fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap operas Neighbours[2] and Home and Away and the BBC One spy drama Bugs. He has portrayed the title character in The Doctor Blake Mysteries, for which he was nominated for the Logie Award for Most Popular Actor; he has previously won the award in this category three times.

Craig McLachlan
Born	Craig Dougall McLachlan (1965-09-01) 1 September 1965 (age 57) Long Jetty, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Actor singer musician composer agent
Years active	1986–present[1]

Career

Television

Craig McLachlan first appeared on Australian television in a guest role on The Young Doctors. He was cast as Henry Ramsay, brother of Kylie Minogue's character Charlene, in Channel 10's Neighbours. After appearing in more than 800 episodes and winning the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television (1990)[3] and Silver Logie, he was contracted to Seven Network's Home and Away, playing schoolteacher Grant Mitchell. Outside Australia he is most known for playing Ed Russell in the 90's BBC spy drama Bugs.

Music

A singer, guitarist and songwriter, McLachlan enjoyed international success in a concurrent pop music career. He had hits in Australia and the UK with a remake of the Bo Diddley song "Mona (I Need You Baby)" and with self-penned songs "Amanda", "One Reason Why" and "On My Own". He toured the UK and Europe with his band Check 1–2. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1991, "Mona", won Highest Selling Single for Craig McLachlan & Check 1–2.[4] In the following year his single "On My Own" was one of several works by Simon Hussey, who won Producer of the Year.[5]

Musicals

In 1993 McLachlan starred as Danny Zuko in the West End revival of the musical Grease alongside Deborah Gibson and Sonia Evans. In his stage musical career he starred as Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, Caractacus Pott in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bob Wallace in White Christmas and Billy Flynn in Chicago.

1990s-present

In the mid 1990s McLachlan starred in three seasons of the BBC television series Bugs and appeared in Catherine the Great alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones and Omar Sharif.^{[citation needed]}

Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, McLachlan appeared in around 20 film and television projects, including the American movie Superfire, the television film Heroes' Mountain as Stuart Diver, and Blackjack with Colin Friels. In 2004 he played Michael Chamberlain in Through My Eyes, an account of the Lindy Chamberlain story, and began work in the recurring role of Kane Morgan in McLeod's Daughters. He played Jeff Kennard in the Australian film Hating Alison Ashley, worked alongside Benjamin Bratt and James Franco in The Great Raid, and starred with John Jarratt in Savages Crossing, for which he composed the score.^{[citation needed]}

McLachlan appeared regularly in the Network Seven TV series Packed to the Rafters as ageing rocker Steve Wilson and was cast in the fourth season of Rescue: Special Ops as Hayden Bradley. He played the role of Steve, the handsome gay gardener, in the award-winning production At Home with Julia and appeared in the ABC comedy Lowdown. In 2011 McLachlan had a guest-starring role in an episode of NCIS Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, British group Rizzle Kicks sampled McLachlan's version of "Mona" for their single "Mama Do the Hump", which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart.^{[citation needed]}

McLachlan returned to Australia in 2012 to work on a new TV series, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, a period crime drama set in Ballarat in 1959–60. He plays the titular role of Dr Lucien Blake, a medical practitioner with a knack for solving murders and annoying the police. The first two seasons originally screened on ABC Television in 2013 and 2014.^{[citation needed]}

In 2013, McLachlan was again cast as Frank-N-Furter in a revival of The Rocky Horror Show touring Australia in 2014.[6] In December 2014, McLachlan revealed that he was unable to return to Neighbours for the show's 30th anniversary celebrations owing to scheduling conflicts and his involvement in The Doctor Blake Mysteries.[7] However, McLachlan agreed to take part in the documentary special Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015.[8][9]

In 2016, McLachlan appeared in the sci-fi thriller Restoration, playing Andrew Majury.[10]

McLachlan also had a recurring role in the Channel 10 dramedy The Wrong Girl alongside Jessica Marais.^{[citation needed]}

Sexual harassment allegations

During The Rocky Horror Show

On 8 January 2018, a joint investigation by Fairfax Media and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that McLachlan had been accused of sexual harassment by several actresses during his performing career.[11][12] Three actresses from the 2014 Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show — Christie Whelan Browne, Erika Heynatz and Angela Scundi — made allegations against McLachlan. He responded, "Frankly, they seem to be simple inventions, perhaps made for financial reasons, perhaps to gain notoriety. In either event, they are to the best of my knowledge utterly and entirely false."[11][12] McLachlan subsequently left the 2018 production of The Rocky Horror Show.[1] Victoria Police announced they were investigating complaints from two of the women.[13]

