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Actor

1953-07-01 · Maningrida, Arnhem Land, Australia · Male

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David Dhalatnghu Gulpilil (1 July 1953 – 29 November 2021) was an Aboriginal Australian actor and dancer. He was known for his roles in the films Walkabout (1971), Storm Boy (1976), The Last Wave (1977), Crocodile Dundee (1986), Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), The Tracker (2002) and Australia (2008).

He was raised in a traditional lifestyle in Arnhem Land. A skilled dancer, he was noticed by British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg, who cast him in his first feature film role in Walkabout (1971). He also made several appearances on stage.

Recognised as one of Australia's greatest actors and a trailblazer for Indigenous Australians in film, he was honoured with numerous awards and honours, including a lifetime achievement award at the 2019 NAIDOC Awards. After his death, for a short period, he was posthumously referred to as David Dalaithngu, at his family's request, to conform to Indigenous practices that avoid naming the dead.

Early life and education

Gulpilil was likely born in 1953. In a 2021 documentary, he said that he did not know how old he was, referring to, like all people, not remembering his birth and, of ourselves, not knowing how old we are, and also, through the circumstances of his later life and health, having lost track of time. Local missionaries recorded his birth as 1 July 1953, based on "guesswork". He belonged to the Yolngu people and was initiated into the Mandhalpuyngu tribal group, hailing from his traditional homeland of Marwuyu in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.

As a young boy, Gulpilil was an accomplished hunter, tracker and ceremonial dancer. Gulpilil spent his childhood remote from non-Aboriginal Australian influences. He did not see a European-Australian man until he was 8 years old. He received a traditional upbringing in the care of his family, until the death of his parents. He then attended the school at Maningrida in North East Arnhem Land, where he was assigned the English name "David". When he came of age, Gulpilil was initiated into the Mandhalpuyngu tribal group. His skin group totemic animal was the kingfisher (the meaning of the name Gulpilil) and his homeland was Marwuyu.

He spoke several Aboriginal languages. and became fluent in English after appearing in his first film Walkabout (1971).

Film and television

In 1969, Gulpilil's skill as a tribal dancer caught the attention of British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg, who had come to Maningrida scouting locations for a forthcoming film. Roeg promptly cast the 16-year-old unknown to play a principal role in his film Walkabout, released in 1971. It was internationally acclaimed and Gulpilil's role was the first time that a male Aboriginal character had been portrayed as sexually attractive. Gulpilil's on-screen charisma, combined with his acting and dancing skills, was such that he became an instant national and international celebrity.

The young man travelled internationally, mingled with prominent people and was presented to heads of state. During these travels to promote the film, he met and was impressed with John Lennon, Bob Marley, Bruce Lee, Marlon Brando and Jimi Hendrix. He taught Bob Marley how to play the didgeridoo, while Marley introduced him to "ganja".

Gulpilil appeared in many more films and television productions. He played a lead role in the commercially successful and critically acclaimed Storm Boy (1976). He "dominated" the film The Last Wave (1977) with his charismatic performance as Chris Lee, a conflicted urban tribal Aboriginal. He also played Neville Bill in Crocodile Dundee (1986).

A documentary about his life, Gulpilil: One Red Blood, was aired on ABC Television in 2003. The title comes from a quote by Gulpilil: "We are all one blood. No matter where we are from, we are all one blood, the same".

Gulpilil was a major creative influence throughout his life in both dance and film. He initiated and narrated the film Ten Canoes, which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Cannes Festival. The low-budget film, based on a 1,000-year-old traditional story of misplaced love and revenge, features non-professional Aboriginal actors speaking their local language. Gulpilil collaborated with the director, Rolf de Heer, urging him to make the film. He ultimately withdrew from a central role in the project for "complex reasons." Gulpilil also provided the voice of the storyteller for the film. De Heer had directed Gulpilil in the earlier film, The Tracker (2002).

In 2007, he starred in Richard Friar's hour-long independent documentary, Think About It! This was focused on Indigenous rights and the anti-war movement. It included commentary from former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, former Greens leader Bob Brown, and David Hicks, then a detainee at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camp on Cuba.

In 2014, Gulpilil again collaborated with De Heer, this time sharing on screenwriting credits for Charlie's Country. The film won several awards, including Best Actor in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2015, Gulpilil appeared in the documentary Another Country, directed by Molly Reynolds. In this film, Gulpilil narrates the story of his life, from when he was a child living on country; the arrival of the first white men ("ghosts"), in the form of missionaries; through The Intervention and the introduction of the BasicsCard. He often made serious criticisms hidden beneath his trademark humour.

Gulpilil worked again with Reynolds when she directed a documentary about his life, My Name Is Gulpilil, which premiered at the 2021 Adelaide Festival.

Gulpilil was renowned for portraying Aboriginal culture before it became threatened by the white civilisations. He became somewhat divorced from his own culture by his career in film. He felt that he was stretched somewhere between the two, with "one tiptoe in caviar and champagne, this one in the dirt of my Dreamtime."

Stage

In March 2004, he performed in the autobiographical stage production, Gulpilil at the Adelaide Festival of Arts and received standing ovations. This work, co-written with Reg Cribb and directed by Neil Armfield, was based on stories of his life assembled into a script. These included tales from the making of Walkabout, performing at Buckingham Palace and inadvertently causing a bomb scare at Cannes. The show was later staged in Brisbane and Sydney.

He also performed on stage in The Cradle of Hercules at the Sydney Opera House in 1974; the Commonwealth Gala Performance in Brisbane in 1982 (in front of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip;) and the Message Sticks Film Festival in Sydney in 2002.

Dance

Perhaps the most renowned traditional dancer in Australia, Gulpilil organised troupes of dancers and musicians and performed at festivals throughout the country. He won the prestigious Darwin Australia Day Eisteddfod dance competition four times.

In 1979, Gulpilil and another dancer, Dick Plummer, were accompanied by master didgeridu player David Blanasi and his musical partner, songman Djoli Laiwanga, on a tour to Europe, stopping at Hawaii en route. There, they performed at an Australia Day function on the lawn of the Australian Consular Residence in Honolulu on 29 January 1979. Part of their performance was filmed by CSIRO scientist Gavin Gillman which is in the collection of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.

In November 1997, Gulipilil's dance troupe performed at the second National Aboriginal Dance Conference in Adelaide (hosted by the National Aboriginal Dance Council Australia (NADCA).) The conference included discussions of cultural and intellectual property rights and copyright issues for Australian Indigenous dancers. A free concert was given in Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka. The troupe was given a A$9,000 grant from the Northern Territory Government to attend the third conference in Sydney in 1999.

Writing and painting

In addition to his career in dance, music, film and television, Gulpilil was an acclaimed…