{{Short description|Australian actor and musician (1958–2018)}} {{use dmy dates|date=April 2015}} {{Infobox person | name = Tom E. Lewis | image = | caption = | birth_name = Balang Lewis | birth_date = {{birth date|1958|8|25|df=y}} | birth_place = Ngukurr, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia | death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|5|10|1958||df=yes}} | death_place = Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia | othername = | occupation = Actor, musician, artistic director, arts and culture philanthropist | years_active = | spouse = | domesticpartner = | relatives = | website = }} '''Tom E. Lewis''' (25 August 1958 – 10 May 2018), also known by his traditional name '''Balang Lewis''', and sometimes credited as '''Tommy Lewis''' was an Aboriginal Australian actor, musician, and artistic director. His first major role was the title role in the 1978 Fred Schepisi film ''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'', and in 2006 he was the recipient of a Red Ochre Award from the Australia Council for the Arts. He released two albums: ''Sunshine After Rain'' (2005) and ''Beneath the Sun'' (2013), and was the founding director of Djilpin Arts in Beswick, Northern Territory.
==Early life== Balang Lewis, also known as Balang T.E. Lewis<ref name=npg>{{cite web | title=Balang T E Lewis, b. 1958 | website=National Portrait Gallery people | date=2021 | url=https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/balang-t-e-lewis-1958-69673 | access-date=11 March 2025| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207081143/https://portrait.gov.au/people/balang-t-e-lewis-1958-69673| archive-date= 7 Dec 2024| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=djilpin/> or Tom E. Lewis, was born on 25 August 1958 on the banks of the Roper River in Ngukurr, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.<ref name=djilpin>{{cite web | title=About | website=Djilpin Arts | url=https://www.djilpinarts.org.au/djilpinarts | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref><ref name=abc>{{cite web | title=Tom E Lewis | website=ABC listen | date=5 July 2017 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/spiritofthings/tom-e.-lewis/8680402 | access-date=11 March 2025}}</ref> His father was a Welsh stockman called Hurtle Lewis,<ref name=djilpin/> who managed the cattle station his mother worked at.<ref name=Guard>{{cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/culture/australia-culture-blog/2014/sep/16/tom-e-lewis-an-aboriginal-lear-on-walking-the-blackwhite-divide |title= Tom E Lewis: an Aboriginal Lear on walking the black/white divide |publisher= The Guardian |date= 16 September 2014}}</ref> His mother, artist Angelina George, was of the Murrungun, Wandarrang, and Mara peoples.<ref name=djilpin/> After Lewis' mother fell pregnant, his father left, and his mother fled to a mission to give birth and raise Lewis for the first seven years of his life.<ref name=Guard/> He was brought up in traditional culture in Arnhem Land.<ref name=Barlang/>
When his mother remarried, the three of them relocated to a cattle station and his mother had four other children. At the age of 12, Lewis met his birth father for the first time in Borroloola. That same year, his stepfather died , and Lewis was forced to leave school, in order to support the family.<ref name=Guard/> He worked as a bricklayer and stockman,<ref name=Barlang/> and then went to Belyuen in Darwin to work as an assistant motor mechanic.<ref name=npg/><ref name=Guard/> At the age of 17, with his boss's encouragement, Lewis applied to study motor mechanics at Melbourne’s Swinburne College, but his skills proved too advanced for the course.<ref name=Guard/>
Lewis was eventually talent-spotted at Melbourne Airport by Fred and Rhonda Schepisi, and was subsequently cast in the 1978 film ''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith''.<ref name=Guard/>
== Career == ===Theatre === On 3 May 1985, Lewis appeared alongside Ernie Dingo, Richard Walley, Justine Saunders, and others in ''Bullie's House'' at Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut, United States.<ref>{{cite web | title=Bullie's House | website=AusStage| url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/128070 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>
