Max Cullen

Maxwell Phillip Cullen^[1] (born 29 April 1940) is an Australian stage and screen actor. He has appeared in many Australian films and television series but is best known for his role in the film Spider and Rose and the television series The Flying Doctors, Secret Valley and Love My Way.

Max Cullen
Cullen in Acute Misfortune
Born	Maxwell Phillip Cullen (1940-04-29) 29 April 1940 (age 85) Wellington, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–present
Spouse	Colleen Anne Fitzpatrick
Children	2, including Katharine Cullen

Early life

Cullen was born on 29 April 1940, in Wellington, New South Wales, to Alec Cullen, an electrical linesman and Lila Mary (nee Vale), when he was one year old his family moved to Lawson in the Blue Mountains. His older brother Fred Cullen was also an actor and screenwriter better known professionally as Cul Cullen (1934-1982)^[1]

Career

Cullen began his career as a painter and sculptor after training at Sydney's National Art School in 1956 and later studied at the Julian Ashton Art School with Brett Whiteley in 1959. His works have been exhibited regularly in solo and in group exhibitions and he has worked as an illustrator, cartoonist and layout artist on several magazines and newspapers.^[2]

After seeing a play, he became interested in the acting profession and spent his formative years training under Hayes Gordon at the Ensemble Theatre, where he would subsequently appear in productions over a ten-year period, he also worked at the then newly established Nimrod Theatre.^[1]

Cullen was a regular arts reporter on the Sunday current affairs television program. He has also worked as a professional and motivational speaker.^{[citation needed]}

Since 2007, Cullen has performed Lawson, a one-man show based on the life of Australian poet Henry Lawson.^[3][4]

Cullen had a role in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, alongside fellow Australian actors Hugh Jackman and Asher Keddie. He played "Owl Eyes" in the 2013 film, The Great Gatsby.