McLachlan filed defamation suits against the ABC and Fairfax Media in February 2018; he also named Whelan Browne in a defamation suit.[14] Producers of The Doctor Blake Mysteries announced that production would be temporarily suspended pending the outcome of investigations.[13] The production company, December Media, "cleared the actor of any misconduct" during the show's run.[15] In April, it was announced McLachlan would not be returning to the series.[15]

McLachlan's defamation case was due to be heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 4 February 2019;[16][17] however, the suit was postponed pending the outcome of the related criminal proceedings.[18] On 11 January 2019, Victoria Police charged him with one count of common assault, eight counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted indecent assault.[16][17][19] At a hearing in April 2019 it came to light that one of the indecent assault charges had been dropped and that the case would be determined by a magistrate alone.[20] In November 2019, a contested hearing of the charges began, with Stuart Littlemore as defence lawyer.[21][22] The trial ended on 15 December 2020 with McLachlan acquitted on all charges.[23]

The magistrate described MacLachlan's evidence as contrived and his emotions as "not seeming genuine", also characterising the women who gave evidence as "brave and honest witnesses".[24] The magistrate also said that McLachlan likely touched the women while they were performing, but that she [the magistrate] was not persuaded beyond a reasonable doubt he knew they were not consenting. During the course of the trial, McLachlan's lawyers argued "there was an overtly sexualised atmosphere among all cast members during the show that included crude physical pranks, hugs and kisses instead of saying hello and goodbye, actors sitting on each other's laps, a constant stream of dirty jokes and insincere remarks about their admiration and love for each other".[23]

In May 2021, Seven News' Spotlight programme claimed that the ABC had "manipulated" McLachlan's accusers when it interviewed the women in 2018. The programme showed ABC journalists (off camera) appearing to coach the accusers by offering specific words and phases for them to say in their interview, such as "predatory" and "power imbalance".[25][26] The ABC rejected those claims.[27] McLachlan filed a law suit against the ABC and Nine newspapers over media reports of the 2014 Rocky Horror Show tour allegations for which he was tried and acquitted.[25] However, he applied to discontinue the suit 10 days into the trial, on the same day the defence was set to begin calling witnesses.[28]

Further allegations

On 15 May 2021, fresh allegations were made about the actor's behaviour,[29][30] including from Jeanne Downs, a former UK television star who accused the actor of groping her live while a guest on her popular children's show in 1990.[31][32]

Personal life

McLachlan's partner is opera conductor Vanessa Scammell, whom he met in 2009.[33] He has a child from his relationship with British actress and voice artist Charlotte Avery.[34][35][33] McLachlan was briefly married to Karen Williams (fl. 1986) with whom he had attended the same secondary school, and he was subsequently married to Neighbours' actress Rachel Friend (1998–99).[33][36]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions				Certification
		AUS [37][38]	NLD [39]	NZ [40]	UK [41]
Craig McLachlan & Check 1-2	Released: June 1990 Label: Epic	4	88	49	10	ARIA: Gold[37]
Hands Free	Released: March 1992 Label: Epic	104	—	—	—
Craig McLachlan & The Culprits	Released: October 28, 1996 Label: Roadrunner	—	—	—	—

Musical albums

List of musical albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		AUS [37]	UK [42]
Grease (Original London Stage Cast Soundtrack)[43]	Released: 1993 Label: Epic	—	20
The Rocky Horror Show (Australian Cast Recording)[44]	Released: 1995 Label: TriStar Music	—	—

