John Hargreaves, the quintessential Australian man, was a multifaceted actor renowned for his sparkling, biting wit. He once expressed his willingness to relinquish his remarkable career if it ever became stale, opting instead for metallurgy, a field that had always piqued his interest.
Throughout his extensive body of work in his native Australia, John never quite achieved international stardom, largely due to his inherently Australian nature. He believed that overseas work opportunities would naturally arise without his having to actively pursue them. Although he relished the success of his films globally, John was averse to the fanfare of film festivals and what he deemed the "cocktail party circuit."
This left his chief competitors, Bryan Brown, Mel Gibson, and Sam Neill, a New Zealander, in the enviable position of being the top "Australian" names abroad. John worked tirelessly, effortlessly transitioning between film, television, and theater.
Tragically, John Hargreaves succumbed to AIDS in 1996.
