David Wenham

David Wenham. Who are you? I'm guessing maybe he's an actor. It seems there's been a lot of those lately. I probably added a bunch at once.

Lord Wiki says I'm right.

It looks like Wenham has been in a huge amount of stuff.

Baby David was born in Marrickville, Sydney on 21 September 1965. Marrickville is in the western suburbs, near Dulwich Hill.

Wenham is the youngest of six kids. He has five older sisters and an older brother. Wow. The family is Roman Catholic, so that might explain the big family thing.

Wenham attended the Christian Brothers High School in Lewisham.

He has a long-time girlfriend, and they have two daughters. I guess they're skipping the whole marriage thing.

Lord Wiki says that Wenham read a poem by Rupert McCall at Steve Irwin's funeral. Here's a video of it. It's a nice memorial. I have some tears.

I'm going to leave most of Wenham's career stuff for IMDb. But Lord Wiki has some fun theater stuff here. Wenham starred in Jerry Springer-The Opera. I was trying to find a video of it and found this. I'm not sure if Wenham is in it, but I think it's a behind the scenes thing of the play. I love the song that they used.

Okay. Now I think I'm seeing Wenham.

It's such a fun video.

I'm going to watch it again, or at least listen to it, while I head over to IMDb.

And I still have tears from the Steve Irwin thing.

Wenham's first professional screen appearance was a 1987 uncredited appearance in a documentary called Jack Simpson: A Willesee Documentary. I didn't know who Jack Simpson was, but it turns out they're referring to John Simpson--the guy who rescued people during World War I. He's the donkey guy. I wonder what Wenham did in this movie. Maybe he was in a reenactment segment, or something.

Also in 1987, he had a small appearance in Poor Man's Orange, a TV movie based on a Ruth Park novel. I say it's small, because his character didn't even have a name. He was just "party youth".

In his next movie, though, he got himself a name. This was the 1988 TV movie The Heroes. Wenham played Horrie Young. Jason Donovan was in the movie, so maybe I've written about it before. It's a war movie. Yeah. It does sound familar.

That year he also did two episodes of A Country Practice. He had also appeared briefly on the show in 1987 as a ambulance driver. I'm wondering if that came before the John Simpson documentary. I may have been wrong about what his fist screen appearance was.

In 1990, Wenham was in the TV movie Come in Spinner. I think I've written about this one too. Rebecca Gibney is in it, so I probably learned about it when I researched her. For this movie, Wenham was demoted back to being nameless. He was "Australian Soldier".

In 1992, Wenham did two more episodes of A Country Practice. He didn't play the same character he had in 1988. Then he was Scott Galbraith, and in 1992, he was David Cornish.

Also that year, Wenham appeared in two movies. He was Frank No 2 in Seeing Red, and Trevor in Greenkeeping. Anthony LaPaglia's wife, Gia Carides was in Greenkeeping.

Wenham was in three movies in 1994.

He played Trevor in Gino. This movie had Anthony LaPaglia's sister-in-law.

I've written about Heartland before. This is the miniseries with Cate Blanchett and Ernie Dingo. Oh, and this too featured Anthony LaPaglia's sister-in-law. Wenham is way below in the credits, so I'm guessing his part in the film was small.

No Escape is an American movie filmed in Australia. Wenham played Hotel Guard #2.

Here's the trailer. I doubt Wenham will be in it, but I want to watch it anyway.

That looks very intriguing.

In 1995, Wenham did three episodes of a TV show called One of Us. I can't really find any information about it. I'm guessing it had a short life. Do any of you remember it?

In 1996, Wenham was in Cosi. I guess I've written about that before, because Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths are in it. Although, I'm looking at the plot, and it doesn't sound familar to me. It does sound good, though. Mental patients at an institution try to put on a production of a Mozart opera.

Here's a scene in the movie, featuring Wenham.

Lord Wiki says Cosi was originally a play. Wenham's character is a pyromaniac.

The name Cosi reminds me of this restaurant I loved in NYC. I LOVED their signature salad.

In 1996, Wenham was a in a crime comedy called Idiot Box. He played "Bank Teller with a History". Lord Wiki describes the plot, and it's completely uninteresting to me.

In 1997, Wenham was in the miniseries Simone de Beauvoir's Babies. It sounds familar to me. Anyone in the credits I've written about?

No. I don't see anyone. I do recognize Sonia Todd's name. But I haven't researched her.

I guess this movie provided a substantial role for Wenham. He received an AFI for best actor.

In 1998, Wenham worked with Toni Collette again in The Boys. He had the starring role in this; he plays a psychopath released on parole. Yikes.

The movie earned Wenham an AFI nomination, but he didn't win.

Lord Wiki says, that like Lost, it uses flashforwards.