From around 1989,<ref name=ausstage/> he spent many years working in the Melbourne theatre scene, having worked with Playbox (later Malthouse), Melbourne Theatre Company, Melbourne Workers Theatre, and Handspan Theatres.<ref name=redochre2006/>
In 1997, Lewis acted in ''Up the Ladder'', written by Roger Bennett and directed by Wesley Enoch, which toured Victoria and New South Wales.<ref>{{cite web | title=Up the Ladders | website=AusStage| url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/11613 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref><ref name=ausstage/>
With Handspan, he devised the internationally successful ''Lift 'Em Up Socks'', a semi-autobiographical multi-media work that premiered in April 2000.<ref name=redochre2006/><ref name=ausstage/><ref name=socks>{{cite web | title=Lift 'Em Up Socks | website=AusStage | url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/126079 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> He performed on stage with a marionette operated by Rod Primrose.<ref name=handspan>{{cite web | title=Lift 'Em Up Socks | website=Handspan Theatre | date=5 April 2000 | url=http://handspantheatre.com.au/info/Lift+%27Em+Up+Socks | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>
In May 2006, he played ''Othello'' at the Amphitheatre of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, in the Darwin Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's classic directed by John du Feu.<ref>{{cite web | title=Othello | website=AusStage | url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/69168 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>
In 2012, he starred alongside Helen Morse in Tim Winton's ''Signs of Life'', a Black Swan Theatre / Sydney Theatre Company co-production,<ref>{{cite web | title=Signs of Life | website=AusStage| url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/105410 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> which toured Western Australia before a final performance in the Sydney Opera House.<ref name=ausstage/>
{{anchor|sk}}<!---The Shadow King (play) redirects to this anchor--->In 2013, Lewis co-created, with Michael Kantor for Malthouse Theatre, a play titled ''The Shadow King'',<ref name=sk1>{{cite web | title=The Shadow King [Melbourne Festival 2013] | website=AusStage | url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/105428 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref><ref name=sk2>{{cite web | title=The Shadow King [Sydney Festival 2014]| website=AusStage | url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/108414 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> described as "an Indigenous version of ''King Lear''".<ref>{{cite web|title=Campfire king Tom E. Lewis delivers an indigenous version of King Lear|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/campfire-king-tom-e-lewis-delivers-an-indigenous-version-of-king-lear/story-fn9n8gph-1226732156987?nk=05eb4751277e0c835e50b25cabc14943|website=The Australian|accessdate=30 November 2014}}</ref><ref name=abc/> The play premiered at the Melbourne Festival in October 2013,<ref name=sk1/> before touring around the country, playing at Carriageworks for the Sydney Festival,<ref name=sk2/> Her Majesty's Theatre for the Adelaide Festival,<ref>{{cite web | title=The Shadow King [Adelaide Festival 2014] | website=AusStage | url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/106907 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> and also in Perth, Katherine, Brisbane, and Darwin, all in 2014.<ref name=ausstage>{{cite web | title=Tom E Lewis | website=AusStage | url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/3608 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> In June 2016, the Malthouse Theatre production, directed by Kantor and with most of the original cast, was performed in the Barbican Theatre in London.