{{short description|Australian actor}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Thomas M. Wright | image = Thomas M Wright-61756.jpg | caption = Wright in 2026 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1983|6|22}} | birth_place = Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | death_date = | birth_name = Thomas Michael Wright | years_active = 1998–present | other_names = Thomas M. Wright | education = Carey Baptist Grammar School | occupation = Actor, producer, writer, director, theatre designer | spouse = }}
'''Thomas Michael Wright''' (born 22 June 1983) is an Australian actor, writer, film director and producer. He is the co-founder (2006) and director of theatre company "Black Lung" and director of the feature films ''Acute Misfortune'' (2019) and ''The Stranger'' (2022).
As an actor he came to attention in Jane Campion's series ''Top of the Lake'', for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the (US-Canadian) Critics' Choice Awards. ''The Stranger'' premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
==Early life== Wright was born on 22 June 1983 in Melbourne.<ref>{{iMDb name|0942876|Thomas M. Wright}} Retrieved 21 April 2020.</ref>
==Career== ===Theatre=== Wright created the theatre company Black Lung, also known as The Black Lung Theatre and Whaling Firm,<ref name=ausstagebl>{{cite web | title=Black Lung| website=AusStage | url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/organisation/32410 | access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref> in 2006, with fellow writer and director Thomas Henning. Their first production, Avast, was called "Insanely fast-paced, artfully arrhythmic, meta-theatrical - a breathtaking combination of precision and chaos" by Chris Kohn, writing for ''Realtime''.<ref name="RealTime Arts">{{cite web | title= The sweet breath of The Black Lung |first=Chris|last=Kohn| website=RealTime Arts | url=http://www.realtimearts.net/article/74/8185 | access-date=20 April 2020|quote=RealTime issue #74 Aug-Sept 2006 pg. 43}}</ref> Under the Black Lung banner, Wright created productions with Adelaide Festival and Darwin Festival, Belvoir, Malthouse Theatre, and Queensland Theatre Co. and Brisbane Festival.<ref name=ausstagebl/> Black Lung were hailed as one of the most influential theatre companies of the decade.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Australian|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/now-for-something-different/news-story/fdd1f8e39838afe6bccb9d26d7152d9e|title=And now for something different|others=Subscription paywall}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theblacklung.com/Webpages/Adelaide/Blacklungo/Lung10.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070721133502/http://www.theblacklung.com/Webpages/Adelaide/Blacklungo/Lung10.html|archive-date=21 July 2007|format=photo|title=[photo of three men outside Black Lung Theatre]}}</ref>
Wright was the director, co-writer and production designer of ''Doku Rai'',<ref name=asdoku>{{cite web | title=Doku Rai: You, Dead Man, I Don't Believe You| website=AusStage | date=17 September 2013 | url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/107965 | access-date=25 April 2020}}</ref> a production created over four and a half years, with a three-month rehearsal process on the remote island of Atauro Island, East Timor. ''Doku Rai'' came about after Wright formed a close relationship with Michael Stone, then Chief Military Advisor to the President of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta. Stone facilitated Wright flying in and out of the country over a number of years. ''Doku Rai'' was created with a group of independent Timorese artists, a number of them former resistance fighters. The film sequences in ''Doku Rai'' were co-directed by Wright with director Amiel Courtin-Wilson.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/from-the-wild-zone-20120810-23z2m.html|title=From the wild zone |last=Power|first=Liza|date=11 August 2012|newspaper=The Age|access-date=10 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/booksandarts/actor-director-thomas-m-wright-and-doku-rai/4964826|title=Actor and director Thomas M Wright and 'Doku Rai'|website=Radio National|date=19 September 2013|language=en-AU|access-date=10 April 2016}}</ref>
As an actor he played lead roles for the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company,<ref name=ausstagetom>{{cite web | title=Thomas Wright| website=AusStage | url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/232815 | access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref> including the title role Baal in the controversial production commissioned by Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton and directed by Simon Stone in 2011.<ref name="smhbaal">{{cite web | last=Blake | first=Jason | title=Baal | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=12 May 2011 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/baal-20110512-1ekm1.html | access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref> thumb|307x307px|Wright in 2018
