Jeremy Hartley Sims (born 10 January 1966) is an Australian actor and director."Company History ", Porkchop Productions, 2008, Retrieved 20 April 2010
Early life Jeremy Sims was born in Perth, Western Australia on 10 January 1966, and was educated at Wesley College from 1977 to 1983.
In 1987, Sims was studying at University of Western Australia (UWA). He graduated in 1990 from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, with a degree in Performing Arts (Acting).
Career Sims' first appearance on the big screen was a minor part in the 1980 movie Harlequin. He is however, remembered by many for his role as Alex Taylor in the risqué television soap opera Chances from 1991 to 1992, in which he was cast the year after graduating from NIDA. He was nominated for a Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent for the role in 1992.
Sims has starred in several films, including playing Mick, opposite Ben Mendelsohn's Kev in 1996 crime film Idiot Box. It was his first lead role in a feature film, and saw him nominated for Best Actor at both the Australian Film Institute Awards and the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards. Other film credits include 2003 film Liquid Bridge with Ryan Kwanten, 2003 Ned Kelly satire Ned, 2009 drama The Waiting City with Radha Mitchell, 2015 romantic drama Ruben Guthrie with Patrick Brammall, 2017 adventure comedy A Few Less Men and 2018 quirky comedy drama Swinging Safari, opposite Guy Pearce and Kylie Minogue.
Sims' television appearances include the 1997 made-for-television film Kangaroo Palace, which earned him an Australian Film Institute Award nomination for AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama. In 1999, he appeared in Aftershocks, a mockumentary TV movie about the 1989 Newcastle earthquake. He won an Australian Film Institute Award and was nominated for a Logie Award for his portrayal of John Constable. That same year he featured in the miniseries Day of the Roses, based on the Granville rail disaster and the TV movie Secret Men's Business alongside Ben Mendelsohn, Simon Baker and Marcus Graham. In 2001, he played Tony Dunne MP in the satirical miniseries Corridors of Power. In 2004, he starred in Fireflies as Tim 'Backa' Burke. He had recurring roles in Home and Away in 2009 as David ‘Gardy’ Gardiner and Wild Boys in 2011 as Francis Fuller. He starred in the 2009 TV film In Her Skin with Guy Pearce. He has also had numerous guest roles in series including Police Rescue Wildside, Medivac, Farscape, Young Lions, Stingers, The Secret Life of Us, McLeod's Daughters. and the Underbelly franchise.
Sims is also a director, with no less than five feature films credits to his name. He directed and produced 2006 thriller Last Train to Freo, which received three Australian Film Institute Award nominations. In 2010, his second feature, the war drama Beneath Hill 60 was nominated for 12 AFI Awards, five Inside Film Awards, and eight Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, including for Best Director and Best Film. He won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
In 2014, Sims directed, produced and co-wrote the film adaptation of Last Cab to Darwin, based on the 2003 play of the same name. Starring Michael Caton and Jacki Weaver, it received numerous AACTA Awards nominations. including Best Director and won the AACTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and was selected for Toronto International Film Festival in 2015. In 2018, he wrote and directed the feature documentary Wayne (about motorsport champion Wayne Gardner) which was selected for Melbourne International Film Festival that year. He also directed 2020 film Rams, starring Sam Neill, Michael Caton, and Miranda Richardson, which was met with international acclaim.
His director credits for television include 2021 six-part Amazon Prime miniseries Back to the Rafters (spin-off and sequel to long-running drama series Packed to the Rafters) and eight-part medical rescue series RFDS from 2021 to 2023, in which he also appeared. He has also directed episodes of Doctor Doctor, A Place to Call Home, Rescue: Special Ops and Home and Away.
Sims is also developing several projects, including six part series Bluebird (produced by his company Pork Chop Productions) and the drama series Fight or Flight – The Woman who Cracked the Anxiety Code, a drama series, based on a best selling biography by Judith Hoare.