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Shadow King [Barbican Theatre] | website=AusStage | url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/155043 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Review: The Shadow King at the Barbican | website=Exeunt Magazine | date=24 June 2016 | url=https://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/review-shadow-king-barbican/ | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Gardner | first=Lyn | title=The Shadow King review – Lear gambols to his fate in the desert | website=The Guardian | date=26 June 2016 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/jun/26/the-shadow-king-review-lear-gambols-to-his-fate-in-the-desert | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Loxton | first=Howard | title=Theatre review: The Shadow King from Malthouse Theatre at Barbican Theatre | website=British Theatre Guide | date=23 June 2016 | url=https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/the-shadow-king-barbican-theatr-12995 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>
===Film=== The lead role in the Fred Schepisi's 1978 film ''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'' was Lewis' first film role,<ref name=abc/> after he had been spotted by casting director Rhonda Schepisi, wife of the director.<ref name=abcdeath/>
In 2007 he co-directed, with Julia Morris, a music video, ''Warrk Warrk'' (''Black Crow''), and in 2008 directed a short film, ''One River, All Rivers''. Both were screened at the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival in Toronto, Canada.<ref name=imagine>{{cite web | title=The 9th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival Ends Another Successful Year and Hands Out A Host of Awards | website=NationTalk | date=11 March 2025 | url=https://nationtalk.ca/story/the-9th-annual-imaginenative-film-media-arts-festival-ends-another-successful-year-and-hands-out-a-host-of-awards | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>
He co-wrote (with his wife Fleur Parry) a 25-minute documentary film, ''Yellow Fella'', about his experience of coming from a mixed race heritage,<ref>{{cite web |title=Yellow fella |url=http://link.dppl.org/portal/Yellow-fella/x45AePLzink/ |website=Des Plaines Public Library |format= library catalogue entry|access-date=20 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725134938/https://link.dppl.org/portal/Yellow-fella/x45AePLzink/| archive-date= 25 July 2023}}</ref><ref >{{cite web | title=YELLOW FELLA [from the CAAMA Collection] | website=Ronin Films | url=https://www.roninfilms.com.au/feature/2299/yellow-fella-from-caama-collection.html | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> for which he was awarded the 2005 Bob Maza Fellowship by the Australian Film Commission.<ref name=bmf>{{cite web | title=Bob Maza Fellowship | website=AustLit | url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v1692 | access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref> Directed by Ivan Sen, it was selected to screen at the Cannes Film Festival, the first Australian Indigenous documentary ever chosen for Official Selection.<ref>{{cite web |title=Loved Up – Yellow Fella |url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/yellow-fella/notes/ |website=Australian Screen |access-date=20 December 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
He had roles in ''We of the Never Never'' (1982), ''The Proposition'' (2005), and ''Crocodile Dreaming'' (2006),<ref name=redochre2006/> and played one of the leading roles in the psychological thriller ''Red Hill'' (2010).<ref>{{cite web | last=Miska | first=Brad | title=A Sales Explosion for Arclight's Revenge Thriller ‘Red Hill’ | website=Bloody Disgusting! | date=18 February 2010 | url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/19167/ | access-date=11 March 2025}}</ref> He was also in Goldstone, directed by Ivan Sen (2016).<ref name=abc/> One of his last major acting roles was in Boori Monty Pryor's 2018 four-part comedy drama miniseries ''Wrong Kind of Black''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Zeims|first=Mitch|date=July 23, 2018|title=Review: Aboriginal Storyteller Boori Monty Pryor on Being the Wrong Kind of Black|work=The 8 Percent|url=https://the8percent.com/the-wrong-kind-of-black/}}</ref> <!---uncited---Lewis considered his artistic creations to be "medicine and good stories for people – like a Corroboree ground but in the modern world". He worked on ''Dust Echoes'', an Indigenous animated website of Dreamtime stories produced by the ABC. ''Dust Echoes'' is important he said, "to preserve our culture by using the whitefella technology to embrace our stories. You see the 'propaganda' is bigger than our stories in the dust and so we now are raising those stories from the dust and share it, so people can more understand our culture and bring them to our fireplace." ---quotes need to be cited--->