Personal life

Cullen been married three times and has two daughters, one from each of his first two marriages. Married to actress Colleen Fitzpatrick from 1973–1987, they have one daughter, actress Katharine Cullen, born 9 June 1975, and one grandson William Richards, born 17 August 2013.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Type
1966	Nightwait	Milkbar customer
1969	You Can't See 'round Corners	Peeper	Feature film
1971	Stockade	Rafaello Carboni	Feature film
1972	The Office Picnic	Paddy	Feature film
1974	The Hotline		TV movie
1975	Sunday Too Far Away	Tim King	Feature film
1977	Summerfield	Jim Tate	Feature film
1978	Bit Part		TV movie
1978	Blue Fin	Pensioner	Feature film
1978	Cass		TV movie
1979	The Odd Angry Shot	Warrant Officer (uncredited)	Feature film
1979	My Brilliant Career	Mr. McSwatt	Feature film
1979	Dimboola	Mutton	Feature film
1980	Hard Knocks	Newman	Feature film
1981	Hoodwink	Factory clerk	Feature film
1982	Starstruck	Reg	Feature film
1982	Running on Empty	Rebel	Feature film
1983	Midnite Spares	Tomas	Feature film
1983	With Prejudice	Krawczyk	Feature film
1983	The Return of Captain Invincible	Italian Man	Feature film
1984	Stanley: Every Home Should Have One	Berger	Feature film
1986	Charley's Web	Charley O'Keefe	TV movie
1986	Norm and Ahmed	Norm	Short film
1988	Incident at Raven's Gate	Taylor	Feature film
1988	Boundaries of the Heart	Blanco White	Feature film
1989	Luigi's Ladies	Chef	Feature film
1990	Call Me Mr. Brown	Fibreglass Factory Foreman	Feature film
1990	The Returning	Father Donohue	Feature film
1991	As Happy as Larry	Bert
1992	Garbo	Wal	Feature film
1992	Mad Bomber in Love	Sergeant Meggs	Feature film
1992	Greenkeeping	Tom	Feature film
1993	Shotgun Wedding	Rev. Arthur Hickey	Feature film
1994	Lightning Jack	Bart	Feature film
1994	Spider and Rose	Jack	Feature film
1995	Rough Diamonds	Magistrate Roy	Feature film
1995	Billy's Holiday	Billy Apples	Feature film
1997	Kiss or Kill	Stan	Feature film
1999	In a Savage Land	Douglas Stevens	Feature film
2002	The Nugget	Wally	Feature film
2006	Jindabyne	Terry	Feature film
2007	December Boys	Narrator / Adult Misty	Feature film
2008	Australia	Old Drunk	Feature film
2009	X-Men Origins: Wolverine	Travis Hudson	Feature film
2009	Possession(s)	Paul
2010	Anyone You Want	Glen
2010	Santa's Apprentice	Humphrey (voice)	Animated feature film (English version)
2013	The Great Gatsby	Owl Eyes	Feature film
2016	Broke	Cec	Feature film
2016	Goldstone	Old Timer	Feature film
2018	Acute Misfortune	Kevin Cullen	Feature film
2020	Never Too Late	Hank	Feature film
2020	The Skin of Others	Henry Lawson	Documentary film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Type
1966-76	Homicide	8 roles	TV series, 8 episodes
1967	Contrabandits	Allen	TV series, 1 episode
1968	Skippy	Keeler	TV series, 1 episode
1969	Riptide	Gus / Chris / Rod	TV series, 3 episodes
1969	Woobinda, Animal Doctor	Johnno	TV series, 1 episode
1970	The Link Men	Mario Costello	TV series, 1 episode
1971	Dead Men Running		TV miniseries, 1 episode
1970-71	Mrs. Finnegan	Hilton Harper	TV series, 13 episodes
1971	The Comedy Game		TV series, 1 episode
1972	Birds in the Bush	The Miner	TV series, 1 episode
1969-72	Division 4	Joe Kennedy / John Brody / Tom Shaw	TV series, 3 episodes
1972	Boney	Glen Shannon	TV series, 1 episode
1972	Number 96	Ralph Finlayson	TV series, 11 episodes
1971-73	Spyforce	Barrow / Osgood	TV series, 27 episodes
1973	Over There		TV series, 1 episode
1973	The Evil Touch	Policenan	TV series, 1 episode
1974	Silent Number	Cohen	TV series, 1 episode
1975	The Unisexers		TV series
1975	Scattergood: Friend of All	Scattergood	TV series, 5 episodes
1975	Shannon's Mob	Vossif	TV series, 1 episode
1973-76	Matlock Police	The Mouth / Taylor / Brian Young	TV series, 3 episodes
1976	Rush	Billy Adams	TV series, 1 episode
1976	McCloud	Putney	TV series, 1 episode
1976	Luke's Kingdom	Tom Shipton	TV miniseries, 1 episode
1976	Bluey	Walter Curran	TV series, 1 episode
1978	Young Ramsay	Alec Thompson	TV series, 1 episode
1978	Chopper Squad	Harry	TV series, 1 episode
1979	TV Follies	Cheesy Parmesi / Cyrus P Sanders	TV series
1980	Kingswood Country	Donger Jackson	TV series, 1 episode
1980	Australian Theatre Festival	Terry	TV series, 1 episode
1980	Trial by Marriage		TV series, 1 episode
1980	The Timeless Land	Byrne	TV miniserie, 3 episodes
1980-83	Secret Valley	Claude Cribbins	TV series, 15 episodes
1981	Tickled Pink		TV series, 1 episode
1981	Cornflakes for Tea	Stan	TV miniseries, 6 episodes
1981	Sunday	Arts reporter	TV current affairs series
1983	Kings		TV series
1983	Scales of Justice	Roach	TV miniseries, 1 episode
1983	A Country Practice	Arnold Mortimer	TV series, 2 episodes
1984	The Last Bastion	Eddie Ward	TV miniseries, 3 episodes
1984	The Cowra Breakout	Private Hook	TV miniseries
1984	Carson's Law	Wally Oates	TV series, 2 episodes
1984	Bodyline	Chooka (The Reporter)	TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1985	Possession	Harry Keane	TV series
1985	The Flying Doctors	Hurtle Morrison	TV miniseries, 3 episodes
1986-87	The Flying Doctors	Hurtle Morrison	TV series, 22 episodes
1987	Vietnam	Journalist	TV miniseries, 1 episode
1987	Frontier	Clark	TV series, 3 episodes
1987	Rafferty's Rules	Mr Lee	TV series, 1 episode
1988	Act of Betrayal	Quinn	TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1989	Grim Pickings	Inspector Toby	TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1991	Police Rescue	Ernie Kemp	TV series, 1 episode
1992	Boys from the Bush	Ted	TV series, 1 episode
1992 / 1995	G.P.	Basil Meagher / Eric Mackie	TV series, 2 episodes
1994	The Damnation of Harvey McHugh	Prime Minister Jim Hammond	TV series, 1 episode
1995-2012	RPA	Narrator	TV series
1998	Kings in Grass Castles	Mr Costello	TV miniseries, 2 episodes
2001	McLeod's Daughters	Sid Connolly	TV series, 1 episode
2004-07	Love My Way	Gerry Jackson	TV series, 26 episodes
2004-09	All Saints	Moses / Barney / Fawcett	TV series, 4 episodes
2009	City Homicide	Ray Stairmont	TV series, 1 episode
2014	Rake	Judge Coote	TV series, 1 episode
2014	Old School	Des	TV miniseries, 1 episode
2014	Devil's Playground	Father Joyce	TV miniseries, 3 episodes
2016	Secret City	Les Gordon	TV series
2016	Doctor Doctor	Martin	TV series, 1 episode