===Television and film=== Wright came to attention of the world as an actor in the Disney Channel Original Movies, ''Stepsister From Planet Weird'' and ''Zenon: The Zequel'' in the early 2000s, and later in the Sundance / BBC TV series ''Top of the Lake'' in 2013, for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the US Critics' Choice Awards.<ref name=smh2013>{{cite web | title=Big Bang Theory unbeatable as Aussies sink at TV Critics' awards | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=12 June 2013 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/big-bang-theory-unbeatable-as-aussies-sink-at-tv-critics-awards-20130612-2o32f.html | access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=variety2013>{{cite web | title=Critics' Choice TV Awards Announced – Variety | website=Variety | date=22 May 2013 | url=https://variety.com/2013/tv/awards/bcta-1200486013/ | access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref> Regarding his casting as Johnno Mitcham in the series, director Jane Campion compared him to a young Daniel Day-Lewis.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/actor-tom-wright-is-at-the-top-of-his-game-with-jane-campion-television-project/news-story/0e3d8f493da8ec1c09ced262b758f396|work=The Australian|title=Actor Tom Wright is at the top of his game with Jane Campion television project}}</ref>
He appeared as cult-figure Steven Linder in the 2013 US adaptation of ''The Bridge''. Executive Producer Elwood Reid said of Wright’s audition for the series: "...it was the best audition I have ever seen. He walked in and the temperature of the room changed".<ref>{{cite web | author=The West Australian | title=Aussie actor Wright repulses US producer | website=The West Australian | date=2 July 2013 | url=https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/tv/aussie-actor-wright-repulses-us-producer-ng-ya-273341 | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref>
In 2015, Wright played the guide Mike Groom in the feature film ''Everest'', based on the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which eight climbers were killed and several others were stranded by a storm.<ref name=hollyeverest>{{cite web | title=Everest Movie vs. True Story of 1996 Mount Everest Disaster | website=HistoryvsHollywood.com | url=https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/everest/ | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> He also played the murdered journalist Brian Peters in ''Balibo'' (2009), and Thomas Bodenham in Van Diemen's Land.<ref>{{cite web | title=Review: Van Diemen's Land |first=Alison|last=Croggan|date=3 March 2009| website=theatre notes | url=http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com/2009/03/review-van-diemans-land.html | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref>
Wright featured in the film ''The Man With The Iron Heart'' (2016), an adaptation of Laurent Binet's Prix Goncourt-winning novel, ''HHhH'', with Jack O'Connell, Rosamund Pike, Stephen Graham and Jason Clarke.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Man with the Iron Heart (HHhH) | website=Cineuropa | date=3 April 2020 | url=https://cineuropa.org/en/film/330810/ | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> He also filmed the Sony / WGN America Series ''Outsiders'' in the lead role of Sheriff Wade Houghton for producers Peter Tolan and Paul Giamatti. His performance was cited as the standout of the series by ''Hollywood Reporter''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/reviews/outsiders-review-wgn-america-david-morse-1201677147/|title=TV Review: 'Outsiders'|last=Lowry|first=Brian|website=Variety|date=22 January 2016|language=en-US|access-date=10 April 2016}}</ref> and ''Variety''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/outsiders-tv-review-859145|title='Outsiders': TV Review|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=26 January 2016|access-date=10 April 2016}}</ref>
In 2017 Wright was the subject of an Archibald Prize finalist portrait by Marcus Wills, ''Antagonist, Protagonist (Thomas M. Wright''), with a scene set up to look like a crime drama, with Wright as protagonist.<ref name=arch2017>{{cite web | title=Archibald Prize Archibald 2017 finalist: Protagonist, antagonist (Thomas M Wright) by Marcus Wills | website=Art Gallery of New South Wales | url=https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/2017/29858/ | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref>
In 2018 he featured in Warwick Thornton's ''Sweet Country'', which received the Venice Film Festival's Special Jury Prize, the AACTA Award for Best Film and the Toronto Film Festival's Platform Prize.<ref name="Maddox 2018">{{cite web | last=Maddox | first=Garry | title=Sweet Country dominates AACTA Awards, with a surprise best actor win | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=5 December 2018 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/sweet-country-dominates-aacta-awards-with-a-surprise-best-actor-win-20181204-p50k25.html | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref>
