Full Name
Jack Thompson
Job Title
Adoptee and Actor
Speaker Bio
One of Australia’s most loved and respected actors Jack Thompson has appeared in numerous Australian and American films. His appearance in Breaker Morant (1980) won him an Australian Film Institute award for Best Actor, and an award for Best Supporting Actor at the Cannes International Film Festival. In 1994, Jack was awarded the 'Raymond Longford Award' by the Australian Film Institute for his outstanding contribution to Australian cinema, and in 2009 was awarded the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) 'Lifetime Achievement Award' for services to Australian Film and Television. When Jack was four years old his mother tragically died from an illness. His father, while loving his sons, was unable to care for them. Jack’s aunt arranged for the brothers to board at a school in Narabeen called Lake House. It was while he was at Lake House that he met a boy called Peter Thompson. Jack was adopted by the Thompson family. The boys grew up ‘joined at the hip’ and to this day, Peter is both Jack’s brother and closest friend. 42 years later, Jack again met his biological father. (Photo credit: Steve Bacon)
Jack Thompson