As crew

Year	Title	Role	Type
1976	Rate of Exchange	Writer	Short film

Stage

As actor

Year	Title	Role	Type
1963	The Physicists		Ensemble Theatre
1964	The Thracian Horses		Ensemble Theatre
1964	The Rehearsal		Ensemble Theatre
1965	Photo Finish		Ensemble Theatre
1966	The Death of Bessie Smith		Ensemble Theatre
1966	The Shadow of a Gunman		Ensemble Theatre
1967	Double Talk		Ensemble Theatre
1967	Slow Dance on the Killing Ground		Ensemble Theatre
1967	Sarah and the Bible		Ensemble Theatre
1967	The Dirty Old Man		Ensemble Theatre
1967	All Things Bright and Beautiful		Ensemble Theatre
1967-68	Generation		Ensemble Theatre
1968	A Singular Man		Ensemble Theatre
1968-69	Fortune and Men's Eyes		Anzac House Auditorium, Sydney with Ensemble Theatre
1970	We Bombed in New Haven		Monash University, Playhouse, Canberra with Ensemble Theatre
1970	Face of a Man		Majestic Cinemas, Sydney
1970	Skippy Saves Christmas		Phillip Street Theatre
1971	Stockade		Independent Theatre, Sydney
1971	Brer Rabbit		University of NSW with Old Tote Theatre Company
1972	On Yer Marx: Bigotry V.C.		Nimrod Theatre Company
1972	On Yer Marx: Housey		Nimrod Theatre Company
1972	The Last Supper Show		Nimrod Theatre Company
1973	Prison 73: The Chocolate Frog		Nimrod Theatre Company
1973	Prison 73: The Old Familiar Juice		Nimrod Theatre Company
1973	President Wilson in Paris		Nimrod Theatre Company
1973	Hamlet		Pram Factory, Playhouse, Canberra with Nimrod Theatre Company
1975	The Good Doctor		Playhouse, Canberra, Monash University with Ensemble Theatre
1975	Sunday Too Far Away	Tim King	Festival Theatre, Adelaide
1975, 1977	The Cake Man	Civilian	Black Theatre Arts & Culture Centre, Bondi Pavilion
1976	Going Home	Jim	St Martins Theatre, Melbourne with Nimrod Theatre Company
1976	Martello Towers		St Martins Theatre, Melbourne
1976	The Recruiting Officer	Sergeant Kite	Nimrod Theatre Company
1976	The Season at Sarsaparilla	Ernie Boyle	Sydney Opera House
1977	Dream Girl	Herbert / Announcer / Mr Homes	Bondi Pavilion with Currency Press
1977	The Propitious Kidnapping of the Cultured Daughter	Dr. Bairnes	Bondi Pavilion with Currency Press
1977	Big Toys	Terry Legge	University of NSW, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Canberra Theatre with Old Tote Theatre Company
1978	Makassar Reef	Silver	Russell Street Theatre with Melbourne Theatre Company
1979	How Sleep the Brave	Lt Commander Harvey	Ensemble Theatre
1980	The Death of Bessie Smith		Ensemble Theatre
1980	The Siege of Frank Sinatra	Leo Coote	Stables Theatre with King O'Malley Theatre Company
1981	Hamlet	Claudius	Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company
1982	The Cake Man		University of NSW with Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust & Australian Aboriginal Theatre Company
1982	The Stripper		Kinselas with Sydney Theatre Company
1982	The Price		Ensemble Theatre
1985-86	Sons of Cain	Kevin Cassidy	Playhouse, Melbourne, Theatre Royal, Sydney, Space Theatre, Adelaide, Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane, Wyndham's Theatre, London with Melbourne Theatre Company
1986-88	Emerald City		Sydney Opera House, Lyric Theatre, London with Sydney Theatre Company
1987	Siestas in a Pink Hotel		Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
1988	A Streetcar Named Desire		Her Majesty's Theatre Sydney, Lyric Theatre, Brisbane
1989	The Ham Funeral		Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
1990	The Tempest	Caliban	Belvoir Street Theatre
1990	This Old Man Comes Rolling Home	Tom Dockerty	Russell Street Theatre with Melbourne Theatre Company
1991	The Revenger's Tragedy		Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company
1991	The Government Inspector		Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company
1991	Summer of the Seventeenth Doll	Barney	Seymour Centre
1992	Uncle Vanya		Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company
1993	Humorists Read the Humorists		Canberra Theatre with Comedy Summit
