Childhood & Early Life
Geoff Morrell was born on February 19, 1958 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
He was always interested in acting as a youngster and participated in theatrical productions in school. Following his education, he started acting professionally and established ‘Theatre South’, a theatrical organization in Sydney.
In the early 1980s, he moved to London, England, briefly and acted in a few theatrical productions there. He returned shortly and continued doing theatre in Sydney.
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Career
Geoff Morrell began his TV career in the mid-1980s when he was cast in small roles in series, such as ‘Theatre Night’ and ‘The Bill’. They were followed by slightly better roles in miniseries like ‘Captain James Cook’ and ‘The Monocled Mutineer’.
In 1992 came the first film role of his career when he was roped in to play the supporting role of Brad Hislop in the romantic drama film ‘The Girl Who Came Late’. It was a commercial and critical flop.
In the early 1990s, Geoff remained an active stage actor and played key parts in popular productions, such as ‘King Lear’ and ‘Macbeth’. Around this time, he also played guest roles in series, such as ‘Heartbreak High’ and ‘G.P.’ His film credits of this period included a supporting role in the movie ‘No Worries’.
His first major acting breakthrough came in the form of a supporting role in the mini-series ‘Bordertown’, in which he played the role of Bates. The significant length of his role and praiseworthy performance in the 1995 mini-series brought him some more attention.
Geoff’s second breakthrough came in 1997 when he started playing a supporting role in the film ‘Blackrock’. The movie received mostly positive reviews from the critics, especially after its premier at the ‘Sundance Film Festival’. It could not turn the critical success into box office returns and failed to pull in the viewers to movie theaters.
In 1997, he appeared in the romantic drama film ‘Oscar and Lucinda’, which was an average grosser at the box office and received positive critical reviews. In the same year came the series ‘Murder Call’, which proved to be a milestone in Geoff’s budding acting career.
He was cast as one of the leads, Sergeant Lance Fisk, in ‘Murder Call’, which ran for four seasons and 56 episodes. The mini-series was an above average success in terms of ratings and critical reviews.
Following the success of ‘Murder Call’, Geoff was presented with yet another major opportunity when he was offered to play the lead role of Col. Dunkley in the drama series ‘Grass Roots’. The successful series ran for two seasons and 18 episodes. It won critical acclaim, and Geoff won an ‘AFI Award for Best Actor’ for his performance.
The early 2000s brought some good projects to the Australian actor. In 2003, he started playing one of the leading roles, Geoff Fleming, in the Australian mini-series ‘Marking Time’.
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In 2004, he was signed to play one of the main roles, as Mark Jacobs, in the police procedural drama series ‘Blue Heelers’. The hugely popular series ran for 13 seasons and Geoff played his role in the 11th and the 12th seasons of the series.
In 2007, he appeared in a supporting role in the drama miniseries ‘Bastard Boys’, wherein he played Chris Corrigan. The series was hugely acclaimed and earned praises mostly for its screenplay and the acting performances. In the same year, Geoff was seen playing supporting roles in films, such as ‘Lucky Miles’ and ‘Rogue’.
Geoff began 2008 with a key role in the television film ‘Emerald Falls’ and followed it up with supporting roles in series like ‘Sea Patrol’ and ‘Rogue Nation’; and the movie ‘Ten Empty’.
In 2009, he appeared in three episodes of the second season of the drama series ‘Packed to the Rafters’. In the next year, he played a supporting role in the series ‘Rake’.
By the time 2010s arrived, his screen appearances had become less and less frequent. In 2011, he was seen in a supporting role in three episodes of the mini-series ‘Cloudstreet’. He also had a small role on the TV show ‘Winners & Losers’.
He had a recurring role in the soap opera ‘Home and Away’. In the 2014 film ‘The Mule’, which starred Hugo Weaving in the leading role, Geoff played a supporting character called John. The film was a huge success at the box office and on the critical scale.
Geoff portrayed Dave Cross in the comedy television series ‘8MMM Aboriginal Radio’ in 2015.
He returned to playing leading roles in 2015 when he was cast in the mini-series ‘Catching Milat’. In 2017, he was seen playing one of the main roles in the film ‘Red Christmas’, in which he appeared as Joe. The film has received mixed reviews from the critics.
