Andrew Clarke (born 1954) is an Australian actor most known for his television work. Andrew Clarke was one of the most popular Australian actors in the 1980s and 1990s. He is also a two-time Logie winner.
Early life
Clarke is a graduate of Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), where he studied acting. He also has a Bachelor of Education in Drama, which he studied at Adelaide's Flinders University.
Career
Andrew Clarke began his career in theatre. His stage credits include Macbeth, The Winter's Tale, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Cherry Orchard, Long Day's Journey into Night, The Glass Menagerie, The Devil's Advocate, Waiting for Godot and Under Milk Wood.
He also performed in The Land of Smiles for the State Opera Company of South Australia and the musicals Norman Lindsay and his Push in Bohemia, Paint Your Wagon, Oliver! and Errol Flynn's Great Big Adventure Book for Boys.
He played the lead role of Bill Wellesley in 1988 American TV film Outback Bound, opposite Donna Mills.
In 1992, Clarke starred in The Adventures of Skippy as the adult version of Sonny Hammond (the twelve year old boy in the original 1960s series), It was devised as a sequel to the original series, but was short-lived and ran for one season with 39 episodes.
Clarke then secured a high-profile role as patriarch Matt McGregor in the series Banjo Paterson's The Man From Snowy River (Snowy River: The McGregor Saga) whom he played for four seasons, from 1993 to 1996. He starred alongside Wendy Hughes and Guy Pearce. After the series finished, Clarke was out of work for a couple of years before landing the regular role of Sergeant Colin Decker in Network 10 legal series State Coroner, reuniting once again with his Snowy River co-star, Hughes.
He portrayed Laurence Olivier in Blonde, a fictional biographical 2001 TV movie about Marilyn Monroe. From 2001 to 2003, he played the regular role of Derek Unn on drama comedy series Always Greener. In late 2005 he completed a four month stint on long-running soap opera Neighbours, playing Alex Kinski. He also had a role in SeaChange, and starred as Gary Preston in "A Murder of Crows" – a 1999 episode of Halifax f.p..
Clarke portrayed Horatio Wills, father of cricketer and Australian rules football pioneer Tom Wills, in a documentary about the latter's life.
Clarke played football at a high level, is a keen tennis player and long distance runner.
Filmography
Television
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Type
|-
| rowspan=3|1981
| Cop Shop
| Max Saunders / Mervyn Young
| 12 episodes
|-
| The Sullivans
| Detective King
| 4 episodes
|-
| The Homicide Squad
| Detective Ambrose Alexander
| TV movie
|-
| rowspan=3|1982
| Prisoner
| Geoff Maynard
| 5 episodes
|-
| Sara Dane
| Arrogant Officer
| Miniseries, 1 episode
|-
| Taurus Rising
| Mike Brent
|
|-
| 1983
| A Country Practice
| Des Ward
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1983–1984
| Sons and Daughters
| Terry Hansen
| 99 episodes
|-
| rowspan=2|1985
| Anzacs
| Martin Barrington
| Miniseries, 5 episodes
|-
| A Thousand Skies
| Charles Ulm
| Miniseries, 3 episodes
|-
| rowspan=2|1986
| The Fast Lane
| Bill
| 1 episode
|-
| Sword of Honour
| Tony Lawrence
| Miniseries, 4 episodes
|-
| rowspan=2|1987
| The Saint in Manhattan
| Simon Templar
| TV pilot
|-
| The Last of the Mohicans
| Voice
| Animated TV movie
|-
| 1988
| Outback Bound
| Bill Wellesley
| TV movie
|-
| rowspan=2|1989
| Rafferty's Rules
| Peter Rudd
| 1 episode
|-
| E Street
| Dr Ben Stewart
| 1 episode
|-
| 1989, 1990
| Mission: Impossible
| Carter / Captain O'Neill
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1990
| Flair
| Philip Harmon
| Miniseries, 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan=2|1991
| The Private War of Lucinda Smith
| Lieutenant Andrews
| Miniseries
|-
| For the Love of Mike
| Geoffrey Masters
| 1 episode
|-
| 1991–1992
| The Girl from Tomorrow
| Mr James Rooney
| Miniseries, 24 episodes
|-
| 1992
| The Adventures of Skippy
| Sonny Hammond
| 39 episodes
|-
| 1994–1996
| Banjo Paterson's The Man From Snowy River (aka Snowy River: The McGregor Saga)
| Matt McGregor
| 4 seasons, 65 episodes
|-
| 1995
| Frontline
| Ed Forbes, the Executive Producer
| 1 episode
|-
| 1998
| State Coroner
| Colin Docker
| 14 episodes
|-
| 1999
| Halifax f.p.
| Gary Preston
| 1 episode
|-
| 2000
| SeaChange
| Dave Drury
| 1 episode
|-
| rowspan=2|2001
| Crash Zone
| Keenan Reid
| 1 episode
|-
| Blonde
| Laurence Olivier
| Miniseries
|-
| 2001–2003
| Always Greener
| Derek Unn
| 38 episodes
|-
| 2002
| Blue Heelers
| Digby Riggs
| 1 episode
|-
| 2004
| Fergus McPhail
| Ben Cameron
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2005
| Neighbours
| Alex Kinski
| 11 episodes
|-
| rowspan=2|2011
| Killing Time
| Geoff Flatman
| 1 episode
|-
| Wild Boys
| Trooper 2
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2014
| The Doctor Blake Mysteries
| Brendan Ross
| 1 episode
|-
| 2015
| Glitch
| Don Sharp
| 1 episode
|-
| 2016
| Tom Wills
| Horatio Wills
| TV movie
|}
Film
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Type
|-
| 1987
| Les Patterson Saves the World
| Neville Thonge
| Feature film
|-
| 2000
| Her Iliad
| Frank
| Short film
|-
| 2001
| Dalkeith
| Judge Proctor
| Feature film
|-
| 2012
| 6 Plots
| Gary Hart
| Feature film
|}
Theatre
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| || Paint Your Wagon || ||
|-
| 1985 || The Coronation of Poppea || Nero || Anthill Theatre, Melbourne
|-
| 1991 || Arsenic and Old Lace || || Sydney Opera House, Laycock St Theatre, Gosford with Peter and Ellen Williams
|}
Awards
{|class=wikitable
! Year
! Work
! Award
! Category
! Result
|-
| 1986 || Anzacs || Logie Awards || Most Popular Actor in a Miniseries ||
|}