1994	A Cheery Soul	Mr Custance / Mrs Jebb / Little Boy (Les)	Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide with Queensland Theatre Company for Adelaide Festival of the Arts
1994	Hamlet		Belvoir Street Theatre
1995	Flame of Freedom - Australia Remembers		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
1996	As You Like It		Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company
1996	The Alchemist	Sir Epicure Mammon	Belvoir Street Theatre
1997	Death of a Salesman	Willy Loman	Sydney Opera House
1997	Ngundalehla Godotgai (Waiting for Godot)		Bangarra Studio Theatre
1998	Cloudstreet	Sam Pickles	Berth 9, Darling Harbour with Belvoir Theatre Company, Black Swan Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, Playhouse, Adelaide
1998	The Sunshine Boys		Ensemble Theatre
1998	The Siege of Frank Sinatra		Ensemble Theatre
1999	Burnt Piano		Belvoir Street Theatre
2000	The Small Poppies	Theo	Belvoir Street Theatre for Sydney Festival
2000	The Great Man	Terry	Playhouse, Brisbane, Playhouse, Melbourne & national Australian tour with Queensland Theatre Company
2000	A Couple of Blaguards	Frank McCourt	Ensemble Theatre
2001	Ashes to Ashes		Belvoir Street Theatre
2001	I Ought to Be in Pictures		Ensemble Theatre
2001	Old Masters	Gordon	Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2002	All My Sons	Joe Keller	Sydney Opera House
2002	Volpone	Corbaccio	Sydney Opera House
2002	Buried Child	Dodge	Belvoir Theatre Company
2003	Waiting for Godot	Estragon	Belvoir Theatre Company
2003	The One Day of the Year	Alf	Wharf Theatre, Riverside Theatres, Newcastle Civic Theatre, Laycock Street Theatre, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Darlinghurst Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2003	Looking Up Lower	Lennie Lower	Darlinghurst Theatre
2004	Scenes from a Separation	Lawrence Clifford	Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company
2005	The Daylight Atheist	Dan Moffat	Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company, Space Theatre, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia, Glen Street Theatre
2005-06	A Couple of Blaguards	Frank McCourt	Seymour Centre, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
2007	Lawson: Demons and Dreams	Henry Lawson	Theatre Royal, Sydney, Athenaeum Theatre, Canberra Theatre, Newcastle Civic Theatre
2007	Love Lies Bleeding	Alex	Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company, Glen Street Theatre
2008	The Pig Iron People	Kurt	Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company
2010	Twelfth Night	Feste	National Australian tour with Bell Shakespeare Company
2013	How to Be (Or Not to Be) Lower	Lennie Lower	Street Theatre, Canberra [5]
2014	Bartleby	Old Lawyer	Street Theatre, Canberra with Aspen Island Theatre Company [6]
2016	King Lear	Gloucester	Roslyn Packer Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2015-20	Dead Men Talking: A Two-Man Show of Verse, Yarns & Song	Henry Lawson	Humph Hall, Sydney, Blue Mountains Theatre, Mudgee Brewing Company, Henry Lawson Theatre, Werrington, Cooma Little Theatre, Sutherland Memorial School of Arts, Belconnen Arts Centre, City Diggers Club, Wollongong, Adelaide Fringe Festival[7][8]
2017	Dead Men Laughing	Lennie Lower

As crew

Year	Title	Role	Type
1977	The Training Run	Director / Designer	Bondi Pavilion
1978	Kitty Howard	Director	Russell Street Theatre with Melbourne Theatre Company

^[1][9]

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result
1984	The Last Bastion	Logie Award	Best Supporting Actor	Won
1986	The Flying Doctors	Penguin Award	Best Performance by an Actor	Won
1990	The Tempest	Sydney Theatre Critics Award	Best Supporting Actor	Won
1994	Spider and Rose	Film Critics Circle Award	Best Supporting Actor	Won
1994	Spider and Rose	AFI Award	Best Supporting Actor	Won
2005	Love My Way	AFI Television Awards	Best Actor in a Supporting or Guest Role in a Television Drama or Comedy	Won [10]