Acclaimed actor Richard Roxburgh has stepped into the shoes of the late Bob Hawke for upcoming Australian scenes in Netflix’s historical drama series The Crown.
Roxburgh will play the former prime minister in Season 4 of the ratings hit, almost a decade after he first portrayed the ‘Silver Bodgie’ on local television.
The 57-year-old appeared as the Labor larrikin in the Network Ten telemovie Hawke, which screened in 2010, and exclusive pictures from the set of The Crown show he has nailed the role again.
Roxburgh is about the right age this time as he morphs into a 1980s version of the beloved leader who died in his Sydney harbourside home at Northbridge in May aged 89.
Acclaimed actor Richard Roxburgh has stepped into the shoes of the late Bob Hawke for Australian scenes in Netflix’s multi-million dollar television series The Crown
Roxburgh will play the former prime minister in Season 4 of the British ratings hit, almost a decade after he first portrayed the ‘Silver Bodgie’ on local TV
Now Roxburgh will again morph into the beloved leader who died in his Sydney harbourside home at Northbridge in May aged 89. The real Hawke is pictured next to wife Hazel with Prince Charles and Diana at Government House in 1983
His Hawke character will feature in scenes recreating the 1983 royal tour of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, who visited Australia with 10-month-old son William.
Among the events portrayed in The Crown will be a visit by the royal couple to Government House in Canberra where they met the prime minister and his wife Hazel.
Instead of filming in Australia the production is shooting scenes in southern Spain where a luxury villa has been transformed into the governor-general’s Canberra residence.
Roxburgh has been joined on set by British actor Josh O’Connor, who plays Prince Charles in Series 3 and 4 of The Crown.
The actors wear costumes which match the blue and grey 1980s suits and ties worn by their real-life counterparts.
The period Roxburgh plays Hawke in The Crown has the former trade union boss at the height of his political powers, shortly after the first of what would be four election victories.
Diana too was wildly popular with Australian audiences during that 1983 tour.
Roxburgh’s Hawke character will feature in scenes recreating the 1983 royal tour of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, who visited Australia with first-born son William
Roxburgh has been joined on set by British actor Josh O’Connor, who plays Prince Charles in Series 3 and 4 of The Crown. The actors wear costumes which match the 1980s suits and ties worn by their real-life counterparts
Later that year Hawke made his famous declaration after Australia II won the America’s Cup: ‘Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum.’
Twelve months after the royal tour Hawke recorded an approval rating of 75 per cent – the highest ever for any Australian leader.
News of Roxburgh’s casting comes just four months after the nation said farewell to its third-longest serving prime minister – a Rhodes scholar, world champion drinker and incorrigible womaniser.
Hawke was Labor’s most electorally successful leader and its most esteemed elder statesman. In his later years he became the country’s favourite naughty old man, downing beers at the cricket for the cameras and chomping on cigars.
His popularity rested largely on an image of what was once considered a classic Australian man – sports-loving and egalitarian.
But he was as comfortable in the company of royalty and other world leaders – as The Crown will no doubt show – as he was with workers in the public bar.
The period Roxburgh will play Hawke in The Crown has the former trade union boss at the height of his political powers, shortly after his first of what would be four election victories. Diana too was wildly popular with Australian audiences during that 1983 tour
Roxburgh is known for his work on stage and screen over more than two decades, appearing in the television series Rake as well as Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! and Mission: Impossible 2.
The NIDA-trained actor’s big breakthrough came in the 1995 television series Blue Murder in which he played disgraced Sydney detective Roger Rogerson.
Roxburgh reprised that role in 2017’s Blue Murder: Killer Cop.
He has appeared in critically acclaimed theatre productions with celebrated actors including Geoffey Rush, Cate Blanchett, David Wenham, Jacqueline McKenzie and Hugo Weaving.
He is also the only actor to have played Sherlock Holmes, Holmes’s nemesis Professor Moriarty and Count Dracula in major productions.
Roxburgh’s first turn at playing Hawke showcased the political life of the Labor leader, particularly his rivalry with treasurer Paul Keating, who ousted him as prime minister in 1991.
Hawke won four federal elections for Labor: in 1983, 1984, 1987 and 1990.
Roxburgh is known for his work on stage and screen over more than decades, appearing in the television series Rake as well as Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! and Mission: Impossible 2