fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Paul Joseph Mercurio AM (born 31 March 1963) is an Australian actor, dancer, TV presenter and political aspirant. Mercurio is best known for his lead role in Strictly Ballroom 1992 and his role as a judge on TV series Dancing with the Stars.

Paul Mercurio AM
Born	Paul Joseph Mercurio (1963-03-31) 31 March 1963 (age 59) Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia
Occupation	Actor Dancer Choreographer Television presenter Political candidate
Spouse	Andrea Mercurio ​ (m. 1987)​
Children	Emily, Elise and Erin
Family	Gus Mercurio (father)
Website	www.paulmercurio.com

Early life

Mercurio was born in Swan Hill, Victoria in March 1963, his father was character actor Gus Mercurio. Paul began ballet at nine. He later moved to Perth, Western Australia, where he attended John Curtin Senior High School, now known as John Curtin College of the Arts[1] where there is a theatre named after him.[2] He credits his theatre arts teacher for inspiring him to follow his dream.[3] Mercurio focussed on acting during his high school years but after he graduated, he caught the Indian Pacific train from Perth back to Melbourne [4] where he studied at the Australian Ballet School.[5]

By the age of 19 in 1982, he was Principal Dancer with the Sydney Dance Company—a position he held for ten years.[6] During this time, he was commissioned to choreograph six works performed by the company. Mercurio left the Sydney Dance Company in August 1992 to found the Australian Choreographic Ensemble which danced from 1992 to 1995, where he was the director, principal dancer and principal choreographer.

Stage and screen career

Feature films

Mercurio made his film debut in Baz Luhrmann's breakout film Strictly Ballroom, receiving an Australian Film Institute Award nomination in 1993.[7] Mercurio was a choreographer on the film. Flamenco dancer Antonio Vargas, the actor who played Fran's father, also choreographed scenes in the film.[8]

Mercurio's other film credits include: Exit to Eden, Back of Beyond, Così, Red Ribbon Blues, Welcome to Woop Woop, The Dark Planet, The First 9½ Weeks, Kick and Sydney – A Story of a City. He starred, wrote, choreographed, produced and directed the short film Spilt Milk. Most recently, Mercurio has taken roles in independent films, such as Hunting for Shadows and A Silent Agreement with director Davo Hardy.

In 2019, Mercurio appeared in a supporting role as Sal in Promised (2019), a film directed and co-produced by Nick Conidi, and starring Tina Arena, Antoniette Iesue and Daniel Berini.[9] The film was released in Australia on 24 October 2019.[10]

Baz Luhrmann expressed some interest in using Mercurio in Moulin Rouge to Mercurio's agent, but after a series of failed attempts to speak to Luhrmann personally, Mercurio found out that there was no role for him in the movie via the production company.[11] He has not appeared in any other Luhrmann films and only appears briefly in Disc 4 of Red Curtain Trilogy as a pixelated image.

Television roles

Mercurio made his TV debut in a documentary on his life called Life's Burning Desire in 1992. He starred in the lead role of Joseph in the Emmy Award-winning US TV mini-series The Bible: Joseph in 1995. Later, he joined the ensemble cast for the 1998 mini-series drama The Day of the Roses, depicting the 1977 Granville railway disaster. Throughout the 1990s. Mercurio guest starred in Australian TV shows including Blue Heelers, All Saints, Murder Call, Medivac, Heartbreak High, Water Rats and The Day of the Roses. Mercurio was a judge on the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars until August 2008, when he was dropped from the judging panel because he was deemed "too nice" for television.[12] He was also a judge in the New Zealand version.[13] In 2008, he began hosting a series called Mercurio's Menu where he travels Australia, cooking in different locations.

Dance and choreography

Mercurio continues to dance and choreograph professionally. He was a movement consultant on the Will Smith movie I, Robot, and has choreographed an American TV campaign for Coca-Cola, the Harry M. Miller production of Jesus Christ Superstar and Annie Get Your Gun. In January 2004, he appeared on stage in The Full Monty. Mercurio teaches students full-time at Dance World Studios in Melbourne.

Political career

Mercurio was elected as a councilor for Mornington Peninsula Shire in November 2020.[14]

In December 2021, Mercurio was preselected as the Labor candidate for the 2022 Victorian state election for the Seat of Hastings.

Personal life

Mercurio has been married to his wife Andrea since 1987, and together they have three children: Emily, Elise and Erin.

He appeared on the Australian version of the television show Who Do You Think You Are? in 2012 in which he discovered that his grandfather was a member of the Milwaukee division of La Cosa Nostra (the Sicilian mafia) in the 1950s.[15] Mercurio has reflected on this legacy in subsequent interviews and spoken about the effect it has had on his father, and his relationship with his father.[16]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Strictly Ballroom	Scott Hastings
1994	Exit to Eden	Elliot
1995	Joseph	Joseph	2 episodes
1995	Back of Beyond	Tom McGregor
1996	Cosi	Mental Patient	Uncredited
1996	Red Ribbon Blues	Troy
1997	Welcome to Woop Woop	Midget
1997	Dark Planet	Hawke
1998	The First 9½ Weeks	Matt Wade
1998	The Day of the Roses	Bryan Gordon	2 episodes
1999	Kick	David Knight
1999	Sydney – A Story of a City	Archaeologist marco	Short
2007	Razzle Dazzle: A Journey Into Dance	Self
2014	Creative Kids	Guest	Episode: "How to Be a Dancer"
2016	Hunting for Shadows	James Beasley
2017	A Silent Agreement	Gareth Donahue
2019	Promised	Sal
2019-2020, 2022	Neighbours	Grant Hargreaves	8 episodes

Awards

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Paul Mercurio won one award in that time.[17]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result (wins only)
1992	Paul Mercurio	Dance Performance of the Year	Won

References

External links

• Official website
• Paul Mercurio at IMDb
• Paul Mercurio biography^[Usurped!] at AustraliaDancing (archived)

На других языках

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[de] Paul Mercurio

Paul Joseph Mercurio AM (* 31. März 1963 in Swan Hill, Victoria, Australien) ist ein australischer Filmschauspieler und Balletttänzer.

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- [en] Paul Mercurio

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