
Jarratt was born and grew up in Wongawilli, a small rural town near Wollongong, New South Wales and later in the Snowy Mountains area. Jarratt’s father was a coal miner and later a concreter, who worked on the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme. His 5x great-grandfather, George Jarratt, born 1833, came from Croxton in Cambridgeshire, England; his son, John, married a Mary Kelly from Ireland. While in high school, Jarratt directed and acted in a school play which was a great success and led to his school principal recommending him for an acting career. Jarratt graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1973. His screen debut was in The Great Macarthy. He also appeared in Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock in 1975 and Summer City in 1977 with Mel Gibson. Jarratt had the lead role in the mini series The Last Outlaw playing Ned Kelly in 1979. He played a major supporting role as a young Australian soldier in Vietnam war movie The Odd Angry Shot, 1980. In the late 1980s, Jarratt recognised he had a problem with binge drinking and related violence and joined Alcoholics Anonymous, an organisation in which he continues to be active. In the 1990s, he was a presenter on the lifestyle show Better Homes and Gardens with then-wife Noni Hazlehurst. He had guest roles in Inspector Morse, Police Rescue, Blue Murder, Water Rats and Blue Heelers in the 1990s and 2000s. He joined the cast of McLeod’s Daughters in 2001, and left the show in 2006. In 2010, Jarratt appeared in a commercial for Husqvarna. In May 2013, Jarratt filmed a guest star role in the third instalment of the ABC telemovie series, Jack Irish: Dead Point. In 2005, he had a major role in the Australian film Wolf Creek, playing the villain Mick Taylor.[5] In 2007, he appeared in two films, Rogue and The Final Winter. Jarratt also had a small role in the 2008 film, Australia, as a soldier. In 2008, Jarratt launched his own film production company, Winnah Films. Winnah’s first feature film, Savages Crossing (originally carrying the working title Flood) went into principal photography outside Ipswich, Queensland in February. In 2009, he appears as the father of a teenage girl via phone in Telstra’s “Next G” commercials. In 2010, Jarratt starred in the ensemble exploitation extravaganza, Bad Behaviour, written and directed by Joseph Sims. In the same year, Jarratt also had a role in the supernatural horror movie Needle. He made a cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained in 2012, appearing as an employee of the Le Quint Dickie Mining Company alongside Tarantino himself, both appearing with Australian accents. In February 2013, Jarratt reprised his role as Mick Taylor, filming the Wolf Creek sequel, Wolf Creek 2, with Matt Hearn producing and Greg McLean directing. The film was released on 20 February 2014. In January 2014, a new thriller called StalkHer began filming on the Gold Coast, Queensland. The film is co-directed by Jarratt, who also stars in the production. The producer of the film is ‘OZPIX’, a production company partly owned by Jarratt. Filming was completed in February 2014, and will screen later in the year.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 5, 1951 (75)
- Wongawilli, New South Wales, Australia
- Actor, also producer and director
- 28 on MovieCove · 69 credits in all
Known for
What are John Jarratt's films like?
Across their 19 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 4 · Wry 0 · Earnest 12
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 5 · Dark 8
Grounded 7 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 2
Gentle 1 · Charged 5 · Intense 10
Steady 4 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 5
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 2
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 10 · Relentless 2
Casual 5 · Engaged 11 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 6
A split, not a type: Resolved 9 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 3
Roles they play
Usually the Shadow: 6 of 13 analyzed roles.
Show the 13 rolesHide the roles
- Allyas Sandy in Summer City (1977)
- Heroas Bill in The Odd Angry Shot (1979)
- Allyas Barney in Next of Kin (1982)
- Shadowas Terry Dodge in McLeod's Daughters (2001)
- Shadowas Mick Taylor in Wolf Creek (2005)
- Tricksteras Mick Taylor in Wolf Creek (2005)
- Shadowas Franklin Rood in Shiver (2012)
- Shadowas Mick Taylor in Wolf Creek 2 (2013)
- Shadowas Jack in StalkHer (2015)
- Shadowas Mick Taylor in Wolf Creek (2016)
- Mentoras Ken in Boar (2017)
- Mentoras Roy in Love You Like That (2021)
- Heroas Jacob in The Possessed (2021)
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet7
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous8
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch John Jarratt's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 24 of their 28 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (15).
- Django Unchained (2012) · actor · free
- The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978) · actor · free
- McLeod's Daughters (2001) · actor · free
- Police Rescue (1989) · actor · free
- Wolf Creek (2016) · actor · free
- Next of Kin (1982) · actor · free
- Wolf Creek (2005) · actor · free
- Rogue (2007) · actor · free
- Wolf Creek 2 (2013) · actor · free
- Water Rats (1996) · actor · free
- 100 Bloody Acres (2012) · actor · free
- Love You Like That (2021) · actor · free
- +3 more
- BritBox
- Howdy, show their 3 titles on Howdy
- MovieSphere+, show their 3 titles on MovieSphere+
- Cineverse, show their 2 titles on Cineverse
- Shout! TV, show their 2 titles on Shout! TV
- Acorn TV, show their title on Acorn TV
- Dove Channel, show their title on Dove Channel
- IndiePix Unlimited, show their title on IndiePix Unlimited
- Midnight Pulp, show their title on Midnight Pulp
- Screambox, show their title on Screambox
Subscription and free streaming for John Jarratt's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
69 credits, 28 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