In 2014 the hour-long documentary film about the life of didgeridoo player David Blanasi, ''Kundirri: The Life and Legacy of David Blanasi'' was released by Djilpin Arts.<ref>{{cite journal| url=https://anka.org.au/assets/Archive/Arts-Backbone/Backbone-Vol-14-Issue-1-Aug-2014.pdf| title= Djilpin Arts, The Company of People| first= Fleur| last=Parry| p=3| journal= ANKAAA Arts Backbone| publisher= ANKAAA| volume =14| issue =1| date= August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Kundirri The Life and Legacy of David Blanasi | website=AustLit | date=15 October 2014 | url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/7937665 | access-date=16 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rmkcrew.com.au/media/Julia_Morris_RMK_CV_feb2018.pdf| title=Julia Morris| publisher=RMK Crew| access-date=16 March 2025}}</ref> The film was co-written by Lewis and his wife Fleur Parry, co-directed by Lewis and Julia Morris, and co-produced by Parry and Morris.<ref>{{cite web | title=Kundirri The Life and Legacy of David Blanasi | website= Documentary Australia Foundation (archived) | via= Trove | date=21 March 2012 | url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20120320195935/http://www.documentaryaustralia.com.au/index.php/films/details/1513/kundirri-the-life-and-legacy-of-david-blanasi | access-date=16 March 2025}}</ref>
''Finding Maawirrangga'' (2017) is a documentary short written by Lewis and co-directed by Dylan River Glynn McDonald. It was produced by Julia Morris, and executive produced by Fleur Parry, and screened at the 2017 Sydney Film Festival<ref>{{cite web | title=Finding Maawirrangga (2017) | website=Screen Australia | url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/finding-maawirrangga-2017/34963/ | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> and 2018 Flickerfest.<ref>{{cite web | title=Finding Maawirrangga | website=Flickerfest | date=12 March 2025 | url=https://flickerfest.com.au/film/finding-maawirrangga/ | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> After his death in May 2018, it screened at the inaugural Northern Territory Travelling Film Festival in June of that year. The film tells of Lewis' return to his grandmother's country to learn his songlines, and in it he also relates how he contravened some cultural norms on stage.<ref name=sebag2018/>
His final movie role was in the documentary-drama ''The Skin of Others'' directed by Tom Murray, released posthumously in 2020 after Lewis had died during the making of the film. He played the lead role of Indigenous WW1 hero Douglas Grant, while also commenting on the state of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations from his own personal perspective. A reviewer in ''The Guardian'' wrote: "...one leaves the film with a powerful impression of Lewis as an artist and an intellect; as a person fascinated by stories and compelled towards the process of artistic creation".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Buckmaster |first=Luke |date=10 June 2020 |title=The Skin of Others review – Balang Tom E Lewis's final film is a fascinating look at the life of Douglas Grant |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jun/10/the-skin-of-others-review-balang-tom-e-lewiss-final-film-is-a-fascinating-look-at-the-life-of-douglas-grant |access-date=22 July 2022}}</ref>
