Actor Jason Clarke has earned a reputation as a character actor in Hollywood. A popular face on the big screen, Clarke is also known for mostly playing the antagonists. Although most of his credits have been in film, Clarke has also starred in several TV series.
Besides the villainy roles he’s often cast in, the 1.85 m tall actor has an unmissable on-screen presence. Although an Australian actor, Clarke has a flawless American-English accent. As one of the top Australian actors in Hollywood, these are 6 things you didn’t know about Jason Clarke.
Jason Clarke’s Initial Career Choice Was To Be A Lawyer
Jason Clarke was born in a sheep and cattle-raising small town (Padthaway) in Winston, Queensland, Australia. As such, his father worked as a sheep shearer to support the family. Early in his life, Clarke had always known that Padthaway was too small for his dreams. After graduating from High School, he chose to study law. However, he soon fell in love with the prospect of acting. Not wanting to waste precious time preparing for a career he had no passion for, Clarke dropped out of the University and enrolled at the Sydney Actor’s Studio. After that, he enrolled and graduated in 1994 from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne.
He Began His Professional Acting Career At 25
Jason Clarke debuted on-screen in 1995 in the Australian TV crime series Halifax f.p. He played a Detective in series 1, episode 5 (“Hard Corps”). The episode aired about a month before Clarke turned 26. Although a guest appearance, Clarke landed another role that same year as Dean Crocker in the Australian police drama series Blue Heelers. He appeared in four episodes of the series from 1995 to 1999.
Jason Clarke’s Work On Television
Jason Clarke last appeared in an Australian TV series in 1996, when he played Nathan Cohan in 2 episodes of Mercury. He made his American television debut that same year as a guest star. Clarke played Rick “Slick” Brooks in the “A Model Murder” episode of the CBS comedy-mystery-medical crime drama series Diagnosis: Murder (1996). Since then, he has played guest-starring and starring roles in several miniseries and TV shows.
Clarke’s most notable American TV credits have been in Stingers (2000–2003), The Chicago Code (2011), and Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022–2023). He has also raked up credits in prominent Australian TV series. These include Home and Away (2002), White Collar Blue (2002–2003), and playing the iconic Tommy Caffee in Brotherhood (2006–2008).
Jason Clarke Shares The Same Birthday With A Popular Filmmaker
Jason Clarke, born on July 17, 1969, shares the exact same birthday with American filmmaker F. Gary Gray. Although Felix Gary Gary is a prominent director and producer from directing award-winning music videos, he has since raked up credits as a notable filmmaker in Hollywood. With 12 feature film credits to his name as a director and/or producer, most of Gary Gary’s works have been box-office hits. These include Friday (1995), Set It Off (1996), The Negotiator (1998), The Italian Job (2003), Law Abiding Citizen (2009), Straight Outta Compton (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), and Men in Black: International (2019).
He’s Married To A French Actress
Jason Clarke is married to actress Cécile Breccia. The couple married in 2018 and have been blessed with two children. Breccia has credits in French and American films, with the French actress making her on-screen debut in 2006. Her two most prominent appearances in Hollywood are playing a Pregnant Woman in The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007) and Lt. Link Manion in Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008).
Jason Clarke’s Highest-Grossing Movies
A quick look through Jason Clarke’s filmography shows the actor has had a successful career over the years. He has starred in several popular and successful films since his film debut in 1997. Clarke’s most recent film is the 2023 legal drama The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, where he played Lieutenant Barney Greenwald. By the end of the 2000s, Clarke’s highest-grossing movie was Public Enemies (2009), which grossed $214.1 million worldwide. Although White House Down (2013) didn’t beat Public Enemies, with the film grossing $205.4 million, The Great Gatsby (2013) raised the bar by grossing $353.6 million.
While the 2015 Terminator Genisys earned $440.6 million, Clarke’s highest-grossing movie of the 2010s was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The movie grossed $710.6 million at the Box Office. Clarke portrayed Roger Robb in Christopher Nolan‘s epic biological thriller Oppenheimer (2023). Oppenheimer is Jason Clarke‘s highest-grossing movie, earning over $940 million at the Box Office.
