Bryan Brown AM (b. 1947), actor and producer, worked as an insurance salesman before doing theatre in Australia and London. His first Australian film appearance came in The Love-Letters From Teralba Road (1977). He was in Newsfront (1977), Breaker Morant (1980) and Winter of Our Dreams (1981) before appearing in the US mini-series The Thorn Birds (1983) – which won him an Emmy, an international profile, and the hand of co-star Rachel Ward. He made Give My Regards to Broad Street (1985) with Paul McCartney before embarking on his Hollywood heyday: F/X (1986), Tai-Pan (1986), Cocktail (1988) with Tom Cruise, Gorillas in the Mist (1988) with Sigourney Weaver, and FX 2 (1991). In 1990 he was back in Australia for Blood Oath. His recent Australian films include Dead Heart (1996), which he also produced; Two Hands (1998), Risk (2000), Mullet (2001) and Dirty Deeds (2002). As well as starring in various made-for-television movies and series, in 2004 he made a Hollywood comeback in Along Came Polly, co-starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston; he was in Australia (2008) before producing and starring in Beautiful Kate, written and directed by Rachel Ward.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020
© Peter Brew-Bevan
A portrait of actor writer and director Rachel Ward and her husband, actor and producer Bryan Brown, created in 2006 by photographer Peter Brew-Bevan. It is an inkjet print on paper measuring 99.5 cm tall by 74.5 cm wide and surrounded by a broad white border and fine wooden frame.
The photograph is monotone, ranging from white through to many shades of sepia and black. The couple are situated outdoors against a natural stone wall and light washes the image from the right side. Rachel and Bryan occupy three quarters of the portrait, Bryan on the left and Rachel on the right, leaning against each other, their bodies forming the peak of a triangle.
Bryan has short mid-tone hair greying at the temples. His head is turned towards Rachel almost in profile, showing his right ear. His forehead is lightly furrowed by his raised left eyebrow. His eyes, hooded by lowered lids, look down and across to his wife. He has a large narrow straight nose with a defined line running from its base to the side of his mouth which is thin and closed. Bryan is wearing a black T-shirt, his right arm bends behind him, the hand propped on his right hip, the fingers in the back pocket of his black jeans. His left arm embraces his wife across her shoulders with his relaxed left hand hanging over her left shoulder. Her shoulders lean into him while her body slants away.
Rachel is half a head shorter than Bryan, her head angled towards him. Her shoulder-length dark hair gently curls around her face. Her finely-shaped brows are dark; her eyes look down and across to Bryan. She has pale skin, defined cheek bones and a narrow nose. Her wide thin shapely lips are closed and her chin is tilted upwards. Rachel has a long neck and wears three necklaces of different lengths. The shortest hugs her collarbone and has large metal beads, a heavy chain hangs to mid upper chest and the third finer chain with large cross nestles in her décolletage, slightly caught on the edge of her scooped-neck cotton top. Her body faces us but is slightly angled to the right. Rachel’s slim build is enveloped in an oversized suit jacket, with broad subtle stripes. Her hands are in its large pockets. Several small dark stains are splattered between the pocket and the button of the jacket. She also wears faded jeans.
Audio description written by Krysia Kitch and voiced by Lucie Shawcross, 2021
Peter Brew-Bevan (age 37 in 2006)
Bryan Brown AM (age 59 in 2006)
Rachel Ward AM (age 49 in 2006)
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