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications

Year	Single	Peak chart positions							Certification	Album
		AUS [37]	BEL [45]	GER [46]	IRE [47]	NLD [48]	NZ [49]	UK [41]
1989	"Rock the Rock" (as Craig McLachlan & Check 1–2)	36	—	—	—	—	—	—		Craig McLachlan & Check 1–2
1990	"Mona" (as Craig McLachlan & Check 1–2)	3	8	44	5	26	16	2	ARIA: Platinum[37]
	"Amanda" (as Craig McLachlan & Check 1–2)	24	—	—	16	—	22	19
	"I Almost Felt Like Crying" (as Craig McLachlan & Check 1–2)	103	—	—	—	—	—	50
1991	"On My Own"	23	—	—	—	—	—	59		Hands Free
1992	"One Reason Why"	57	—	—	—	—	—	29
	"I Hear You Knocking"	90	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Time Warp" (with Australian cast)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		The Rocky Horror Show Cast Recording
1993	"You're the One That I Want" (duet with Deborah Gibson)	—	—	—	24	—	—	13		Grease Cast Recording
	"Grease"	—	—	—	—	—	—	44
1995	"Everyday" (as Craig McLachlan & The Culprits)	—	—	—	—	—	—	65		Craig McLachlan & The Culprits
	"If We Were Angels" (as Craig McLachlan & The Culprits)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1996	"Hear the World Cry" (as Craig McLachlan & The Culprits)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Videos

• Craig McLachlan & Check 1–2: The Video (featured an interview and the video clips for "Mona", "Amanda", "Rock the Rock" and "I Almost Felt Like Crying") (1990)

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Mad Bomber in Love	The Whip
1992	Absent Without Leave	James Edwards
2001	Let's Get Skase	Eric Carney
2001	Cubbyhouse	Bill
2005	Hating Alison Ashley	Jeff Kennard
2005	The Great Raid	Lt. Riley
2009	Amar a morir	Nick
2011	Savages Crossing	Mory
2012	The Last Match	Val	Short
2016	Restoration	Andrew Majury

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987–89	Neighbours	Henry Ramsay	Regular role; 418 episodes
1990–91	Home and Away	Grant Mitchell	Regular role; 177 episodes
1991	Heroes II: The Return	Lt. Walter Carey	TV film
1995–97	Bugs	Ed	Main role; 30 episodes
1996	Catherine the Great	Sergei Saltykov	TV film
1999	Tribe	Ralph Leyton	TV miniseries
2001	Abschied in den Tod	Det. Const. Steve McNamara	TV film
2001	My Husband My Killer	Warren Elkins	TV film
2001–02	Always Greener	Greg Graham	Recurring role
2002	Heroes' Mountain	Stuart Diver	TV film
2002	Superfire	Jack Skidder	TV film
2004	Through My Eyes	Michael Chamberlain	"1.1", "1.2"
2004	McLeod's Daughters	Kane Morgan	Recurring role
2005	BlackJack: Ace Point Game	Michael Hasler	TV film
2005	Supernova	Alistair Foster	"Unity"
2008	City Homicide	Leon Grasby	"Golden"
2008–12	Packed to the Rafters	Steve Wilson	Recurring role
2009	The Cut	Dutch Holland	"A Falcon's Tail"
2010–12	Lowdown	Ben Hollander	"Wasp in Translation", "Ben Behaving Badly"
2011	Rescue: Special Ops	Hayden Bradley	Recurring role
2011	At Home with Julia	Steve	TV miniseries
2011	NCIS: Los Angeles	Clifford Bosworth	"Lone Wolf"
2013	Redfern Now	Jack	"Consequences"
2013–14	House Husbands	Damo	Recurring role
2013–17	The Doctor Blake Mysteries	Dr. Lucien Blake	Main role
2016	Deep Water	Kyle 'Hammers' Hampton	TV miniseries
2016	The Wrong Girl	Eric	Main role

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result	Ref
1991	ARIA Awards	Highest Selling Single	"Mona"	Won
2014	Helpmann Awards	Best Male Actor in a Musical	Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show	Won	[50]
1989	Logie Awards	Most Popular Actor	Neighbours	Won
1990		Most Popular Actor		Won
		Most Popular Personality on Australian Television		Won
1991		Most Popular Actor	Home and Away	Won
2014		Most Outstanding Actor	The Doctor Blake Mysteries	Nominated	[51]
2015		Most Popular Actor		Nominated	[52]
2016		Most Popular Actor		Nominated	[53]

References

External links

• Craig McLachlan at IMDb

На других языках

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[de] Craig McLachlan

Craig Dougal McLachlan (* 1. September 1965 in Sydney, Australien) ist ein australischer Schauspieler und Sänger.

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- [en] Craig McLachlan

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[es] Craig McLachlan

Craig McLachlan (Sídney, Nueva Gales del Sur; 1 de septiembre de 1965) es un actor y cantante australiano, conocido por haber interpretado a Ed Russell en la serie Bugs y por sus apariciones en las series Sons and Daughters, Neighbours y en Home and Away.

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