Shed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

Double or Nothing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

What About Sal? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

Darby and Joan(2022)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows
Christmas Down Under (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

The Possessed(2021)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
Love You Like That(2021)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Boar(2017)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Siren(2018)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows
Hero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

Red Dog: True Blue(2016)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Wolf Creek(2016)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all shows
Observance(2015)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
StalkHer(2015)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Frenzy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

Jack Irish: Dead Point(2014)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Wolf Creek 2(2013)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Django Unchained(2012)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Territory Cops (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

100 Bloody Acres(2012)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Shiver(2012)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
Savages Crossing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

Bad Behaviour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

Needle(2010)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Australia(2008)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Rogue(2007)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
The Final Winter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

Wolf Creek(2005)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
McLeod's Daughters(2001)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all showsOutriders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

Dead Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

Water Rats(1996)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all shows
All Men Are Liars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

Blue Murder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

Talk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

Blue Heelers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

Joh's Jury (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

The Time Game (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

Police Rescue(1989)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows
Pirates Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

Midnight Dancer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

Touch the Sun: Top Enders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

Dark Age (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

Inspector Morse(1987)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
Australian Dream (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

The Naked Country (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

Crime of the Decade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

The Settlement (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

Chase Through the Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

Fluteman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

We of the Never Never (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

Next of Kin(1982)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
The Last Outlaw (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

The Odd Angry Shot(1979)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Blue Fin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
The Sound of Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

Little Boy Lost (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

Father, Dear Father (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Plunge Into Darkness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

Summer City(1977)
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all filmsThe Tree (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

Bluey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

Picnic at Hanging Rock(1975)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
The Great MacArthy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
The Ascendants (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

The Ninth Order (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

Career shape
Star power in the 98th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 69 titles, 65 of them dated from 1975 to 2025; peak year 2013.

Biggest box office
Australia (2008)

Highest rated
Darby and Joan (2022)

Most popular right now
McLeod's Daughters (2001)
Film career
Peak 2013 · steadily prominent in film for years. Top draw in 8 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1975Screen debut· Picnic at Hanging Rock
- 1987First top-billed film· Dark Age
- 2005Breakout· Wolf Creek
- 2016Career best· Wolf Creek
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do John Jarratt's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 49th percentile, the median of the 20 of 21 with a score; across their 16 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 27th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th11
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 27 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Cult Classic3
- Crowd Pleaser12
- Broadly Agreed3
- Mixed7
Reviewers score the acting 60/100 in their films, across 15 reviewed titles; fans 76, detractors 37. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is John Jarratt's work okay for kids?
Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does John Jarratt work with?
People who share at least 2 of John Jarratt's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kris Maric shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Greg McLeanShared titles: Wolf Creek 2 (2013), Rogue (2007), Wolf Creek (2005)See all 3 shared titles with Greg McLean

- Chris SunShared titles: The Possessed (2021), Boar (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Chris Sun

Writers
- Kirsty DallasShared titles: The Possessed (2021), Boar (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Kirsty Dallas
Actors
- Bryan BrownShared titles: Darby and Joan (2022), Australia (2008), The Odd Angry Shot (1979)See all 3 shared titles with Bryan Brown

- Anna McGahanShared titles: Darby and Joan (2022), 100 Bloody Acres (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Anna McGahan

- Chris HaywoodShared titles: Love You Like That (2021), Boar (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Chris Haywood

- Melissa TkautzShared titles: The Possessed (2021), Boar (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Melissa Tkautz

Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Mark SmytheShared titles: Love You Like That (2021), The Possessed (2021), Boar (2017)See all 3 shared titles with Mark Smythe
- Jason BallantineShared titles: Needle (2010), Rogue (2007), Wolf Creek (2005)See all 3 shared titles with Jason Ballantine

- Andrew ConderShared titles: The Possessed (2021), Boar (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Conder
- Michael GilbertShared titles: The Possessed (2021), Boar (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Gilbert

Producers
- Kris MaricShared titles: The Possessed (2021), Boar (2017), Observance (2015), StalkHer (2015)See all 4 shared titles with Kris Maric
- Danny BaldwinShared titles: The Possessed (2021), Boar (2017), StalkHer (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Danny Baldwin
- Matt HearnShared titles: Wolf Creek 2 (2013), Rogue (2007), Wolf Creek (2005)See all 3 shared titles with Matt Hearn
- Christine HulsbyShared titles: The Possessed (2021), Boar (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Christine Hulsby
Mixed roles
- Lav BodnarukShared titles: Boar (2017), Zombie PlaneSee all 2 shared titles with Lav Bodnaruk

- Michael MierShared titles: Boar (2017), Zombie PlaneSee all 2 shared titles with Michael Mier

- Aaron SternsShared titles: Wolf Creek 2 (2013), Wolf Creek (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Aaron Sterns




