Hazem Shammas is a multifaceted actor, artist, and advocate with a diverse range of accomplishments across the stage, screen, and written word. Spanning two decades, his extensive experience working with major theatre companies across Australia has equipped him with the skills of a creative director and producer, as well as a mastery of various artistic mediums, including poetry, movement, video, and photography.
Through his work with Poetry In Action, a small arts organisation and education sector, Hazem has honed his craft, experimenting with innovative performance pieces that showcase his versatility. Currently, he is engaged in research that explores the intersection of his Palestinian heritage, migrant experience, and the First Nations legacy in Australia, further solidifying his reputation as a nuanced and thoughtful artist.
As an actor, Hazem has consistently impressed audiences with his outstanding performances across various productions, earning him a Logie Award in 2018 for his work in Safe Harbour. His extensive theatre credits include Counting and Cracking, Sami in Paradise, Atlantis, Mother Courage and Her Children, Scorched, Antigone, Paul, Gates of Egypt, Peribanez, Stuff Happens, Disgraced, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, A Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, The Call, Trustees, Criminology, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tribe, and Buried City.
Hazem's screen credits are equally impressive, featuring film roles in X, The Tumbler, and Alex and Eve, as well as television appearances in Safe Harbour, Underbelly, East West 101, At Home With Julia, All Saints, Hungry Ghosts, The Hunting, My Life is Murder, The Secrets She Keeps, Halifax, and The Gloaming. His performance in Safe Harbour earned him a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Talent and an AACTA Award nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama.
As an Arts & Culture ambassador with Settlement Services International (SSI),Hazem continues to extend his refugee advocacy work, supporting new artistic enterprises and using his platform to promote diversity and inclusivity in the arts.
