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Hal Cumpston aka "Big Heavy" is an Australian actor, producer and writer.

Early life

Cumpston grew up in Sydney and attended Waverley College where he was heavily involved in drama. Both of his parents work in the film Industry. His father Jeremy Cumpston, is a doctor and a Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts graduate who founded the Old Fitzroy Theatre and has appeared in shows such as All Saints. His mother Rachel Lane, is a nonfiction producer-director. Cumpston is of indigenous Australian Barkandji heritage through his fathers' maternal line.

In Cumpston's final year of school, he was shortlisted for "OnStage", which recognises excellence for high school drama performances. Cumpston was also chosen as a state finalist in the highly competitive Australian Class Clowns stand up comedy competition.

Career

After returning from Schoolies week, Cumpston wrote the screenplay for a teen comedy called "Bilched" that his father helped fund and direct. His high school friends Ewen and James helped co-produce, and he called in his younger brothers and friends as part of the cast alongside bigger names like comedian Alex Williamson and Rhys Muldoon. Cumpston wanted to make an Australian comedy teen movie because he felt there weren't any good ones. In three days he had written 34 pages and in less than a fortnight he had a first draft. In 2018, the film was shot in 21 days in Sydney's eastern suburbs. In the following year Cumpston completed the post-production. The plot follows protagonist Hal, who auditions for a drama school but is told his performance is not honest. "Bilched" was Cumpston's first project and received a national release in Australia and at the 2019 Chelsea Film Festival, it won the award for Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Fred Du Rietz) and the Grand Prix Best Feature Film.

Three weeks after production on "Bilched" wrapped, Cumpston received his first American audition via an email that came from an American Talent Agency Industry Entertainment. He wasn't sure that it was real, but it turned out that actress Jenni Baird, had seen an article in a magazine featuring the Cumpston's and her partner, writer-director Michael Petroni, knew someone in an American casting office and put in a call. Cumpston embodied the brief needed for Silas in The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and recorded a video audition that propelled him forward in the casting process. Eventually Cumpston won the role and portrays a teen making his way through an eerily familiar world changed forever by the outcome of a global pandemic. Filming took place in Richmond, Virginia.

In 2021, Cumpston played Zachary, the dead son of the Marconi family in the series Nine Perfect Strangers alongside Nicole Kidman, Asher Keddie and Melissa McCarthy. The series is based on a Liane Moriarty book and centres around a group of people at a health retreat trying to find a path to a better life but are met with dilemmas.

Cumpston is currently working on writing more comedy movies. He is inspired by Seth Rogen, Quentin Tarantino and Evan Goldberg.

In 2022, Cumpston was announced as part of the cast for SBS legal drama Safe Home (TV series) in the role of Max Kerr.

Filmography

Television Performances

Film Performances

References

1. ^ Quinn, Karl (3 October 2020). "How a Sydney teen walked into a role on Amazon's Walking Dead spin-off". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
2. ^ "Silas Character Bio | Played by | The Walking Dead: World Beyond | TWDU". universe-ap.cds.amcn.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
3. ^ Cockrell, Eddie (2021). "Unknown Aussie TV star tames The Walking Dead".
4. ^ "Hal Cumpston jumps from his first Aussie feature to 'The Walking Dead'". IF Magazine. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
5. Steed, Words Suzie Keen | Main photo Saul (10 July 2020). ""You can see something and it can look really beautiful, but what's the underlying story?"". SALIFE. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
6. SBS Australia - Indigenous teen makes coming-of-age film | Facebook, retrieved 27 September 2021
7. "Hal Cumpston". CPMGT. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
8. ^ "Bilched review – coming-of-age teen dramedy with authentic attitude". the Guardian. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
9. "Bilched". FilmInk. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
10. ^ "Here to Party". Issuu. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
11. ^ "Hal Cumpston on joining the Walking Dead universe in 'World Beyond' - Exclusive Interview". Courageous Nerd. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
12. "Bilched". www.shanekavanagh.net. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
13. ^ Valentine, Claire (9 October 2020). "Hal Cumpston On Playing Silas In The Eerily Timed 'Walking Dead: World Beyond'". Nylon. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
14. ^ Petski, Denise (22 October 2020). "Elizabeth Mitchell Joins 'Outer Banks'; 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Casts Hal Cumpston". Deadline. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
15. Knox, David (19 July 2022). "Filming underway on Safe Home for SBS | TV Tonight". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 February 2024.

• Living people
• 1999 births
• Australian male film actors
• Australian male television actors
• Australian screenwriters
• Indigenous Australian male actors
• Actors from Sydney
• 21st-century Australian male actors