Arthur Dignam
Encyclopedia
Arthur Dignam is an Australian character actor.
Dignam was born on Lord Howe Island
. He attended Newington College
in Sydney
as a boarder 1955–1956.
He is possibly best known for one of his early roles, that of Brother Francine in Fred Schepisi's The Devil's Playground (1976). While he has worked mainly in film and television, he has also worked in theatre, including musical theatre. He played Pontius Pilate
in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar
in 1972–73, and appears on the original Australian cast recording
.
His son is the actor Nicholas Gledhill
.
Dignam was born on Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
. He attended Newington College
Newington College
Newington College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Stanmore, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
as a boarder 1955–1956.
He is possibly best known for one of his early roles, that of Brother Francine in Fred Schepisi's The Devil's Playground (1976). While he has worked mainly in film and television, he has also worked in theatre, including musical theatre. He played Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
in 1972–73, and appears on the original Australian cast recording
Jesus Christ Superstar (Original Australian Cast Recording)
Jesus Christ Superstar or Jesus Christ Superstar – Original Australian Cast Recording is a soundtrack album released in late 1972 on MCA Records. Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera created by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1970. The earliest Australian version was staged from May 1972 to...
.
His son is the actor Nicholas Gledhill
Nicholas Gledhill
Nicholas Martin Gledhill is an Australian film and stage actor.Gledhill was born in Sydney to parents Bobbie Gledhill and Arthur Dignam. He grew up in Glebe, Sydney and went to school at St Andrew's Cathedral School...
.
Filmography
Arthur Dignam's films include:- The Devil's Playground (1976)
- The Chant of Jimmie BlacksmithThe Chant of Jimmie BlacksmithThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor....
(1978) - We of the Never NeverWe of the Never NeverWe of the Never Never is an autobiographical novel by Jeannie Gunn. Although published as a novel, it is an account of the author's experiences in 1902 at Elsey Station near Mataranka, Northern Territory in which she changed the names of people to obscure their identities. She published this book...
(1982) - The DismissalThe Dismissal (TV miniseries)The Dismissal is an Australian television miniseries, first screened in 1983, that dramatised the events of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis....
(1983; as Eric RobinsonEric Robinson (Australian politician)Eric Laidlaw Robinson was an Australian politician.Robinson took over his family's sporting goods business and built it up from a single store into a chain along the Queensland coast. He was president of the Queensland branch of the Liberal Party in from 1968 to 1973. He was elected to the...
) - Burke & WillsBurke & WillsBurke & Wills is a 1985 Australian adventure film directed by Graeme Clifford, starring Jack Thompson and Nigel Havers. The film is based on the true story of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition across Australia....
(1985; as Sir William StawellWilliam Foster StawellSir William Foster Stawell KCMG was a British colonial statesman and a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia.-Early life:...
) - The Nostradamus KidThe Nostradamus KidThe Nostradamus Kid is a 1992 Australian feature film written and directed by Bob Ellis.The film is a romantic comedy about the religious and sexual coming of age of a 1960s Seventh-day Adventist boy. Ken Elkin is a "randy young man" who is told that the world is about to end...
(1993) - Dating the EnemyDating the EnemyDating The Enemy is an Australian comedy about a boyfriend and girlfriend who swap bodies and have to live as each other.-Plot:One Valentine's evening a group of single, dateless friends get together to play Trivial Pursuit. Brett , a friend of the host from Melbourne, has just landed a job as...
(1996) - Oscar and LucindaOscar and LucindaOscar and Lucinda is a novel by Peter Carey which won the 1988 Booker Prize, the 1989 Miles Franklin Award, and was shortlisted for The Best of the Booker.-Plot introduction:...
(1997) - Paradise Road (1997)
- Gods and MonstersGods and MonstersGods and Monsters is a 1998 drama film that recounts the last days of the life of troubled film director James Whale, whose homosexuality is a central theme. It stars Ian McKellen as Whale, along with Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, and David Dukes...
(1998; as Ernest ThesigerErnest ThesigerErnest Frederic Graham Thesiger CBE was an English stage and film actor. He is best known for his performance as Dr...
; uncredited) - Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
(2001) - Beneath CloudsBeneath CloudsBeneath Clouds is a 2002 film by Australian director Ivan Sen.Lena has an absent Irish father she longs to see and an Aboriginal mother she finds disgusting...
(2002) - AustraliaAustralia (2008 film)Australia is a 2008 epic historical romance film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, behind Crocodile Dundee. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood...
(2008).