David Gulpilil

Biography

Few actors of international renown were born under a tree. But that's how life began for David Gulpilil, who was raised away from extraneous influences in Australia's North East Arnhem Land in the traditions of his Mandhalpuyngu tribal group. 

An expert tracker and hunter, Gulpilil was also an exceptional dancer, and his skills led Nicolas Roeg to cast him as the Aboriginal youth who guides stranded Jenny Agutter and her brother Luc Roeg through the outback in the 1970 rite of passage, "Walkabout." 

The film made Gulpilil an overnight star and he traveled the world, meeting such people as Queen Elizabeth II, Muhammad Ali, and Bruce Lee. 

He even stayed for a while with John Lennon before returning to become the face of indigenous Australia just as the national film industry was starting to make a global impact with historical dramas like Philippe Mora's "Mad Dog Morgan" and cross-cultural studies like Henri Safran's "Storm Boy" and Peter Weir's "The Last Wave," in which Gulpilil effortlessly stole scenes. 

Following an amusing cameo greeting astronaut Dennis Quaid in "The Right Stuff," he bantered drolly with Paul Hogan as Neville Bell in the 1986 comedy smash "Crocodile' Dundee." 

However, a drinking problem blighted his career and it was only after Rolf De Heer cast him in the 2002 and 2006 bush sagas "The Tracker" and "Ten Canoes" that he regained his momentum, most notably in Phillip Noyce's "Rabbit-Proof Fence" and Baz Luhrmann's epic, "Australia." David Gulpilil died on November 29, 2021, at the age of 68.