John Jarratt

John Jarratt (born 5 August 1952) is an Australian television film actor, producer and director and TV presenter who rose to fame through his work in the Australian New Wave. He has appeared in a number of film roles including Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Summer City (1977), The Odd Angry Shot (1979), We of the Never Never (1982), Next of Kin (1982), and Dark Age (1987). He portrayed the antagonist Mick Taylor in the Wolf Creek franchise. He voiced the protagonist's father, Jack Hunter, in an audio drama adaptation of The Phoenix Files. He is also known for his recurring role in the drama series McLeod's Daughters. Early life Jarratt was born in what was then a small coal-mining village, now the Wollongong suburb of Wongawilli, New South Wales, where he would grow up, before the family later moved to the Snowy Mountains area. His father was a coal miner, and later a concreter working on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. Jarratt comes from a family of Irish Catholic descent; however, his patrilineal ancestor George Jarratt, born 1833, came from Croxton in Cambridgeshire, England. George's son John married Mary Kelly from Ireland. On the genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are?, Jarratt confirmed that his great-great-grandfather was Chinese. While in high school, Jarratt directed and acted in a school play which was a great success and led to his school principal recommending that he pursue an acting career. As a young boy, he enjoyed recreational activities such as knitting and sewing. His favourite thing to make was scarves for his school peers. Career