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Brian Rooney (actor)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brian Rooney
Born (1972-11-02) 2 November 1972 (age 52)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Occupation
  • Actor
Years active1988–present

Brian Rooney (born 2 November 1972) is a Northern Irish-born Australian actor with film, television and stage credits. He is best known for his childhood television performances, in particular the part of Michael Winters in G.P.. He appeared in the children's television productions of The Ferals as Leonard, and Spellbinder as Alex Katsonis.[1][2]

Career

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Rooney first appeared on Australian Television on Network Channel 10 in Adelaide, South Australia on the Grundy Television show, Pot Luck. He sang Take My Breath Away, but lost to Roy Handley, who performed the Acker Bilk song, Stranger on the Shore. Both Handley and Rooney were told by the show's celebrity judge, Adelaide based TV and radio personality Anne Wills, that they should try acting as they had the "face for television". Consequently, Rooney auditioned with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for a role on G.P..[citation needed]

Rooney began his career playing the street-wise urchin Gavroche in the Australian stage production of Les Misérables. Soon after, he went on to play the character Tommy Franco, alongside Dolph Lundgren and Louis Gossett Jr., in the 1989 feature film The Punisher.[2]

As a child actor, Rooney became best known on Australian television during the early 1990s for his long-running role of Michael Winters in the ABC-TV series G.P.,[3] and as Brendan Maloney in the 1991 miniseries Brides of Christ.[4] He has appeared in a number of television films including The Rogue Stallion (1990), The Phantom Horseman (1991), and Pirates Island (1991).[5]

More recently Rooney played the role of Cedric in the 2001 children's television series Escape of the Artful Dodger. In 2010, he guest starred as the character Jones in Rescue: Special Ops (Season 2, Episode 12).[6]

Filmography

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Film

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Title Year Role Notes
The Punisher 1989 Tommy Franco Feature film
Charcoal 1999 Kev Short film
The Great Gatsby 2013 Clerk – Probity Trust Feature film

Television

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Title Year Role Notes
Rafferty's Rules 1988 Tommy 1 episode
G.P. 1989-95 Michael Winters Main role (seasons 1–3)
Recurring role (season 4)
Guest role (seasons 5 & 7)
133 episodes
The Rogue Stallion 1990 Wayne Garrett TV film
Brides of Christ 1991 Brendan Maloney Miniseries
2 episodes
Pirates Island 1990 Jim TV film
The Phantom Horseman 1991 Toby TV film
Mission Top Secret 1991 Jim TV film
The Ferals 1994–95 Leonard Main role
Spellbinder 1995 Alex Katsonis Main role
Big Sky 1997 Jigger 1 episode
All Saints 1998 Robbie Watson 1 episode
Kings in Grass Castles 1998 J. W. (aged 19) Miniseries
1 episode
Murder Call 1999 Nero 1 episode
Escape of the Artful Dodger 2001 Cedric 1 episode
Rescue: Special Ops 2010 Jim Jones 1 episode
Tricky Business 2012 Hamish Kelly 1 episode
The Moodys 2014 Benji 1 episode
Mr Inbetween 2021 Dan 1 episode

References

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  1. ^ Profile, Australian Television Information Archive website; retrieved 10 August 2010.
  2. ^ a b Brian Rooney profile, imdb.com; retrieved 10 August 2010.
  3. ^ Australian Television Information Archive G.P.. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  4. ^ Brides of Christ profile, Australian Television Information Archive website; retrieved 10 August 2010.
  5. ^ TV Australia – Sons and Daughters to Sylvania Waters Archived 6 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, memorabletv.com; retrieved 10 August 2010.
  6. ^ Brian Rooney profile Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, www3.showcast.com.au; retrieved 10 August 2010.
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