Michael Budd

Michael Budd
Budd in 2022 at Santa Barbara Film Festival
Born	(1974-07-02) 2 July 1974 (age 50) Paddington, Sydney, Australia
Occupation(s)	Film director, writer, actor, rapper
Years active	1995–present
Children	2

Michael Hamish Budd (born 2 July 1974) is an Australian film actor, director and producer. Budd is best known for playing Esmael in The Cold Light of Day.[1]

Career

Budd's initial break in Hollywood came in 2001 when the Wachowskis selected him as a body double and stand in for Laurence Fishburne in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. After 200 shoot days, the directors cast him in his own role as Zion Controller.[2] In 2008, Budd starred in a music video for roll deep called Moving in Circles which featured Goldie.[3]

Budd studied acting and staging in London.[4] He graduated from the Meisner technique with the Impulse Company in 2010 he then went on to play on stage in works of Chekhov and Shakespeare and Mamet plays, in particular playing Othello in a shortened version of Othello in the Tristan Bate Theatre in London's West End.[5]

In 2011 Mabrouk El Mechri cast Budd as Esmael in The Cold Light of Day, set and shot completely in Spain. He played a Mossad agent, with dialogue in both Hebrew and English.[6][7] In 2012/13, Budd directed and produced Love of My Life, a horror thriller in which he also starred alongside Peter O'Brien and Diarmid Heidenreich. The film premiered in the United States at the Mt. Hood Independent Film Festival in Oregon and won the Best Horror/Thriller award.^[citation needed] Following its success, "Love of My Life" was released on Video on Demand with Gravitas Ventures.[8][9]

Budd's second feature film, Life of the Party completed filming in December 2016. The screenplay, co-written by Budd, was included in the Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' permanent Core Collection.[10] It premiered on 14 September 2018 at the Arena Cinelounge Sunset Los Angeles.[11][12][13][14]

2019 Michael produced and directed Rubys Choice the production faced challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was eventually completed under strict guidelines in Windsor.[15] Ruby's Choice premiered at Margaret River HEART for CinefestOZ in August 2021,[16][17][18][19][20] then on 7 March 2022, at the 37th Santa Barbara International Film Festival. On October 19 and 20 2022, New Port Beach film festival it was sold out with positive reviews.[21]On 24 September 2023, at the Burbank International Film Festival (BIFF) it won Best Foreign Film and Best Feature Film.[22][23][24][25]

In 2023 he was painted by AFI costume design winner for Baz Luhrmann's film Australia, Eliza Godman for entry to the Archibald Prize in a portrait named “Remembering” in which Budd is in a director's chair with his grandmother looking over his shoulder.[26]

Director credits

Features

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer
2013	Love of My Life	Yes	Yes	Yes
2018	Life of the Party	Yes	Yes	Yes
2022	Ruby's Choice	Yes	No	Yes

Television

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Executive Producer	Notes
2023	Black Wattle	Yes	No	Yes	Showrunner"

References

1. Gant, Charles (8 April 2012). "The Cold Light of Day". Variety Reviews. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
2. "Michael Budd". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
3. Roll Deep ft Kivanc - Movin In Circles, 22 December 2008, retrieved 11 October 2023
4. Dave Matthews (4 October 2009). "The Meisner Technique (or Sandy who?)". Drama Student. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
5. "A Taste of Impulse with Scott Williams — Acting Mastery | Sydney Drama School". Acting Mastery. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
6. The Cold Light of Day (2012) - IMDb, retrieved 11 October 2023
7. Mechri, Mabrouk El (29 January 2013), The Cold Light of Day, Lionsgate, retrieved 11 October 2023
8. "Michael Budd - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia.
9. "Enduring Love - FilmInk". Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
10. Soldani, Bianca (2 May 2012). "Budding Aussie talent making a splash in Hollywood". Australian Times. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
11. "L.A. movie openings, Sept. 13-14". Los Angeles Times. 9 September 2018. In 2020, Budd began shooting Ruby's Choice for the Glenn Family Foundation and the Owen Glenn legacy, an Australian drama that explores the topic of dementia. The film stars Jane Seymour and Jacqueline McKenzie, with 50% of the profits donated to dementia research.
12. "How Jane Seymour in Ruby's Choice aims to demystify 'a silent killer'". ABC News. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
13. Groves, Don (10 March 2020). "Jane Seymour set to tackle dementia in 'Ruby's Choice'". IF Magazine. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
14. "Jane Seymour shoots the latest Australian film during COVID pandemic". 5 August 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
15. Maddox, Garry (21 July 2020). "Painting, Zoom and Netflix are helping Jane Seymour through hotel quarantine". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
16. "Ruby's Choice: philanthropy and filmmaking". 11 September 2020.
17. "CinefestOZ reveals massive Australian film lineup for 2021 festival". 30 July 2021.
18. "MICHAEL BUDD'S 4TH FEATURE ATTACHES JANE SEYMOUR OBE TO STAR IN DEMENTIA FILM RUBY'S CHOICE". 20 December 2019.
19. Maddox, Garry (3 August 2020). "Jane Seymour shoots a new Australian film in a COVID-19 bubble". The Sydney Morning Herald.
20. "Jane Seymour shoots the latest Australian film during COVID pandemic". skynews. 5 August 2020.
21. "Instagram".
22. "2023 AWARD WINNERS / NOMINEES | Burbank International Film Festival". My Site. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
23. "TIM BURTON & BIFF's AWARD WINNERS | The Hollywood Times". 6 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
24. "NEWPORT BEACH FILM FEST". nbff2022.eventive.org. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
25. "Newport Beach Film Fest".
26. "Archibald prize hopefuls begin delivering entries as finalists set to be announced next month - video Dailymotion". Dailymotion. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

External links

• Michael Budd at IMDb