Here's a scene from the movie. You know, I saw briefly before that Wenham was one of the many Australians in Australia. Now I think I know who he played. He was the mean villain man. He seems like an ass in this movie as well.

Wenham appeared in the Kiefer Sutherland movie Dark City. He played Sutherland's assistant. I can't say I remember him. I barely remember the movie, period.

Here's the trailer. It does look pretty good. I should re-watch it sometime.

Wenham did a comedy with Geoffry Rush called A Little Bit of Soul. It's something to do with scientists and aging....maybe also the devil.

In 1998 and 1999, Wenham did a TV show called SeaChange. I don't think I've heard of this one before. It's about a corporate lawyer who leaves the big city and becomes a judge in a small town. The show earned Wenham a Logie in 1999.

Lord Wiki says the show was a soap opera. Wenham played Diver Dan, the love interest of the protagonist. But he left two episodes into the second season. Diver Dan ran off the the Galapagos Islands.

Here's part of the very first episode. Hopefully, Wenham will be in it.

Ah. He is. He's right there at :22.

It looks like a fun show.

That family sure moved into a big mess. They bought a house and didn't realize it was inside a caravan park.

I'm liking this show. It's entertaining, and I like the characters. My favorite so far is the woman, working at the restaurant, who remembers the protagonist from when her family had dinner twice about a decade before. Can you imagine? I wish I had a memory that great. She even remembers the names of the protaganist's children.

In 1999, Wenham was in Molokai: The Story of Father Damien. Wenham had the title role in this. I'm guessing Father Damien refers to the Leprosy guy and not the one who gets splattered with split-pea soup.

I think Father Damien was a real hero; at least from what I know of him. He was brave and compassionate enough to take care of people who were sick and contagious.

What I didn't know until just now was that the leper colony was in Hawaii. That's what Molokai refers to. It's an island between Oahu and Maui. Here's their tourism website. They seem very laid back. It's an off-the-beaten-path type place.

Lord Wiki says there's actually still a colony living there. They don't have an active form of the illness anymore, and the mandatory isolation has been lifted. But they choose to still remain there. Here's a news report about it.

I guess they're trying to make Father Damien a saint. That's good.

Wenham was nominated for an AFI award for the film, but he didn't win.

Here's the trailer for the movie. The scenery totally reminds me of Lost. We're wanting to visit Lost filming locations when we're in Hawaii; but I'm thinking I could be anywhere on that state and feel like I'm in Lostland.

It looks like a really beautiful movie.

Oh! Wait. Lord Wiki says he already IS a saint. I guess it happened after that video I watched. He's now the spiritual patron of Leprosy patient, AIDS patients, and other folks seen as outcasts.

In 2000, Wenham was in a romantic-drama Better than Sex. It's about a weekend of sex between two strangers...no strings attached. Well, obviously there wouldn't be a movie if there truly weren't strings attached.


For this movie, Wenham received another AFI nomination.

Here's the trailer. As I predicted. There ends up being complications....attached strings.   It looks fairly good, though.

In 2001, Wenham was in Russian Doll. I'm pretty sure I've encountered this movie in my research before. Yeah. Helen Dallimore is in it, and Hugo Weaving. I've researched both of those people.

Wenham plays a married man who is having an affair.

Here's the trailer. Hugo Weaving looks totally adorable.

Wenham plays a Jewish guy. I know that, because he's wearing a Yarmulke.

Oh. The plot of this is kind of funny. I was reading it on IMDb and didn't fully understand it. The trailer clears it up. So Ethan is this married guy, and he falls in love with this Russia woman. They have an affair. That's fairly normal. What complicates it is that she has to return to Russia. She can't stay, unless someone marries her. Ethan can't do that. He's already married. So he asks his friend (Hugo Weaving) to do it. The catch is that Weaving had this idealistic view of Ethan's marriage. I think he's all disillusioned to learn it's not perfect.

Now I'm remembering seeing the trailer before. It's weird that I didn't understand the plot until now. Or maybe I did understand, and forgot.

Wenham was in Moulin Rouge. This was directed by the same guy who'd later direct Wenham in Australia.

I wonder if Wenham sings in the movie.

Also in 2001, Wenham was in Dust. It's a story within a story kind of movie.

Here's the trailer, but it's not in English. What language is that? It sounds Asian to me, but I'm not sure which one. Or is that French?

Well, Lord Wiki says the film is Macedonian. Maybe that's the language they're using.

Here's some clips of the film in English.

In the movie, a man tries to rob an old woman. The tables turn on him, though, and she ends up holding him at gunpoint. As she holds the robber prisoner, she tells him a story.

It looks pretty wild.

In 2002, Wenham was in the Crocodile Hunter movie. I guess that's probably how he got to know Irwin.

