Australian actor Gary Waddell dies

Gary Waddell, known for portraying rough-as-guts characters so real audiences swear they have met them before, has died aged 74.

His breakthrough in Pure Shit

Waddell burst onto the scene in Bert Deling's cult classic drug drama Pure Shit, a 1976 production so notorious its first public screening was raided by the vice squad.

A fixture across decades

Waddell appeared in countless TV shows including A Country Practice, E Street, Stingers, Blue Heelers, Water Rats, Bad Cop Bad Cop, Home and Away, City Homicide, Upright and Rake.

Small roles, lasting impact

His films included The FJ Holden, Chopper, Dirty Deeds, Gettin' Square, Black and White, Charlie's Country and The Stranger. He was hired repeatedly for his reliability.

Waddell doubted his own talent

In a 2012 interview, Waddell said he sabotaged his early career through substance abuse and self-doubt. Until around 1986 or 1987, he thought his career was a con job.

“I actually thought for a long, long time, until around '86, '87, that my career was one of the greatest con jobs I'd ever pulled off.”

The King Is Dead breakthrough

In Rolf de Heer's 2012 black comedy The King Is Dead!, Waddell played the titular character, a drugged-up layabout. Critics called the performance out of this world good.

“out of this world good”

Critical praise for his role

Margaret Pomeranz called it hilarious. Variety's Richard Kuipers wrote that Waddell's performance kept the character human and evoked strange sympathy.

“Waddell's spot-on performance keeps the character human, and even evokes a strange sympathy”

A humble, electrifying presence

After the film's release, Waddell contacted the critic who championed him. They became friends, meeting for beers and later exchanging photos of their jack russells on Facebook.