A sturdy, dependable lead with substantial romantic appeal and genre versatility, rugged Aussie performer Jack Thompson attained tremendous stardom as one of the top box-office draws in his native country. He received one of his best-known (and most visible) assignments early in his career, with lead billing on a television series: the Australian WWII adventure drama Spyforce (1971-1973).
Born Jack Payne, Thompson took his big screen bow in Fever Heat (1968), but Ken Hannam's period sheep-shearing drama Sunday Too Far Away (1975) - as a cornerstone of the New Australian Cinema - represented the actor's first and most significant career breakthrough. Indeed, Thompson's subsequent rise to stardom closely matches the rebirth and renewed prominence of Australian film during the '70s. Other notable Thompson efforts include Caddie (1976), The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978), and The Man From Snowy River (1982). For his many contributions to Australian cinema, Thompson was awarded an Order of Australia and was named the country's Good Will Ambassador to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a post he served for several years.
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