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Hugh Keays-Byrne picture

Hugh Keays-Byrne

Acting
Known For

73 Years Old

Hugh Keays-Byrne (May 18, 1947 – December 2, 2020) was a British-Australian actor and film director. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was best known for playing the main antagonist in two films from the Mad Max franchise: Toecutter in Mad Max (1979), and Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). He also played Toad in the 1974 biker film Stone, and Grunchlk on the science fiction series Farscape. Keays-Byrne was born in Srinagar, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (part of the British Raj then, India now) to British parents; his family returned to Britain when India was partitioned. He began his career as a stage actor. Keays-Byrne made his first television appearance in 1967 on the British television programme Boy Meets Girl. He was part of Peter Brook's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Royal Shakespeare Company, which toured Australia in 1973. Keays-Byrne decided to remain in Australia after the tour ended. In 1974, he acted in the TV movie Essington, then made his first film appearance in the motorcycle picture Stone (1974). This was followed by supporting roles in films like The Man from Hong Kong (1975), Mad Dog Morgan (1976), The Trespassers (1976) and Snapshot (1979). After his first starring role in the 1978 TV movie Death Train, Keays-Byrne was cast as the violent gang leader Toecutter in Mad Max (1979). Director George Miller had Keays-Byrne and the other actors for the gang travel from Sydney to Melbourne in a group on motorcycles, as there was no money for airplane tickets. In an early international print of the film, Keays-Byrne was dubbed with a bad American accent, which Miller later regretted. Keays-Byrne then continued to act in post-apocalyptic and science fiction films like The Chain Reaction (1980), Strikebound (1984), Starship (1985) and The Blood of Heroes (1989). In 1992, he made his directorial debut and acted in the film Resistance. He also appeared in TV miniseries adaptations of Moby Dick (1998) and Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1999). Keays-Byrne played Grunchlk in the science fiction television series Farscape (1999–2003) and its conclusion Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (2004). George Miller also cast him as the Martian Manhunter in the planned 2009 movie Justice League: Mortal. Keays-Byrne returned to the Mad Max franchise in the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road as the main villain Immortan Joe. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning 6, and Keays-Byrne was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain. Description above from the Wikipedia article Hugh Keays-Byrne, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Born

Kashmir, India on 18th May 1947

Died

2nd December 2020

All Credits

Farscape Image
Farscape
Grunchlk
Mad Max: Fury Road Image
Mad Max: Fury Road
Immortan Joe
Journey to the Center of the Earth Image
Journey to the Center of the Earth
McNiff
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars Image
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
Grunchlk
Mad Max Image
Mad Max
Toecutter
Sleeping Beauty Image
Sleeping Beauty
Man 3
Moby Dick Image
Moby Dick
Mr. Stubb
The Blood of Heroes Image
The Blood of Heroes
Lord Vlle
The Man from Hong Kong Image
The Man from Hong Kong
Morrie Grosse
Mad Dog Morgan Image
Mad Dog Morgan
Simon
Stone Image
Stone
Toad
The Chain Reaction Image
The Chain Reaction
Eagle
Going Mad: The Battle of Fury Road Image
Going Mad: The Battle of Fury Road
Self
Blue Fin Image
Blue Fin
Stan
Snapshot Image
Snapshot
Linsey
Dadah Is Death Image
Dadah Is Death
Hammed
Where the Green Ants Dream Image
Where the Green Ants Dream
Mining Executive
The Madness of Max Image
The Madness of Max
Self
For Love Alone Image
For Love Alone
Andrew
Badlands 2005 Image
Badlands 2005
Moondance
Burke & Wills Image
Burke & Wills
Ambrose Kyte
Treasure Island Image
Treasure Island
(voice)
Kangaroo Image
Kangaroo
Kangaroo
Lorca and the Outlaws Image
Lorca and the Outlaws
Danny
Going Down Image
Going Down
Bottom
Voyage au centre de la terre Image
Voyage au centre de la terre
McNiff
Resistance Image
Resistance
Peter
The Death Train Image
The Death Train
Strikebound Image
Strikebound
Idris Williams
Barnaby and Me Image
Barnaby and Me
Huggins
Les Patterson Saves the World Image
Les Patterson Saves the World
Inspector Farouk
No Image
Polly My Love
Huntsman 5.1 Image
Huntsman 5.1
Bain
The Trespassers Image
The Trespassers
Frank