Renowned actor David Wenham leads an enlightening journey into the archival life of Jack Thompson, a significant figure of Australia’s film renaissance and arguably, the country’s first real movie star.
In a candid interview on ‘The ABC Of’ series, this Australian cinematic icon peels back the layers of his illustrious career, promising surprises for anyone who believes they fully know Jack Thompson.
Thompson’s interview is rife with tales of key roles in films such as “Sunday Too Far Away” and “The Sum of Us”. He opens up about roles that slipped through his fingers, the vital role poetry plays in his life, and his motivation behind doing a centrefold.
For the first time, Thompson reacts to footage from the inaugural Garma Festival in 1999, passionately sharing his views on the importance of an Indigenous voice in parliament. An emotive segment of the interview surfaces as Thompson responds to a 1962 recording of his adoptive father, John Thompson, sparking a heartfelt tribute from this adoring son.
‘The ABC Of’ is an innovative interview series where actor David Wenham navigates his guests through their pasts, using snippets extracted from ABC Archives. The guest list boasts icons across various fields, including former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, cricketing legend Ian Chappell, performer and Indigenous advocate Miranda Tapsell, comedian and broadcaster Wendy Harmer, Greig Pickhaver from Australia’s favourite comedy duo, and feminist and intellectual Germaine Greer.
Each episode explores an engaging one-on-one conversation where questions are built around video clips from the archives. The guests remain unaware of the selected clips until they sit down for the interview. This approach often uncovers delightful and unexpected paths, bringing to light forgotten footage that hasn’t been aired in decades.
‘The ABC Of’ is a Guesswork Television Production, in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Jon Casimir and Jo Long serve as the Executive Producers, with ABC’s Julie Hanna as the Commissioning Editor.
