Geoff Morrell (born 19 February 1958) is an Australian actor.
Early life
Morrell was born in Fairfield in Western Sydney, where his father was a schoolteacher. The family moved to Wollongong when Morrell was nine. He finished high school without doing well, academically. He subsequently worked at the Port Kembla Steelworks, but decided to repeat year 12, and after applying himself second time around, topped the HSC.
Morrell received a NSW Teacher's Scholarship and studied a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Wollongong. While studying, he made his stage debut as Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest. He was also President of the Student Representative Council. He graduated in 1979.[1][2]
Career
Morrell began his career in theatre acting, becoming a founding member of the Theatre South organisation. In 1983, he briefly moved to England, featuring in a number of productions there.
In 1985, he branched into film acting, with a minor role in a telemovie version of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan. Over the next few years, he moved between film and theatre, starring in productions such as Macbeth and King Lear, as well as several supporting roles in films, telemovies, miniseries and regular series. These included notable Australian films Blackrock and Oscar and Lucinda. He has had guest roles in the series The Secret Life of Us, Stingers and Farscape.
After filming Oscar and Lucinda, Morrell won the role of forensic scientist Lance Fisk in the series Murder Call, which screened from 1997 to 1999. In 2000, he won one of his most significant roles to date, as the protagonist of the ABC series Grass Roots. The series was not renewed after the 2001 season, and Morrell followed this with a major role in the ABC telemovie Marking Time, as the father of a boy in love with an asylum seeker.
Morrell won the 2000 AFI Award for Best Actor for Grass Roots, and has been nominated four times, for Fallen Angels (1997), Grass Roots second series, Changi (2001) and Marking Time. He has been nominated for three silver Logies for Grass Roots (first and second series) and Changi.
In 2004, Morrell made a move into the mainstream when he became one of four new actors to join the long-running police series Blue Heelers, on which he played SergeantMark Jacobs. In September 2004, there was speculation that the ABC would commission a third series of Grass Roots. However, Morrell stated that the ABC "may have missed its chance", and as he remained contracted to Blue Heelers, would likely not have been able to participate if the series did return. Due to family commitments, Morrell chose to leave Blue Heelers.
He has also been involved in the film Right Here Right Now. In 2010, Morrell made a return to ABC to star alongside Richard Roxburgh in the first series of Rake. Morrell played the role of Joe Sandilands, a fictional NSW Attorney-General involved in the inside wheeling and dealing of the NSW Labor.
In 2015, he appeared as Inspector Clive Small, in the two-part miniseries Catching Milat.[4][5]
He appeared in the feature film Rogue, and Anthony Hayes' feature film debut Ten Empty. In 2010, he began work on the set of Cloudstreet, a television miniseries version of Tim Winton's novel. He plays the role of Lester Lamb.
Morrell has since appeared in numerous other productions including The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.[6] In 2023 Morrell was named as part of the cast in Foxtel drama High Country, and Stan series Thou Shalt Not Steal.[7]
In 2024, Morrell was named as part of the cast for the Liam Neeson led The Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky.[8] On 21 November 2024, Morrell was named for the second series of Mystery Road: Origin.[9]
