Hugo Kingsley Johnstone-Burt (born 10 October 1988) is a Scottish-Australian actor. He grew up in Sydney and decided to become an actor after attending his first drama class. Johnstone-Burt graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 2009. He appeared in small roles in Australian dramas Rake, Sea Patrol and Underbelly: The Golden Mile, before he was cast as Fish Lamb in Cloudstreet. The role earned him two ASTRA Award nominations. Johnstone-Burt went on to star in Carelesss Love and he took on the role of Constable Hugh Collins in ABC1's Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. In 2012, Johnstone-Burt appeared in Tricky Business and filmed a guest role in Home and Away. He has also appeared in the musical drama film Goddess (2013) and the disaster film San Andreas (2015).

Hugo Johnstone-Burt
Johnstone-Burt at the premiere of Goddess in 2013
Born
Hugo Kingsley Johnstone-Burt[1]

(1988-10-10) 10 October 1988 (age 36)[2]
Edinburgh, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Australian
OccupationActor
Years active2009–present
Spouse
Julie Snook
(m. 2021)
Children1

Early life

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Johnstone-Burt was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.[3] He moved to Australia with his family when he was two years old, and grew up in Sydney.[3][4] His parents were both in the navy. His brother is in the army, while his sister is a lawyer.[4] Johnstone-Burt told TV Week's Erin Miller that he chose a career in acting because he was not good at anything in high school, saying "I was a bit of a clown and liked to muck around and make people laugh, and then I went to my first drama class and thought, 'Well, amazing, I can do this for the rest of my life.'"[4] His parents supported his career choice and after leaving Barker College, Johnstone-Burt auditioned for the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) aged 18.[4][5] However, he was told he was too young to attend and he decided to go travelling instead.[5] When he returned to Australia, Johnstone-Burt auditioned for NIDA again and was accepted.[5] For his graduation play in 2009, he took on the role of Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest.[4][6]

Career

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Johnstone-Burt had small roles in episodes of Rake and Sea Patrol and starred in the film Before the Rain.[2][7] He also appeared as "a young thug" in Underbelly: The Golden Mile.[2][6] The actor stated that the role allowed him to play tougher than he is in real life and commented that it "gives you a bit of a rush."[6] Johnstone-Burt garnered a nomination for an Out of the Box award from the Inside Film Awards.[8]

A week before he graduated from NIDA, Johnstone-Burt was approached to play the brain damaged Fish Lamb in the television adaptation of Tim Winton's Cloudstreet.[2][9] After attending the audition, the actor believed he had done a good enough job to secure the role.[10] He told a The Daily Telegraph reporter, "I supposed I walked out thinking I did a good job – seeing how I worked with [director Matthew Saville] and taking his direction. Then I had to sit by my phone for a month and hopefully get a call."[10] To prepare for the role, Johnstone-Burt visited a home for people with intellectual disabilities and he then spent four months shooting the miniseries in Western Australia.[2]

For his performance in Cloudstreet, the actor earned nominations for Best New Talent and Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor at the 2012 ASTRA Awards.[11] A reporter for the Herald Sun also included Johnstone-Burt in their "11 Faces To Watch in 2011" list.[12] The actor next appeared as Seb in John Duigan's film Careless Love.[13] He also travelled to Hollywood for the pilot season, where he auditioned for upcoming television shows and films.[2] Johnstone-Burt was then cast as Constable Hugh Collins in ABC TV's Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, a drama series based on Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher historical mysteries.[14] Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries was renewed for a second series in which he reprised his role.[15]

In March 2012, Johnstone-Burt joined the cast of drama series Tricky Business.[16] The following month, Johnstone-Burt revealed that he had filmed a guest role for the soap opera Home and Away.[17] The actor called his character, Jamie Sharpe, "a super-creepy stalker guy" and said he had worked a lot with Ada Nicodemou (Leah Patterson-Baker).[17][18] He also appeared alongside Magda Szubanski in the musical drama film Goddess.[4]

In 2015, Johnstone-Burt continued to appear in his role of Hugh in the third season of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. He also had a leading role in the feature film San Andreas, alongside Dwayne Johnson.[19][20] Johnstone-Burt appeared in the Network Ten drama The Wrong Girl as Vincent, the brother of lead character Lily played by Jessica Marais.[21][22] He reprised his role of Hugh Collins in the 2020 feature film Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears. It was shot on-location in Melbourne and Morocco in 2018.[23] The following year, he appeared in Rick Donald's comedy series Australia's Sexiest Tradie.[24] In 2023, Johnstone-Burt played Henry Broad in the British drama series Ten Pound Poms.[25] He also appeared in the British sitcom Queen of Oz.[26]