===Music === Lewis played the didgeridu, flute, clarinet, and guitar.<ref name=abc2>{{cite web | title=Music from Tom E Lewis (not in podcast) | website=ABC Radio National | date=5 June 2011 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/radionational/archived/bushtelegraph/music-from-tom-e-lewis-not-in-podcast/2914006 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref><ref name=bmg2018>{{cite web | last=Roberts | first=Greg | title=Actor Tom E Lewis dies aged 59 | website=Blue Mountains Gazette | date=11 May 2018 | url=https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/5395513/actor-tom-e-lewis-dies-aged-59/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511102031/https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/5395513/actor-tom-e-lewis-dies-aged-59/ | archive-date=11 May 2018 | url-status=live | access-date=12 March 2025| url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=move>{{cite web | title=Tom E. Lewis | website=Move Records | url=http://www.move.com.au/artist/tom-e-lewis | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> In the 1990s he toured in acclaimed jazz duo, Lewis & Young, through Europe, Asia, and Australia.<ref name=bmg2018/><ref name=move/> He has played with Jane Rutter, Eve Duncan, Uli Klein, and composer George Dreyfus.<ref name=abc2/>
In 2005, he released the album ''Sunshine After Rain'' through label Skinnyfish Music.<ref>{{cite web | title=Tom E. Lewis – Sunshine After Rain – CD (), 2005 [r15789692] | website=Discogs | date=19 March 2023 | url=https://www.discogs.com/release/15789692-Tom-E-Lewis-Sunshine-After-Rain | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> In 2013, he released ''Beneath the Sun'', also through the Skinnyfish label.<ref>{{cite web | title=Tom E. Lewis – Beneath The Sun – CD (Album), 2013 [r6746415] | website=Discogs | date=27 January 2022 | url=https://www.discogs.com/release/6746415-Tom-E-Lewis-Beneath-The-Sun | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>
He plays didgeridu on the albums ''Recorded Messages: Violin '' (2000), played by violinist Eve Duncan,<ref>{{cite web | title=Recorded Messages: Violin | website=Move Records | url=http://www.move.com.au/disc/eve-duncan-recorded-messages-violin | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> and ''Ambient Voice'' (2001), with vocals by Dean Frenkel.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ambient Voice | website=Move Records | url=http://www.move.com.au/disc/dean-frenkel-ambient-voice | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>
==Other activities== Lewis participated in the promotion of Melbourne's bid for the 1996 Olympic Games.<ref name=bmg2018/> In 2000 he ran with the Olympic torch in Melbourne.<ref name=handspan/>
==Personal life== Lewis was married to Fleur Parry,<ref name=sebag2018>{{cite web | last=Sebag-Montefiore | first=Clarissa | title=The inflatable screen taking Indigenous film back to the Top End | website=The Guardian | date=9 June 2018 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/09/an-inflatable-screen-and-8000km-the-film-festival | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> a theatre manager.<ref name=bmg2018/> They first met in the mid-1990s when both were involved in the Melbourne Fringe Festival. In 2000, when Parry was managing Handspan Theatre, Lewis walked in with an idea for a show. Before long, Parry was running the production, which toured Australia. A couple of years later, they became romantically involved.<ref name=Age>{{cite web|url= https://www.theage.com.au/national/their-arnhem-home-20040823-gdyhtb.html |title= Their Arnhem home |publisher= The Age |date= 22 August 2004}}</ref> They were married and had a daughter together. Lewis also had other children.<ref name=bmg2018/>
In a 2007 interview, Lewis said that Northern Territory senator Bob Collins, who died a few days before he was due to face court on child sex abuse, had abused him as a child.<ref name=bmg2018/> He went through a period of alcohol abuse and estrangement from his family and community.<ref name=socks/>
==Later life, death and legacy== Lewis, helped by his wife,<ref name=bmg2018/> reclaimed his life and cultural traditions,<ref name=socks/> moving to Wugularr (Beswick) in South Arnhem Land, in 2001.<ref name=djilpinhome/>
