References
External links
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