In 2024, Johnstone-Burt appeared in the 7plus series Roast Night. He also guest-starred in an episode of Return to Paradise, a Death in Paradise spin-off set in the fictional Australian town of Dolphin Cove.[27]

Personal life

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Johnstone-Burt has been in a relationship with news reporter Julie Snook since 2016.[28] The couple announced their engagement in November 2019,[29] and they married in the Blue Mountains in March 2021, having postponed the ceremony twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[30]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 Nicky Two-Tone Nicky
2010 Feeling Lucky Ted
2010 Before the Rain Nicky TwoTone
2010 Underbelly: The Golden Mile Adam Andrews
2010 Search Dave Short film
2010 Rake Travis Tanner Episode: "R vs Tanner"
2011 Sea Patrol Corey McGinley Episode: "Eye for an Eye"
2011 Cloudstreet Fish Lamb
2012 Careless Love Seb
2012–2015 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Hugh Collins Main cast
2012 Tricky Business Alex Rudan
2012–2013 Home and Away Jamie Sharpe Recurring role
2013 Goddess Ralph Feature film
2013 Dance Academy Nick Episode: "Second Chances"
2015 San Andreas Ben Taylor Feature film
2016–2017 The Wrong Girl Vincent Woodward Main cast
2020 Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears Hugh Collins Feature film
2021 Australia's Sexiest Tradie Steve
2023 Ten Pound Poms Henry Broad
Queen of Oz Augustus Reed Episodes: "Ginger Eyebrows" and "Royal Tinder"
2024 Roast Night Tommy Turner Main cast
Return to Paradise Henry Jones Episode: "Killer Climate"

References

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  1. ^ "Statutory registers - Births". Scotland's People. National Records of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harvey, Shannon (3 June 2011). "Hugo on cloud nine". The West Australian. Seven West Media. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  3. ^ a b Fitzpatrick, Katie (8 June 2015). "Hollywood star Hugo Johnstone-Burt shocked movie fans when he turned up for a screening of his film in Manchester". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Miller, Erin (31 March – 6 April 2012). "Man of the moment". TV Week (13). ACP Magazines: 36–37.
  5. ^ a b c Pearson, Eleanor (26 March 2009). "Importance of being at NIDA". North Shore Times. News Limited. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Gray, Ashley; Hawkins, Joanne (16 March 2011). "Hugo Johnstone Burt". GQ Australia. NewsLifeMedia. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  7. ^ "World Premiere Presented by the directors". Dungog Film Festival. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  8. ^ "Constable Hugh Collins by Hugo Johnstone-Burt". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  9. ^ Ganska, Helen (2 February 2010). "Emma Booth to star in Cloudstreet". The Sunday Times. News Limited. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Cloudstreet star Hugo Johnstone-Burt grounded". The Daily Telegraph. News Limited. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  11. ^ "2012 ASTRA Award Finalists". Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  12. ^ "Galleries: 11 Faces To Watch In 2011". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  13. ^ Edwards, Russell (22 May 2012). "Careless Love". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  14. ^ "Cast announced for Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  15. ^ "MasterChef migration". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  16. ^ Idato, Michael (1 March 2012). "Networking". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  17. ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel (28 June 2012). "'Home and Away': New characters on the way". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  18. ^ Miller, Erin (13–19 October 2012). "On the prowl". TV Week (41). ACP Magazines: 6–7.
  19. ^ Knox, David (7 May 2015). "Hot property Hugo". TV Tonight. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  20. ^ Cronin, Seanna (10 December 2014). "First look at Dwayne Johnson in San Andreas". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  21. ^ "All-Star Cast Announced For The Wrong Girl". Tenplay. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  22. ^ Knox, David (25 September 2016). "The Wrong Girl". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  23. ^ Groves, Don (26 November 2018). "It's a wrap for 'Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears'". IF Magazine. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  24. ^ Knox, David (7 September 2021). "Australia's Sexiest Tradie". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  25. ^ "Hot TV This Week – Ten Pound Poms". What's on TV. No. 16. 13–19 May 2023. pp. 4–5.
  26. ^ Knox, David (20 June 2023). "Queen of Oz". TV Tonight. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  27. ^ https://tvtonight.com.au/2024/09/return-to-paradise-sept-29.html
  28. ^ Giles, Amber (28 May 2018). "Old-school romance: Julie Snook and Hugo Johnstone-Burt on their 'rom-com' love story". TV Week. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  29. ^ Elshawarby, Nadia (25 November 2019). "Nine news reporter Julie Snook engaged to Hugo Johnstone-Burt". Who. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  30. ^ "TV reporter Julie Snook marries actor Hugo Johnstone-Burt". The Daily Telegraph. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
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