Together with his wife, Lewis founded a cultural foundation, the Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation,<ref name=djilpinhome>{{cite web |title=Djilpin Arts – Indigenous Culture and Community Life |url=https://djilpinarts.org.au/ |website=Djilpin Arts |access-date=20 December 2021 |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref name=sebag2018/> which hosts the Walking with Spirits festival at Beswick Falls each year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Walking with Spirits |url=https://www.indigenous.gov.au/news-and-media/event/walking-spirits |website=Indigenous Government |access-date=20 December 2021}}</ref><ref name=bmg2018/><ref>{{cite web | last=Nally | first=Alicia | title=Songstress Emily Wurramara reflects on some of her key influences | website=cairnspost | date=3 July 2017 | url=https://www.cairnspost.com.au/entertainment/songstress-emily-wurramara-reflects-on-some-of-her-key-influences/news-story/3815e262023ec3e9caf320100159fb0f | access-date=15 March 2025| quote=My career highlight thus far would be ... having the opportunity to jump on stage with Coloured Stone at the Walking with Spirits festival at Beswick Falls in the Northen{{sic}} Territory.}}</ref> Journalist Jeff McMullen, who was a long-time friend of Lewis,<ref name=abcdeath>{{cite web | last=Thompson | first=Jesse | title=Actor, musician and cultural leader Balang TE Lewis farewelled in Beswick ceremony | website=ABC News | date=29 May 2018 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-29/balang-lewis-star-of-jimmie-blacksmith-farewelled-in-beswick/9811018 | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> was patron of the Walking with Spirits festival.<ref>{{cite web | title=Jeff McMullen advocacy | website=jeffmcmullen | date=1 January 1970 | url=https://www.jeffmcmullen.com.au/advocacy | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> The organisation has been described "as one of his largest legacies".<ref name=abcdeath/>
Lewis died of a heart attack on 10 May 2018, at age 59, in Katherine, Northern Territory.<ref name=Barlang>{{cite news|last1=McLennan|first1=Chris|title=Katherine actor-musician Barlang Lewis dies|url=https://www.katherinetimes.com.au/story/5394355/katherine-actor-musician-tom-e-lewis-dies/?src=rss|accessdate=11 May 2018|work=Katherine Times|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20180613201916/https://www.katherinetimes.com.au/story/5394355/katherine-actor-musician-barlang-lewis-dies/?src=rss |archive-date =13 June 2018|url-access =subscription}}</ref>
==Recognition== In 2000 Lewis was chosen to run with the Olympic torch in Melbourne.<ref name=handspan/>
A photographic portrait of Lewis by Juno Gemes was purchased by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra in 2021. The description says: "The magnetic and charming personality which made Lewis such a compelling and successful actor is captured in Juno Gemes' portrait. With his leather jacket, white shirt and aviator sunglasses, Lewis invokes the feeling of James Dean as he poses against a wall papered with posters announcing upcoming gigs at the Sydney Trade Union Club in Surry Hills".<ref name=npggemes>{{cite web | title=Tom E Lewis [Balang T E Lewis], n.d. | website=National Portrait Gallery collection | date=3 February 2025 | url=https://www.portrait.gov.au/portraits/2021.28/tom-e-lewis-balang-t-e-lewis | access-date=11 March 2025}}</ref> Also held by the gallery is a photograph of an older Lewis, pulling a boat behind him, after "return[ing] to his grandmother's country to learn the songs of his ancestors". The photograph, taken by Philip Myers, was a finalist in the 2017 National Photographic Portrait Prize.<ref>{{cite web | last=Myers | first=Philip | title=Return, 2016 | website=National Photographic Portrait Prize image | date=3 February 2025 | url=https://www.portrait.gov.au/npppphoto/87535/ | access-date=11 March 2025| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250117055108/https://portrait.gov.au/npppphoto/87535/| archive-date= 17 Jan 2025| url-status=live}}</ref>
He was described in a ''Guardian'' article following his death as "a giant in the remote Arnhem Land community".<ref name=sebag2018/>