Also in 2002, Wenham was in the British film Pure. Keira Knightley was in this before the pirate thing.

The movie is about a child who has to deal with the fact that his mother is a heroin addict. That's really sad.

Wenham plays a pimp and dealer.

Wenham was in two of the Lord of the Ring movies. There's three, right? I'm guessing his character died in the second?

Wenham plays Faramir. Lord Wiki says that Tolkien has admitted that this is the character that most resembles himself.

Wait. I got all confused. It's not the third movie that Faramir is missing from. It's the first one. He's in the second and third.

Here's a Faramir scene.

The IMDb trivia page says there was a scene they needed to do, and Wenham was afraid he'd accidentally stab Elijah Wood. They had to call in a swordsmen to do the scene. I think it's nice that Wenham was concerned about such things.

The trivia page also says that Wenham had never read the books when he joined the cast. I wonder if he did later. I haven't read them. I've tried, though. Maybe I should try again...someday.

In 2003, Wenham was in the miniseries After the Deluge with Hugo Weaving. I may have heard of this movie before. Yeah....I think I remember it. It's the one where the father has Alzheimer's.

Here's a scene. I like it.

Wenham starred with Sam Worthington in Gettin' Square.

Wenham won an AFI award for this.

Here's a scene. It may be funny, but I'm not laughing. I think it's because my stomach is bothering me.

In 2004, Wenham was in Van Helsing....the movie, and the video game. He played Carl. Is that the Dracula character that eats bugs?

Lord Wiki says no. Carl is a guy that helps Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman).

Here is the trailer. Wenham appears at :54.

It looks like a fun movie, although maybe one in which the special effects are better than the screenplay.

Also in 2004, Wenham was in a TV movie with Mick Molloy called Stiff. It's based on a novel by Shane Maloney, and it's part of a series about a guy who's in the Victorian government but also solves crimes. Oh...and there were two of these movies. The follow-up one was called The Brush-Off. Sam Neil directed the second one.

In 2005, Wenham was in Three Dollars. It's about a man with wife, daughter, and only three dollars to his name. That's rough.

Also in 2005, Wenham was in that movie written by Nick Cave; The Proposition. Wenham's character was Eden Fletcher. Lord Wiki says that he's the one who orders someone to give someone else 100 lashes.

Here's the trailer. Wenham is at :50.

In 2006, Wenham was in a miniseries about East Timor; Answered by Fire. He won an AFI for the movie.

His character is an Australian Federal Police Officer who comes in to help with the whole independence from Indonesia thing.

Here's a bit of the movie. The camera shaking at 1:21 is weird. Was that done on purpose?

Also in 2006, Wenham was in 300. That sounds familar. I think I've heard of it.

Lord Wiki says it's based on a comic which is based on the Battle of Thermopylae. This is when Persia invaded Greece.

Wenham plays a Spartan soldier, and he's also the narrator of the film.

The film has had some controversy regarding their depiction of Iranians. Some people think it's pretty negative. Here's a BBC article about that. I can't really make a judgment without seeing the movie and knowing the history of the event. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to all of it. Is this a case of Hollywood emphasizing negative stereotypes; or is it a case of a country wanting to downplay and hide any distressing aspects of their history?

Here's the trailer.

It kind of looks more mythological than historical.

In 2007, Wenham was in an American-Canadian movie; Married Life. It's about a man who plans to murder his wife, because he doesn't want to force her to go through the shame of divorce. Well, that's nice of him.

Here's the trailer. Pierce Bronsan is in it.

I can relate to the whole thing of not wanting to hurt someone. I'm very bad at ending relationships. But I've never killed anyone.

In 2008, Wenham was in The Children of Huang Shi. It's about people who save Chinese orphans during the Japanese occupation in 1937. Lord Wiki says that the Americans did it again. They changed the role of a Kiwi-hero into an American one.

Oh no. Wait. This is NOT America's fault. The movie is Australian. So, what's their deal?

Here's the trailer.

I don't think Wenham has a huge role in it.

Australia came out in 2008? It doesn't feel like it's two years old already. Well, I guess it does....now that I think of it.

I've seen most of the movie by now. I like it...in some ways. Wenham's character is a meanie weanie villain. I want to say he's a bit over-the-top, but I'm learning that there really are people that awful in the world.

Here's the funny thing. A few minutes ago, I said to Tim. Guess who I'm writing about today?
He asked who, and I said, that bad guy in Australia.

Tim looked at me confused, but then he got it. He told me at first he was thinking bad guy in Australia? Which bad guy in Australia? There's probably plenty of them. He was thinking of the country, not the movie.

That's what bothers me most about the movie...the title. It's too all-encompassing. It's a movie about a particular time period in Australia. I don't know. Maybe I'd like it better if it were called Darwin.

