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3 Apr 2024

Hollywood Down Under

Glenn Cochrane

STACK Senior Editor

We Aussies are a weird mob, a nation of fair dinkum battlers who are geographically isolated and protective of our place in the world.

Some might argue that we're a bit sensitive, too, as proven by any given response to outside criticism (e.g., “Rak off, mate!”).

Anyone But You

But we're also a proud lot, and we're the first to open our arms to welcome strangers and show them what we have to offer. Whether it's the wonder of our natural assets, such as the Great Barrier Reef or Uluru, or some of our unique, erm... delicacies, like Vegemite or meat pies, we like to share our experience, and we particularly love to gauge outsiders' reactions.

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It's a big deal when big names make the effort to visit Down Under, and our inherent pride sees us line the streets to welcome Hollywood stars and flock to the cinemas whenever they appear in local films.

Putting international stars in our movies is nothing new, and Australian cinema is full of imported talent, usually out of necessity to sell our films abroad. Often, on one hand, you'll hear the fringe whingers complaining that Aussie jobs are being taken, whereas the majority of us recognise what a big deal and an absolute coup it is to feature international celebrities. Not to mention the economic benefit of playing on the world stage.

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Right now, all eyes are on Hollywood hotshots Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as the Australian-set romcom Anyone But You arrives on Blu-ray and DVD. But let's take a look at some other big names who've called Australia home, if only for a short time while filming.

Here are just some of the big names that you may or may not know are part of Australian cinema history.

Mick Jagger (Ned Kelly, 1970), Donald Pleasance (Wake in Fright,. 1971), Jimmy Wang Yu (The Man from Hong Kong, 1975), Dennis Hopper (Mad Dog Morgan, 1976), Piper Laurie (Tim, 1979), Louise Fletcher (Dead Kids, 1981), Jamie Lee Curtis and Stacy Keach (Roadgames, 1981), Kirk Douglas (The Man from Snowy River, 1982), Alan Arkin (The Return of Captain Invincible, 1983), Henry Thomas (Frog Dreaming, 1985), Eric Roberts (The Coca-Cola Kid, 1985), Tina Turner (Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, 1985), Meryl Streep (Evil Angels, 1988).

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Miles Davis (Dingo, 1991), Anthony Hopkins (Spotswood, 1992), Terence Stamp (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 1994), Hugh Grant (Sirens, 1994), James Cromwell (Babe, 1995), Johnathon Schaech (Welcome to Woop Woop, 1997), Kiefer Sutherland (Dark City, 1998), Patrick Warburton (The Dish, 2000), Kenneth Branagh (Rabbit Proof Fence, 2002), Giovanni Ribisi (Love's Brother, 2004), John Goodman (Dirty Deeds, 2005), Daniel Radcliffe (December Boys, 2007), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Mary & Max, 2009), Chris O'Dowd (The Sapphires, 2012).

Josh Lucas (Red Dog, 2011), Christina Ricci (Around the Block, 2013), Robert Pattinson (The Rover, 2014), Ewan McGregor (Son of a Gun, 2014), Dav Patel (Lion, 2016), Bill Nighy (Buckley's Chance, 2021), Zac Efron (Gold, 2022), Bobby Cannavale (Seriously Red, 2022).

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^Discounts apply to previous ticketed/advertised price prior to the discount offer. As we negotiate, products will likely have been sold below ticketed/advertised price prior to the discount offer. Prices may differ at airport stores.

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