==Awards== {|class=wikitable ! Year ! Nominated work ! Award ! Category ! Result |- | 2005 || ''Yellow Fella'' || Bob Maza Fellowship || || {{won}}<br><ref name="Maza">{{cite web|title=Bob Maza Fellowship|url=http://afcarchive.screenaustralia.gov.au/newsandevents/mediarelease/2005/release_385.aspx|website=Australian Film Commission archive|publisher=Screen Australia|accessdate=11 May 2018}}<br></ref><ref name=bmf/> |- | rowspan=2|2006 || ''Sunshine After Rain'' || Northern Territory Indigenous Music Awards || Music Release of the Year || {{won}}<br><ref name=npg/> |- | Tom E. Lewis || Red Ochre Award || Outstanding Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander) Artist for Lifetime Achievement || {{won}}<br><ref name=redochre2006>{{cite web | title=2006 RED OCHRE AWARD | website=Creative Australia | date=19 July 2021 | url=https://creative.gov.au/news/media-releases/2006-red-ochre-award-2/ | access-date=11 March 2025}}</ref> |- | rowspan=2|2008 || ''One River, All Rivers'' || rowspan=2|imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival || Honourable Mention || {{won}}<br><ref name=imagine/> |- | ''Warrk Warrk (Black Crow)'' || Best Music Video || {{won}} (with Julia Morris)<br><ref name=imagine/><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rmkcrew.com.au/media/Julia_Morris_RMK_CV_feb2018.pdf| title=Julia Morris| publisher=RMK Crew| access-date=16 March 2025}}</ref> |- | 2017 || ''They Live in Forests, They Are Extremely Shy'' || Canberra Short Film Festival || Best Actor (International Category) || {{won}}<br><ref>{{cite web|title=2017 Winners|url=https://www.csff.com.au/2017-winners|website=Canberra Short Film Festival|accessdate=11 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226102323/https://www.csff.com.au/2017-winners| archive-date= 26 Feb 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=They Live in Forests, They Are Extremely Shy (2016) | website=IMDb | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6184924/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st#cast | access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> |}
==Filmography==
===Film=== {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1978 || ''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'' || Jimmie Blacksmith || Feature film |- | 1982 || ''We of The Never Never'' || Jackaroo || Feature film |- | 1983 || ''The City's Edge'' || Jack Collins || Feature film |- | 1985 || ''The Naked Country'' || Mundaru || Feature film |- | 1987 || ''Slate, Wyn & Me'' || Morgan || Feature film |- | 1992 || ''The Nun and the Bandit'' || Bert Shanley || Feature film |- | rowspan=2|1995 || ''Vacant Possession'' || Billy || Feature film |- | ''The Life of Harry Dare'' || Harry's Father || Feature film |- | rowspan=3|2005 || ''The Proposition'' || Two Bob || Feature film |- | ''Bad Habits'' || Bill || Short film |- | ''Yellow Fella'' || Himself || Documentary film |- | rowspan=5|2007 || ''The Postman's Privilege'' || Sam || Short film |- | ''The Curse'' || Narrator || Short film |- | ''Spear'' || Narrator || Short film |- | ''Crocodile Dreaming'' || Charlie || Short film |- | ''September'' || Uncle Harold || Feature film |- | 2010 || ''Red Hill'' || Dural 'Jimmy' Conway || Feature film |- | 2014 || ''Kundirri: The Life and Legacy of David Blanasi'' || || Documentary |- | rowspan=3|2016 || ''Waiting for Rain'' || The Drover || Short film |- | ''Goldstone'' || Tommy || Feature film |- | ''They Live in Forests, They Are Extremely Shy'' || David || Short film |- | rowspan=2|2017 || ''And Though the Music Ended, We Danced on Through the Night'' || Percy || Short film |- | ''Finding Maawirrangga'' || Himself || Documentary short |- | 2018 || ''Australia: The Wild Top End'' || Narrator || Documentary short |- | 2020 || ''The Skin of Others'' || Douglas Grant || Documentary film |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1979 || ''Glenview High'' || Des Rowley || 1 episode |- | 1981 || ''A Town Like Alice'' || Bourneville || Miniseries, 2 episodes |- | rowspan=2|1983 || ''Silent Reach'' || Ben Burnie || Miniseries, 2 episodes |- | ''Carson's Law'' || Johnny Bryant || 3 episodes |- | 1985 || ''Robbery Under Arms'' || Warrigal || TV movie |- | 1988 || ''Touch the Sun'': ''Top Enders'' || Roy || TV movie series |- | 1988–1991 || ''The Flying Doctors'' || Ant / Tommy Baringa / Billy || 3 episodes |- | 1991 || ''Rose Against the Odds'' || Koori #1 || TV movie |- | 1993 || ''RFDS'' || Kilampi || 2 episodes |- | 1995 || ''Correlli'' || Fred || Miniseries, 1 episode |- | 1997 || ''Kangaroo Palace'' || Koori || Miniseries, 1 episode |- | 1997–1998 || ''Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers'' || Dex Dexter || 26 episodes |- | 1998 || ''The Micallef Program'' || Tommy || 1 episode |- | 2008 || ''Double Trouble'' || Jimmy || 13 episodes |- | 2010 || ''The Circuit'' || Father || 1 episode |- | 2017 || ''Wolf Creek'' || Uncle Moses || 1 episode |- | 2018 || ''Wrong Kind of Black'' || Dad || Miniseries, 4 episodes |}