He co-wrote, directed and produced the feature film ''Acute Misfortune'', released in 2019, based on Sydney journalist Erik Jensen's award-winning biography of Australian artist Adam Cullen, ''Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen''. The film received ''The Age'' Critics' Prize at Melbourne International Film Festival, where it premiered. It received a five star review in ''The Guardian'',<ref name=guardamrev>{{cite web | last=Buckmaster | first=Luke | title=Acute Misfortune first-look review – Adam Cullen biopic is an enthralling, complex triumph | website=The Guardian | date=3 August 2018 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/04/acute-misfortune-first-look-review-adam-cullen-biopic-is-an-enthralling-complex-triumph | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> and was named one of ''The Guardian'''s "10 Best Australian Films of the decade 2010-2020"<ref name=guardambestdec>{{cite web | last=Buckmaster | first=Luke | title=From Animal Kingdom to The Babadook: the best Australian films of the decade | website=The Guardian | date=10 December 2019 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/dec/10/from-animal-kingdom-to-the-babadook-the-best-australian-films-of-the-decade | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> and the best Australian film of 2019.<ref name=guardambest19>{{cite web | last=Buckmaster | first=Luke | title=From The Final Quarter to Judy & Punch: the best Australian films of 2019 | website=The Guardian | date=16 December 2019 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/dec/16/from-the-final-quarter-to-judy-punch-the-best-australian-films-of-2019 | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> It was given a "Notable mention" (along with ''Sweet Country'') in ''The Monthly'' Awards 2018,<ref>{{cite web|website=The Monthly|url=https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2018/october/1538316000/monthly-awards-2018/2018|title=The Monthly Awards 2018: Film: 'Terror Nullius' by Soda–Jerk |first=Alexie |last=Glass-Kantor|date=October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413124802/https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2018/october/1538316000/monthly-awards-2018/2018#8|archive-date=13 April 2019}}</ref> and ''Screen Daily'' called it an "Overlooked gem" in their list of the year's best films.<ref ">{{cite web | last=Ward | first=Sarah | title=Films of the year 2018: Sarah Ward | website=Screen | date=20 December 2018 | url=https://www.screendaily.com/features/films-of-the-year-2018-sarah-ward/5135405.article | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=acutehome>{{cite web | title=Home | website=Acute Misfortune | url=https://www.acutemisfortune.com/ | access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=screenausam>{{cite web | title=Acute Misfortune (2019) - The Screen Guide | website=Screen Australia | url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/acute-misfortune-2019/35424/ | access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=smham>{{cite web | last=Morris | first=Linda | title=Erik Jensen's biography of flawed artist Adam Cullen wins Sydney literary award | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=25 November 2015 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/erik-jensens-biography-of-flawed-artist-adam-cullen-wins-sydney-literary-award-20151124-gl66v0.html | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://miff.com.au/program/film/acute-misfortune|title=Acute Misfortune|website=MIFF|language=en-AU|access-date=24 August 2018}}</ref> The film was nominated for the 2019 AACTA Award for Best Independent Film.<ref name=aactaam>{{cite web | title=Winners & Nominees | website=AACTA | url=https://www.aacta.org/aacta-awards/winners-and-nominees/ | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> The score, by Evelyn Ida Morris, was nominated for best soundtrack at the 2018 ARIA Music Awards.<ref name=sound>{{cite web | title=Aria Awards | website=ARIA Awards | date=28 November 2019 | url=https://www.ariaawards.com.au/news/2018/2018-aria-award-nominees-announced | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> ''The Hollywood Reporter'' called ''Acute Misfortune'' "one of the year's most striking and accomplished directorial debuts".<ref name=hollyam>{{cite web | title='Acute Misfortune': Film Review - Melbourne 2018 | website=The Hollywood Reporter | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/acute-misfortune-1135575|first=Neil|last=Young|date=17 August 2018 | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> Wright is nominated in the Best Director (Feature Film) category for the 2020 Australian Director's Guild Awards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adg.org.au/news/adg-awards-2020|title = ADG - Australian Directors' Guild ADG AWARDS 2020}}</ref>
