Jonathan Hardy

Jonathan Hardy
Born	(1940-09-20)20 September 1940 Wellington, New Zealand
Died	30 July 2012(2012-07-30) (aged 71) Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia
Education	New Zealand Players' Drama School1 London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art1
Occupations	Actor, writer, director
Years active	1966–2012
Partner	David Letch2

Jonathan Hardy (20 September 1940 – 30 July 2012) was a New Zealand-Australian film and television actor, writer and director.³

Hardy was born in Wellington, New Zealand on 20 September 1940, to cavalry officer Captain Burnby Hardy and Mary Hardy (nee Philpott). His father was killed by a sniper in Crete that same year, and his mother died when Hardy was only 19.⁴¹

He began his training at the New Zealand Players' Drama School. He then traveled to Britain, where he studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and was a gold medal student.¹ He also spent time doing vocal study in Spain.⁴

Hardy's acting career lasted for over 40 years, from 1966 to 2012.

Hardy preferred to work on the stage. Following his studies in the UK, he attracted interest from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre where he secured contracts,¹ as well as the Bristol Old Vic and several regional theatres.⁴

He returned to his home in New Zealand in a touring production of The Comedy of Errors with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966, and remained to help expand the country's early theatre industry.⁵

Hardy relocated to Australia in 1972, but also returned to New Zealand regularly throughout the mid 1980s,⁴⁶⁵ to perform as a guest actor with Auckland Theatre Company, including playing Willy Loman in a production of Death of a Salesman.⁶ He headed the Melbourne Theatre Company’s youth wing for two years.⁴ In 1978 he appeared in the premiere stage production of Kenneth G. Ross's Australian play Breaker Morant, presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Athenaeum theatre, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on Thursday, 2 February 1978.⁷ The play was subsequently adapted into a film, for which Hardy co-wrote the script, earning him a 1981 Academy Awards nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.⁴

Hardy then became Artistic Director of Auckland's Mercury Theatre, a role he undertook for five years. He also played Captain Ahab in Moby Dick—Rehearsed and appeared in Gallipoli saga Once on Chunuk Bair.

Hardy had long engagements with major theatre companies in both Melbourne and Sydney.¹ His roles ranged from a Christmas pantomime of Cinderella, Shakespeare, opera and topical plays such as And in the End: The Life and Death of John Lennon.⁸

In his obituary, he is quoted by Mark Juddery as saying, "The actor is in control in the theatre... so the theatre is much more an actor's medium" and "Television is not anything but an actor's image... If my image happens to fit, then I do the job. Whereas on stage you can create an illusion, on television… it's pretty cliched."¹

Hardy appeared in over 20 films, guest-starred in over 26 television series, and acted in many television movies and miniseries.⁹ His early roles included the BBC children's time travel series Mandog in 1972, and a small role in the London-set Australian comedy feature The Adventures of Barry McKenzie that same year.⁴

His film work continued with the 1976 Fred Schepisi feature The Devil's Playground, for which he was nominated for an Australian Film Institute award. He also starred in George Miller dystopian action classic Mad Max in 1979, and appeared in The Sullivans TV movie spin-off The John Sullivan Story that same year.¹⁰

At Italy's MystFest, Hardy was the co-winner of Best Artistic Contribution for his role in 1982 horror film Scarecrow.¹¹ He later appeared in Mr. Reliable aka My Entire Life (1996) alongside Colin Friels and Jacqueline McKenzie, and the Baz Luhrmann musical epic Moulin Rouge! (2001), in which he played the character of the 'Man in the Moon', for whom Plácido Domingo supplied the singing voice.⁴ He won a New Zealand Film and TV Award in 2001, for his performance in 2000 short film Camping with Camus.¹¹⁴ He then appeared in the 2003 feature Ned Kelly, opposite Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom, playing 'The Great Orlando'.⁴

Hardy became best known to international audiences for providing the voice of diminutive alien ex-royal leader Dominar Rygel XVI in the science fiction series Farscape from 1999 to 2003, and its subsequent 2004 made-for-television film Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. Farscape was filmed in Sydney, Australia, but was a United States production. Although the series was unsuccessful in Australia, Hardy developed a cult following and made appearances at sci-fi conventions.¹⁴¹⁰

Hardy's other television roles include Josef Goldman in Twenty Good Years in 1979, and the miniseries' Power Without Glory (1976) The Mackenzie Affair (1977) and Against the Wind (1978). He made guest appearances in numerous television series including Rush, Bluey, Young Ramsay, The Truckies, The Sullivans, Prisoner, Under the Mountain, Butterfly Island, Rafferty's Rules, G.P., Mission: Impossible, E Street, The Flying Doctors, A Country Practice, The Adventures of Skippy, Snowy River: The McGregor Saga, Fire, Medivac, Twisted Tales, All Saints, State Coroner, Above the Law, The Secret Life of Us, Stingers, MDA and Magical Tales.¹⁰

Along with David Stevens and Bruce Beresford, Hardy co-wrote the screenplay for the film Breaker Morant, for which he received an Australian Film Institute Award (1980), and was nominated for an Academy Award (1981).¹¹ He also wrote and directed the movie Backstage, starring the Grammy nominated pop vocalist Laura Branigan.¹² His screen directing career however, failed to take off. He was set to direct one of The Man from Snowy River sequels, when he experienced heart problems and underwent a heart transplant.⁴

Hardy's partner for over 40 years was actor-director David Letch.² They worked on many projects together.¹

Hardy had a successful heart transplant.

Hardy died, aged 71, at his home in the town of Hill Top, in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales on 30 July 2012.¹⁴¹⁵ He had developed sepsis after undergoing an operation on his leg to restore mobility.¹⁶

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