In 2009, Wenham was in an American movie with Johnny Depp; Public Enemies. It's about an American outlaw named John Dillinger.

Here's the trailer. I don't think I saw Wenham. Lord Wiki says he plays Harry Pierpont who was part of Dillinger's gang.

This website has information about the gang, if anyone is interested. I'm not too much. Well, and I'm having time constraint stresses right now.

Also in 2009, Wenham was in Die Papstin. This looks interesting. It's about a woman who dresses herself up as a man, so she can be part of the Vatican. Is it true?

Well, Lord Wiki says it's more of a legend. There's no proof that it happened. Here's the trailer. It's not in English, but there are subtitles. I wonder if the movie itself is subtitled.

Lord Wiki says it was English. I guess maybe that trailer was dubbed? I'm confused.

Here's the trailer in English.

Wenham has two upcoming movies. One is Oranges and Sunshine with Hugo Weaving. How many movies have they done together? At least three that I can think of....besides this one.

Then he's going to be in the animated movie Legend of the Guardians. You know, I've heard of this movie before. But I think they changed the name. It's the one that has Ryan Kwantan and Emilie de Ravin. Yeah, Lord Wiki says it's based on a book called Guardians of Ga'Hoole. I think the movie title used to be that...or something close to it.

They have a trailer out for it. Is that Hugo Weaving narrating?

I think that's Ryan Kwantan at around :45. Oh, this is making me totally miss him! I can' t wait until season 3 of True Blood. I don't hear Emile de Ravin. Maybe she altered her voice for the movie.

Hearing Weaving narrate that film makes me want to hear him narrate The Girl Who Swallowed Bees. So, I'm going to do that.

While I listen I'll read the IMDb trivia page about Wenham.

In 2000, an artist did a painting of Wenham, and they won the Archibald Prize. The Sydney Morning Herald has a picture of it.

Before his acting career launched, Wenham was once a Bingo caller.

One of his nicknames is Daisy. It started with his sister's calling him Daze. Then one day, someone added a Y.

Oh my goodness. I was hoping for another excuse to spend time with Craig Ferguson. So I googled Wenham and Ferguson. I couldn't find an interview, but I found this monologue that is probably going to make me cry in a few minutes. I think my new love is going to break from comedy for a few minutes, and talk seriously.

It's kind of disturbing. He's trying to be serious, and people are laughing. I mean there's some parts that are jokes, so that's fine. But in some parts, he's not. They still laugh.

What he's saying is that we should be careful of making jokes about celebrities. We need to remember that they're real people with real families.

And I think jokes belong everywhere....or almost everything. I think gallows humor is great. But I think we need to NOT forget that real people are involved....and real pain.

It's kind of like the Chamberlain Dingo story. People make jokes. I might have in the past. I guess it come from the absurdity of the situation? You mix tragedy and weirdness....and you get a weird type of humor. But still. A baby DIED. A mother and father lost their child. There's nothing worse than that.

It was probably funnier to me before I had a child of my own.

Ferguson is mostly talking about alcoholism. I really respect him for being so open and honest. He talks about his plans to commit suicide and everything. He shares his opinions and experiences, and encourages people to get help.

I don't plan on divorcing Tim. I love him. I'll just have to be a bigamist. It will be me, Tim, Anna Paquin, and Craig Ferguson. I'm sure there are others I want to add. Maybe Hugo Weaving. Oh, and Michael Emerson! I feel like I'm forgetting someone.....

I should get back to Wenham. Here's an Enough Rope interview with him.

Wenham says he's very nervous. And from what Andrew Denton is saying, it sounds like he really is. I don't know how people manage to do interviews like that. I would stutter, lose my train of thought, accidentally say something horribly offensive, etc.

Wenham says he tried doing ventriloquist stuff, and wasn't very good at it. That would be a pretty cool skill to have.

Oh! I totally love his parents. Maybe I'll marry them too. He says that despite the fact that there were no theater people in his family, his parents were so supportive of his passion. His dad would go to used bookstores and buy him theater books. I love gestures like that. I THINK I do that with Jack. I hope he agrees with me. I really TRY to support his interests.

I guess Wenham is a really good actor. Denton says that he was so intense on the set of The Boys that Toni Collette had to walk out. She couldn't take it.

Wenham says he gets into character by thinking as the character. I wonder if most actors do that. I've learned a lot about acting in the past year or so. I think the main thing I've gotten is that it's less about pretending to be someone, and more about BEING someone. You don't fake laugh. You make yourself REALLY laugh. You know, I took acting classes in high school. I don't think they ever taught as that. Or maybe I daydreamed through that lesson. I think it was all more about pretending...faking it.

I better quit. It's late. Before I do. I'm going to watch that Jerry Springer video once again. I really love it.

Read my novel: The Dead are Online