Sims has also acted in and directed stage productions at Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir and Melbourne Theatre Company, as well as overseas at Trafalgar Studios in London and Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. In 1995, together with then girlfriend Kym Wilson, Sims formed the theatrical production company 'Pork Chop Productions'. Pork Chop has toured many shows nationally since that time and won a Drover's Award in 2005 for their production of the play, Last Cab to Darwin. His stage acting credits include Philip Seymour Hoffman's production of Riflemind, and the Edinburgh Festival / Royal National Theatre Company production of The Secret River.
Sims continues to act in selected projects, including the final season of comedy crime drama series Mr Inbetween in 2021. In February 2025, he was announced as part of the cast for the second season of historical heist drama series The Artful Dodger.
Acting credits
Film YearTitleRoleNotesRef 1980 Harlequin Young boy Feature film 1991 Placenta Boy Short film 1996 Idiot Box Mick Feature film 2000 City of Dreams Walter Burley Griffin Feature film 2001 Tick Jack Short film 2003 Liquid Bridge Tony Feature film Ned Mr Kelly Feature film 2009 The Waiting City Carlisle Feature film 2015 Ruben Guthrie Ray Feature film 2017 A Few Less Men Pilot Ridgeon Feature film 2018 Swinging Safari Bob Marsh Feature film 2019 Bilched Matt's Dad
Television YearTitle Role NotesRef 1991–1992 Chances Alex Taylor 126 episodes 1994 Police Rescue Terry TV movie Heartland Garth Maddern 2 episodes 1995 Police Rescue Jeff Bertram 1 episode 1996 Natural Justice: Heat Gavin Larsen TV movie 1997 Kangaroo Palace Jack Gill TV movie Frontline Steve Barrett 1 episode 1998 Wildside Greg Zelka 1 episode Medivac Mark Best 4 episodes The Day of the Roses Gerry Buchtmann Miniseries The Chosen Peter McAlister TV movie 1999 Aftershocks John Constable TV movie Secret Men's Business Warwick Jones TV movie 1999–2000 Farscape Rorf 3 episodes 1999–2003 Stingers Troy Thorpe / Aaron Fielder 4 episodes 2000 The Lost World Vorded 1 episode 2001 The Bill Ken McEvoy 1 episode Corridors of Power Tony Dunne MP 6 episodes 2002 Young Lions Rob Carne 3 episodes 2003 Balmain Boys Andy TV movie The Secret Life of Us Neil 3 episodes 2004 Fireflies Tim Burke 22 episodes 2005 McLeod's Daughters Will Hamiltion 1 episode 2008 Blue Water High Loren's Dad 1 episode In Her Skin McLean TV movie 2009 Home and Away David Gardiner 15 episodes 2010 City Homicide Pete Copland 1 episode 2011 Wild Boys Francis Fuller 10 episodes Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away Tony Moynihan TV movie 2012 Dangerous Remedy Bertram Wainer TV movie 2016 Doctor Doctor Mike 1 episode 2020 Black Comedy 1 episode 2021 Mr Inbetween Rafael 5 episodes 2025 The Artful Dodger Uncle Dickie Season 2 Sunny Nights Lachlan Jennings 2026The F Ward Dr Geoffrey FriedmanTV series:3 episodes
Theatre YearTitle Role NotesRef 1986 Chicago Chicago New Dolphin Theatre, Perth with UWA 1992 Love Letters Andrew Makepeace III Sydney Opera House with Les Currie Presentations / STC 1993 Aftershocks John Belvoir Theatre Company 1994 The Grapes of Wrath Tom Joad Playhouse, Melbourne with MTC All Souls Frank Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company Picasso at the Lapin Agile Pablo Picasso Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne Playhouse, Adelaide, Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney with Company B / Playbox Theatre Company 1995 Twelfth Night Sebastian University of Sydney, Monash