===As writer / director=== {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1991 || ''Ratbag Hero'' || Didgeridoo || Miniseries |- | 1992 || ''The Nun and the Bandit'' || Musician || Feature film |- | 2005 || ''Yellow Fella'' || Co-writer || Documentary film |- | 2007 || ''Warrk Warrk (Black Crow)'' || Co-director || Music video |- | 2008 || ''One River, All Rivers'' || Director || Short film |- | 2014 || ''Kundirri: The Life and Legacy of David Blanasi'' || Co-writer / Co-director || Documentary |- | 2016 || ''Cleverman'' || Cultural Advisor || 6 episodes |- | 2017 || ''Finding Maawirrangga'' || Writer || Documentary short |- | 2020 || ''The Skin of Others'' || || Documentary film |}
==Theatre==
===As actor=== {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1985 || ''Bullie's House'' || Mallawal || Long Wharf Theatre, Connecticut |- | rowspan=2|1989 || ''The Recruiting Officer'' || Servant || Playhouse, Melbourne with MTC |- | ''The Old Familiar Juice'' || Stanley || Church Theatre, Melbourne with MTC |- | 1989–1990 || ''Our Country's Good'' || Aboriginal Australian / Black Caesar || Playhouse, Melbourne, Playhouse, Adelaide with MTC |- | 1993 || ''Dead Heart'' || || NIDA Parade Theatre, Sydney |- | 1994 || ''Doing the Block'' || || Fairfax Studio, Melbourne, with Arena Theatre Company for Next Wave Festival |- | 1995 || ''The Head of Mary'' || Yabari || Tokyo International Arts Space for Tokyo International Festival, Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, with Playbox Theatre Company for Melbourne International Arts Festival |- | 1996 || ''Thumbul'' || Himself || Gasworks, Melbourne for City of Port Melbourne Recreation, Arts and Events |- | 1997 || ''Up the Ladder'' || || Seymour Centre, Sydney, VIC regional tour with Melbourne Workers Theatre / Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts / Festival of the Dreaming, SOCOG |- | 2000–2001 || ''Lift 'Em Up Socks'' || || Fairfax Studio, Melbourne, McGill University, Quebec, Brisbane Powerhouse, NT regional tour, David Williamson Theatre, Melbourne, Dietheatre Kunstlerhaus, Vienna with Handspan Theatre |- | 2006 || ''Othello'' || Othello || Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory with Darwin Theatre Company |- | 2008 || ''Shakespeare and the Songmen of Arnhem Land'' || Singer || Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne with Australian Shakespeare Company |- | 2009 || ''Muyngarnbi: Songs from Walking with Spirits'' || || George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens for Darwin Festival |- | 2012 || ''Signs of Life'' || || WA tour & Sydney Opera House with Black Swan State Theatre Company / STC |- | 2013–2016 || ''The Shadow King'' || King Lear || Australian tour, Barbican Theatre, London |}
===As writer=== {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1996 || ''Thumbul'' || Playwright || Gasworks, Melbourne for City of Port Melbourne Recreation, Arts and Events |- | 2000–2001 || ''Lift 'Em Up Socks'' || Devisor || Fairfax Studio, Melbourne, McGill University, Quebec, Brisbane Powerhouse NT regional tour, David Williamson Theatre, Melbourne, Dietheatre Kunstlerhaus, Vienna with Handspan Theatre |- | 2013–2016 || ''The Shadow King'' || Co-creator || Australian tour, Barbican Theatre, London |} <ref>{{cite web|url= https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/3608 |title= Tom E. Lewis theatre credits |publisher= AusStage}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0507835}} * [https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/3608 Tom E Lewis] on AusStage * {{official|https://www.djilpinarts.org.au/|Djilpin Arts}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Tom E.}} Category:1958 births Category:2018 deaths Category:Australian composers Category:Australian male composers Category:Indigenous Australian male actors Category:Indigenous Australian musicians Category:People from the Northern Territory