David Wenham was already an award-winning star in his native Australia when he garnered international attention for his work in such acclaimed features as Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge!," with Nicole Kidman, and the last two installments in Peter Jackson's blockbuster "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." For his work in the latter, Wenham shared in the Screen Actors Guild Award®, Broadcast Film Critics Award and National Board of Review Award in the category of Best Ensemble. He more recently starred in "Oranges and Sunshine," opposite Emma Watson and Hugo Weaving; "Public Enemies," alongside Johnny Depp and Christian Bale; Baz Luhrmann's epic drama "Australia," opposite Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman; as Dilios in Zack Snyder's blockbuster "300"; and in the horror thriller "Van Helsing." Some of Wenham's other film credits include "The Children of Huang Shi," "The Proposition," "Pure," "The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course," "Dust," "Russian Doll," "No Escape" and "Greenkeeping."
In 1997, Wenham starred in the miniseries "Babies," for which he won his first Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award. The following year, he earned dual AFI Award nominations, one for his recurring role in the series "SeaChange," for which he also won a Logie Award, and another for his performance in the screen adaptation of "The Boys," for which he also received a Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) Award nomination. Wenham has since won AFI, FCCA and Australian Comedy Awards for his role in the film "Gettin' Square"; garnered AFI Award and FCCA Award nominations for the films "Better than Sex" and "The Bank"; and received an AFI Award nomination for "Molokai: The Story of Father Damien." He more recently earned an AFI Award nomination for the telefilm "The Brush-Off," and won an AFI Award for his performance in the miniseries "Answered by Fire."
Wenham attended the University of Western Australia before starting his career with small roles on television. He first gained attention for his memorable turn as an embittered ex-convict in the stage play "The Boys," and for his role as a pyromaniac in both the stage and screen versions of "Cosi."
Warner Bros.