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, it was announced that a new film, ''The Stranger'', would begin filming in South Australia as soon as enough of the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Written and directed by Wright, it was produced by and starred Joel Edgerton. Sean Harris played the second lead role. The film was originally announced at Berlin’s European Film Market in February, and was made by Anonymous Content and See-Saw Films, with support from Screen Australia and the South Australian Film Corporation.<ref>{{cite web | title=Joel Edgerton Thriller 'The Unknown Man' To Shoot In South Australia | website=Glam Adelaide | date=20 April 2020 | url=https://glamadelaide.com.au/joel-edgerton-thriller-the-unknown-man-to-shoot-in-south-australia/ | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Crime thriller The Unknown Man to be filmed in SA | website=InDaily | date=20 April 2020 | url=https://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/film/2020/04/20/crime-thriller-the-unknown-man-to-be-filmed-in-sa/ | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Work in the Screen Industry | website=SAFC | date=19 April 2020 | url=https://www.safilm.com.au/work-in-the-screen-industry/ | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Frater | first=Patrick | title=Joel Edgerton's 'The Unknown Man' Heads for South Australia Shoot | website=Variety | date=20 April 2020 | url=https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/joel-edgerton-unknown-man-south-australia-film-shoot-1234584548/ | access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> The script was shortlisted for the Betty Ronald Prize for Scriptwriting at the 2023 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 February 2023 |title=The Stranger |url=https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/awards/betty-roland-prize-scriptwriting/2023-shortlisted-stranger |access-date=1 March 2023 |website=State Library of NSW}}</ref> ''The Stranger'' screened at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/04/the-cannes-2022-lineup-highlights-movie-stars-auteurs-and-some-kind-of-body-horror|title=The Cannes 2022 Lineup Highlights: Movie Stars, Auteurs, and Some Kind of Body Horror|magazine=Vanity Fair|first=Richard|last=Lawson|date=14 April 2022|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref>
==Filmography==
===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role |- |2000 || ''Stepsister from Planet Weird'' || Cutter Colburne |- | 2001 || ''Zenon: The Zequel'' || Orion |- | 2007 || ''The King'' || Alfie |- | 2009 || ''Van Diemen's Land'' || Thomas Bodenham |- | 2009 || ''Balibo'' || Brian Peters |- | 2010 || ''Torn'' || Tim Strauss |- | 2015 || ''Everest'' || Michael Groom |- | 2016 || ''The Man with the Iron Heart'' || Josef Valcik |- | 2017 || ''Sweet Country'' || Mick Kennedy |- | 2024 || ''Sleeping Dogs'' || Wayne Devereaux |- |2026 |''Wolfram'' |Mick Kennedy |}
====As director==== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role |- | 2019 || ''Acute Misfortune'' || Director |- | 2021 || ''The Stranger'' || Director |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role |- | 2013 || ''Top of the Lake'' || Johnno Mitcham |- | 2013–2014 || ''The Bridge'' || Steven Linder |- | 2016–2017 || ''Outsiders'' || Deputy Sheriff Wade Houghton jr. |- | 2020 || ''Barkskins'' || Elisha Cooke |}
===Stage=== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2004 || ''51 Ashworth St.'' || The Boy || Co-writer, co-director, designer |- | 2005 || ''Hamlet'' || Laertes || Beggars Theatre |- | 2007 || ''The Glass Soldier'' || Jonas Fink || Melbourne Theatre Company |- | 2007 || ''Pimms'' || Dying Man || Writer, co-director<br />Black Lung Theatre |- | 2008 || ''Love Song'' || Beane || Melbourne Theatre Company |- | 2008 || ''Avast I'' || The Older Brother || Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne |- | 2008 || ''Avast II'' || Jack Lemmon || Co-director, designer<br />Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne |- | 2009 || ''Glasson'' || God || Black Lung Theatre |- | 2010 || ''Furious Mattress'' || The Exorcist || Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne |- | 2011 || ''Baal'' || Baal || Sydney Theatre Company |- | 2011 || ''And They Called Him Mr. Glamour'' || || Director, designer<br />Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney |- | 2011 || ''I Feel Awful'' || || Writer, director, designer<br />Brisbane Festival |- | 2013 || ''Doku Rai'' || || Co-writer, director, designer<br />Black Lung Theatre |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite web | author=Austlit | title=Tom Wright | website=AustLit: Discover Australian Stories | date=25 June 2018 | url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A74586 }} (Login via state library to access extended records)
==External links== * {{iMDb name|0942876|Thomas M. Wright}}
{{EquityAward TVMiniSeriesTeleMovieCast 2010–2019}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Thomas M.}} Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:People educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School Category:Australian male television actors Category:Australian male film actors Category:Australian male child actors Category:Male actors from Melbourne Category:21st-century Australian male actors