Tina Bursill
| Tina Bursill | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1951 (age 64–65) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Notable work |
Skyways (1979–1981) Prisoner (1983–1984) |
Tina Bursill (born 1951) is an Australian actress. She is notable for her roles on television series Skyways as Louise Carter (1979–1981), and Prisoner as Sonia Stevens (1983–1984).
Life and career
Tina Bursill was born in 1951 in Sydney, New South Wales. Initially, she intended to pursue a career in anthropology, however, she set her sights on becoming an actress. She studied drama at the National Institute of Dramatic Art and graduated in 1971. Bursill started her career in musicals and stand-up comedy, before being cast in more serious roles in theatre.
Bursill made her acting debut in 1973 appearing in the lead role of short-lived comedy series The People Next Door as Meg Penrose. She was a regular character in daily soap opera The Unisexers which was launched in February 1975 on the Nine Network however the program's low ratings led to its cancellation and removal from broadcast after only three weeks. What followed was a number of guest appearances Australian television series, before receiving the role of Louise Carter in the Seven Network drama series Skyways, for which she appeared from 1979 to 1981. During which, she also had a recurring role on police drama series, King's Men between 1976 and 1980. In 1983, Bursill was cast in the role of Sonia Stevens on Network Ten's cult classic prison drama series Prisoner (Prisoner: Cell Block H), in which she was introduced in the fifth season as a devious vice queen imprisoned for heroin trafficking and remained in the series until 1984. Her role as Sonia Stevens is one she is most recognized for. The characters in which she plays are often that of sophisticated and coolly self-reliant women.
When Bursill departed the series, she appeared in several recurring roles; her first in A Country Practice in 1985 and 1986 as Bianca Forbes-Hamilton, Hey Dad..! as Det. Sgt. Anne Burke in 1987, and Heartbreak High in 1997 as Hilary Scheppers. She is perhaps also known for her recurring roles on the Seven Network soap opera Home and Away during the fourth season and fourteenth season in 1991 and 2001 as Lois Crawford and Stella Patterson respectively. Bursill most recently appeared in the recurring role of Kathy Carpenter in Neighbours during the thirtieth season in 2014.[1]
Bursill made her feature film debut in 1975 when she was cast in The Great Macarthy, a sports comedy with John Jarratt and Barry Humphries. Her second film role came in 1984, when she appeared in Melvin, Son of Alvin, a sequel to the 1973 comedy, Alvin Purple. In 1987, she starred in Jilted, which earned her an Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her further film credits include Afraid to Dance, Spider & Rose, Billy's Holiday, The Goddess of 1967, Son of the Mask, Three Blind Mice, Random 8, and Wish You Were Here.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
| The Great Macarthy | |
|
|
| Melvin, Son of Alvin | |
|
|
| Jilted | |
|
|
| Afraid to Dance | |
|
|
| Spider & Rose | |
|
|
| Billy's Holiday | |
|
|
| The Goddess of 1967 | |
|
|
| Son of the Mask | |
|
|
| Three Blind Mice | |
|
|
| Random 8 | |
|
|
| Wish You Were Here | |
|
|
| Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
| The People Next Door | |
|
20 episodes |
| A Touch of Reverence | |
Mini-series | |
| Silent Number | |
|
Season 1, Episode 4 "Cecelia" |
| Winner Takes All | |
Mini-series | |
| The Unisexers | |
|
Lead role; 16 episodes |
| Matlock Police | |
|
Season 5, Episode 37 "Eight Mile Al" |
| The Dave Allen Show in Australia | |
|
|
| Alvin Purple | |
|
Season 1, Episode 9 "Rhythm Method" |
| The Emigrants | |
|
Mini-series; Episode 3 "13,000 Miles Away" |
| Chopper Squad | |
|
Season 1, Episode 12 "Dangerous Weapon" |
| King's Men | |
|
13 episodes |
| Skyways | |
|
109 episodes |
| A Country Practice | |
|
Season 1, Episode 13 "Alternatives: Part 1" Season 1, Episode 14 "Alternatives: Part 2" |
| Prisoner | |
|
Lead role; Season 5 & Season 6 – 54 episodes |
| A Country Practice | |
|
12 episodes |
| Hey Dad..! | |
|
6 episodes |
| Willing and Abel | |
|
|
| This Man... This Woman | |
|
Mini-series |
| The Flying Doctors | |
|
Season 7, Episode 15 "Billie and Pete" |
| Jackaroo | |
|
Mini-series" |
| G.P. | |
|
Season 3, Episode 5 "Out of Pasture" |
| Home and Away | |
|
Season 4 – 23 episodes |
| Bony | |
|
Season 1, Episode 6 "Surf, Sun, Sand.... and Murder" |
| Mother and Son | |
|
Season 6, Episode 1 "The Ride" |
| The Ferals | |
|
Season 1, Episode 10 "Exam Fever" |
| G.P. | |
|
Season 7, Episode 33 "One for the Road" |
| Heartbreak High | |
|
Season 4, Episode 12 |
| Heartbreak High | |
|
Season 5 – 12 episodes |
| Murder Call | |
|
Season 2, Episode 3 "Skin Deep" |
| All Saints | |
|
Season 2, Episode 36 "The Ties That Bind |
| Farscape | |
|
Season 2 – 3 episodes |
| Corridors of Power | |
|
Season 1, Episode 5 |
| Home and Away | |
|
Season 14 & Season 15 – 8 episodes |
| All Saints | |
|
Season 5, Episode 15 "Overload" |
| MDA | |
|
Season 1, Episode 15 "Love You to Death" |
| BackBerner | |
|
1 episode |
| Grass Roots | |
|
Season 2, Episode 5 "Dogs" |
| Always Greener | |
|
2 episodes |
| White Collar Blue | |
|
Season 2, Episode 20 |
| Out There | |
Season 2, Episode 10 "To Know Me Is" | |
| Blue Water High | |
|
Season 1, Episode 8 "Brothers and Sisters" |
| Dramatically Black | |
Season 1, Episode 4 "Plains Empty" | |
| All Saints | |
|
Season 11, Episode 25 "Horses for Courses" |
| Offspring | |
|
Season 2 – 2 episodes |
| Crownies | |
|
Season 1, Episode 16 |
| Rake | |
|
Season 2, Episode 7 "Greene v Hole" |
| A Moody Christmas | |
|
6 episodes Equity Award for Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series |
| The Moodys | |
|
8 episodes |
| The Time of Our Lives | |
|
3 episodes |
| Neighbours | |
| |
| Doctor Doctor | |
TBA | Upcoming Nine Network drama series |
| Television film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
| A Good Thing Going | |
|
|
| Robbery | |
|
|
| A Single Life | |
|
|
| The Three Musketeers | |
Animation; voice | |
| The Distant Home | |
|
|
| Aftershocks | |
|
|
| Never Tell Me Never | |
|
|
| Heroes' Mountain | |
|
|
| BlackJack: Murder Archive | |
|
|
| Small Claims | |
|
|
| Jack Irish: Dead Point | |
|
|
Other Appearances
- Entertaining Angels (1998 short film)
- Cheek to Cheek ... Julie (2000 short film)
- Saturn's Return ... Sheila (2001 TV short)
- Shuffle ... Denise (2006 short film)
- Pleasance ... Biddy (2007 short film)
- Bloody Henry ... Jane (2013 short film) (also makeup artist)
References
- ↑ Dainty, Sophie (22 November 2013). "'Neighbours': Tina Bursill joins cast as Lauren Turner's mother Kathy". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 March 2014.