University, Melbourne, Melbourne Athenaeum, Canberra Theatre, Playhouse, Adelaide with Bell Shakespeare Pericles Pericles University of Sydney, Monash University, Melbourne, Melbourne Athenaeum, Canberra Theatre, Playhouse, Adelaide with Bell Shakespeare 1995; 1997 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Guildenstern Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney, with Pork Chop Productions 1997 The Herbal Bed Wharf Theatre, Sydney, with STC 1998 Macbeth Space Theatre, Adelaide with STCSA 1999 Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC 2000–2001 The White Devil Flamineo Theatre Royal Sydney, Brooklyn Academy of Music with STC 2001 Hamlet Hamlet Belvoir Theatre Company with Pork Chop Productions 2002 The Virgin Mim Mr McDermott, Mim's father Wharf Theatre, Sydney, with STC 2003 The Club Sydney Opera House with STC 2005 Festen Michael Sydney Opera House with STC 2006 Under Ice Wharf Theatre, Sydney, with Wharf 2 Loud 2007–2009 Riflemind Sam Wharf Theatre, Sydney, with STC / Trafalgar Studios, London 2009 God of Carnage Michael (replaced by Russell Dykstra) STC 2011 Celebrity Autobiography Comedian Sydney Opera House with Ross Mollison Productions 2013; 2019 The Secret River Smasher Sullivan Sydney Theatre, Playhouse, Canberra, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Edinburgh Festival, National Theatre London, NT tour with STC
Directing / writing credits
Film YearTitleRoleNotesRef 2006 Last Train to Freo Director / executive producer Feature film 2010 Beneath Hill 60 Director Feature film 2015 Last Cab to Darwin Director / producer / co-writer Feature film 2018 Wayne Director / writer Documentary film 2020Rams Director Feature film
Television YearTitleRoleNotesRef 2011 Rescue: Special Ops Director 2 episodes 2016 Doctor Doctor Director 4 episodes 2017–2018 A Place to Call Home Director 6 episodes 2021 Back to the Rafters Director 2 episodes 2021; 2023 RFDS Director 2 episodes 2022 Home and Away Director 10 episodes Bluebird Fight or Flight – The Woman who Cracked the Anxiety Code The Star of the Sea In development Everything I Never Did Director In development
Theatre YearTitleRoleNotesRef 1995 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Director / producer Belvoir Theatre Company with Pork Chop Productions 1996; 2000 Stow and the Dragon Director Stables Theatre, Sydney, Seymour Centre, Sydney with Pork Chop Productions 1998 Wank Producer Old Fitzroy Theatre, Sydney, with Pork Chop Productions / Theatre Hydra 1999 The Wild Duck Director Playhouse, Adelaide, Glen St Theatre, Sydney with STCSA / Pork Chop Productions Night of the Sea Monkey Producer Old Fitzroy Theatre, Sydney, with Pork Chop Productions / Theatre Hydra 2001 Borderlines Director Stables Theatre, Sydney, Riverina Playhouse with Griffin Theatre Company Hamlet Director / producer Belvoir Theatre Company with Pork Chop Productions 2002 The Return Director Rechabite Hall, Perth with Perth Theatre Company 2003 The Shape of Things Director Wharf Theatre, Sydney, with STC 2003–2004 Last Cab to Darwin Director Australian tour with Black Swan Theatre Company / HotHouse Theatre 2004 The Unlikely Prospect of Happiness Director Sydney Theatre with STC 2005 Ruby's Last Dollar Director Sydney Opera House, Octagon Theatre, Perth with Pork Chop Productions / Black Swan Theatre Company 2007 Little Britain Live Director Vodafone Arena, Melbourne 2007; 2008–2009 Brilliant Monkey Director Darlinghurst Theatre, Sydney, Old Fitzroy Theatre, Sydney, Riverside Theatres Parramatta with Tamarama Rock Surfers / Pork Chop Productions
Awards