Earlier than the Hemsworth brothers Chris and Liam grew to become two of Australia’s best-known exports, one other Aussie actor was making a reputation for himself.
Christopher ‘Kick’ Gurry had been working as an actor for a number of years earlier than his starring position within the 2000 Aussie movie Searching for Alibrandi.
The movie made Gurry a star in a single day and it wasn’t lengthy earlier than Hollywood got here calling with components within the movie Spartan, reverse the late Val Kilmer, and Fringe of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise.
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These days, ?Gurry is in demand not simply as an actor, however as a author, director and producer, and counts Sean Penn amongst his followers.
Christopher Gurry was born in Melbourne, Victoria. Whereas his date of delivery is usually recorded as Might 25, 1978, in accordance with a submit on his official Instagram account, he was truly born on Might 20, 1976.
He was reportedly nicknamed ‘Kicker’ by his household as a result of his brother could not say Christopher. Whereas at highschool, he shortened it to ‘Kick’.
?By his late teenagers, he appeared in episodes of TV exhibits together with Uncooked FM, reverse Nadine Garner, and SeaChange.
He gained a job within the 1998 Hollywood movie The Skinny Purple Line, which starred a who’s who of younger actors, then adopted this with components in Aussie TV exhibits Wildside and Halifax fp.
His massive breakthrough got here within the 2000 Aussie movie Searching for Alibrandi. He starred as Jacob Coote, the love curiosity of Josephine Alibrandi, performed by then unknown actress Pia Miranda. It additionally starred Greta Scacchi and Anthony LaPaglia.?
The movie was a industrial and significant success, profitable the AFI Award for Finest Movie and taking in additional than $8 million on the native field workplace – not unhealthy for an Australian movie.
Gurry grew to become an on the spot heartthrob because of his portrayal of the motorbike-riding unhealthy boy.
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He mirrored on the movie that made him a star in a 2020 interview with WHO to mark its twentieth anniversary.
“I do not actually bear in mind what my life was like with out Alibrandi being a reasonably large a part of it,” he mentioned.
Gurry additionally recalled recommendation he acquired from the movie’s director, Kate Woods, and star LaPaglia.
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“I bear in mind Kate saying to me early on, ‘You are the sort of actor who needs to simply cruise and relaxation in your laurels and simply do what you do’,” he mentioned.
“And she or he mentioned, ‘However, with this sort of film, these sorts of performances take an unbelievable quantity of labor and you need to be prepared for it and you need to do the work’.
“That was an enormous mind-shift. Though they’re motion pictures, they’re essential to individuals. And in the event you get them proper they reside, like this one has, for 20 years.”
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He continued, “We have been fortunate we had Anthony. He actually was an enormous mentor.
“I bear in mind him saying at some point, ‘Fame and success within the film enterprise is simply an amplifier. If you happen to’re a d–k, you may simply develop into a a lot louder and larger d–k, however in the event you’re particular person, it’s going to simply offer you extra alternatives to do good and be an fascinating particular person’.”
In the identical interview, Gurry recalled an interplay he had with one other future co-star, Tom Cruise, quickly after the movie was launched.
“I used to be in Sydney… and was strolling again to my home and Tom Cruise was residing on the street I used to be staying in and he was standing out the entrance of my home,” Gurry recalled.
“He regarded up and he was like, ‘Hey, child, I simply noticed your movie. It was nice’. He’d seen the movie the night time earlier than and he beloved it.”
After such a shining evaluate, it solely made sense that Gurry would wind up in Hollywood. Gurry advised WHO he moved straight to LA in 2000.
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He appeared in Buffalo Troopers, reverse Joaquin Phoenix, Anna Paquin and Ed Harris, earlier than returning to Australia for a brief movie, The Massive Home, and to once more star reverse Miranda in Storage Days.
Hollywood beckoned once more with an element within the 2004 movie, Spartan, starring Val Kilmer, William H Macy and Ed O’Neill, and 2008’s Velocity Racer, reverse Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman.
He returned to Australia for the mini-series, The Alice, and TV exhibits Tangle and Offspring earlier than returning to Hollywood.
He performed Griff within the 2014 big-budget sci-fi film Fringe of Tomorrow, starring Cruise, Emily Blunt and Invoice Paxton, and adopted this with one other science fiction movie, Jupiter Ascending, reverse Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis.
In 2017, he appeared within the Brad Pitt movie Battle Machine and the US TV collection Ten Days within the Valley reverse Kyra Sedgwick.
His most up-to-date position was within the 2023 Stan authentic collection, Caught, which he created and starred in as Dylan Fox.
The Aussie-made six-part comedy additionally featured Sean Penn and Matthew Fox and was about 4 Australian troopers despatched on a mission to a war-torn nation solely to be captured by freedom fighters, leading to a hostage video that goes viral.
Penn’s involvement got here after Gurry shared an early teaser of the present, which caught his consideration.
Gurry advised Selection in 2023, “[Penn] mentioned everybody’s afraid of tales proper now and we’ve got to be pushing ahead with braveness in storytelling”.
Penn signed on as an govt producer of the six-episode comedy, which additionally starred Rebecca Breeds, Bella Heathcote, Bryan Brown and Erik Thomson.?
The present’s producer John Schwarz mentioned on the time, “I’ve recognized Kick for years and when he introduced this challenge to us, his ardour and imaginative and prescient for what it may very well be was abundantly clear, it made setting the present up after which making it some of the satisfying and rewarding experiences.”
Gurry advised Selection he was thrilled to have the ability to movie initiatives of this calibre in his homeland and to have the assist of the streaming service.
“I left Australia 20 years in the past, as a result of I believed Hollywood was a spot I might go to discover actually distinctive and authentic concepts. And paradoxically, it was going dwelling the place I discovered… assist [for] that sort of factor.”
To mark his birthday in 2022, he took to Instagram to share a photograph together with his father and write, “At 46 at this time, I nonetheless stay deeply related to the desires from my youth, the magic in my life, and the hope for the highway forward.
“Need to thank all of the unbelievable individuals in my life that encourage the desires, that convey the magic and that create the hope!
“Particularly my dad who has all the time proven me easy methods to dream, easy methods to discover inspiration in individuals, and easy methods to hope, search and struggle for a greater day forward. Thanks for that dad. I like you.”
Gurry, now 48, is believed to divide his time between Australia and LA. Not a lot is understood about his non-public life. He has by no means married or had kids.
He’s thought to have dated ?his Velocity Racer co-star, The Addams Household star Christine Ricci, from 2007 to 2008.
He was pictured with US actress Torrey DeVitto at a 2014 Hollywood occasion.
?He made headlines in 2022 when he was photographed strolling in Bondi with Aussie actress Leila George, the estranged spouse of Sean Penn. She additionally occurs to be the daughter of his Searching for Alibrandi co-star Greta Scacchi.
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