Damon Herriman

Damon Herriman
Herriman at the Los Angeles premiere of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 2019
Born	(1970-03-31) 31 March 1970 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1978–present

Damon Herriman (born 31 March 1970) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Dewey Crowe on the FX neo-western crime series Justified (2010–15), and Romeo on the Starz drama miniseries Flesh and Bone (2015). He is also known for having played Charles Manson twice, first on the second season of the Netflix psychological crime thriller series Mindhunter, and later in the comedy drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (both 2019).

Herriman won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as Punch in the black comedy film Judy and Punch (2019), and was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as Ruse in the historical psychological thriller film The Nightingale (2018).

Early life

Damon Herriman was born in Adelaide, South Australia and grew up in Vale Park. He began acting in local television commercials at the age of eight, but it was not until he was cast as Frank Errol in The Sullivans two years later that his career began to take off. He continued to work solidly as a child actor, with a return to The Sullivans a year later, as well as the Australian series The Patchwork Hero, Sara Dane, For the Term of His Natural Life and Taurus Rising. He received three Logie Award nominations for his performance in The Sullivans.

Career

After appearing in The Flying Doctors, for which he won the Penguin Award for Excellence in a Performance by a Juvenile, and the children's mini-series Elly & Jools, Herriman was cast as Mark Jorgensen, the bespectacled best friend of Ben Mendelsohn's Danny Clark in the Australian cult comedy classic The Big Steal.

As well as continuing to work solidly in film, television and theatre, Herriman has also written and/or directed many successful short films, including the Tropfest finalists They and The Date. In 2004, he won the Best Screenplay award at Flickerfest for the short film Soar, in which he also performed. He was a performer and contributing writer on the ABC sketch comedy series, The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting.

Herriman's other Australian work includes playing Claudia Karvan's workmate and friend George Wagstaffe in the critically acclaimed Foxtel series Love My Way; Marcus Dwyer in the comedy series, Laid; simpleton Reg in the Australian feature, 100 Bloody Acres; as well as the title role in the ABC telemovie, The Outlaw Michael Howe. In 2014, he was seen as manager Chris Murphy in the miniseries INXS: Never Tear Us Apart, as well as appearing in Josh Lawson's debut feature, The Little Death. Other recent Australian credits include Abe Forsythe's feature, Down Under; the Foxtel series, Secret City and Mr Inbetween; the Oscar nominated short, The Eleven O'Clock; the ABC telemovie, Riot; Jennifer Kent's second feature, The Nightingale; and the Foxtel mini-series, Lambs of God. In 2019 he won the AACTA award for Best Lead Actor in a film for his performance in Judy and Punch.

His American career began in 2004, playing the creepy roadkill truck driver in the US horror film House of Wax. Since 2005 he has worked regularly in the United States, starting with such productions as The Unit; Redbelt (both written and directed by David Mamet); Breaking Bad; Wilfred; Cold Case; and mysterious hitman Mr. Jones on the CBS crime series, Vegas.

He played the convicted kidnapper of the Lindbergh baby, Bruno Hauptmann, in the Clint Eastwood-directed J. Edgar (2011), and one of the Cavendish gang in Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger (2013). Next he appeared in the Vince Gilligan/David Shore series for CBS, Battle Creek; the homeless Romeo in the Starz limited series, Flesh and Bone; and the violent hitman Buddy in the first season of the HBO/Cinemax series, Quarry. In 2019, he played Charles Manson in both Quentin Tarantino's film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the television series Mindhunter.

In 2019, he appeared as Paul Allen Brown in Steven Conrad's Epix series Perpetual Grace, LTD. In 2021, he was the voice of Kabal in Mortal Kombat, with stuntman Daniel Nelson portraying the character in the suit.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Pesticides: Friend or Foe	Performer	Short film (documentary)
1986	Push Start		TV film
1989	Police State	Parker's Son	TV film
1990	Call Me Mr. Brown	Bowser Boy	TV film
1990	The Big Steal	Mark Jorgensen
1998	They	Five	Short film
	Meteorites!	Nick	TV film
	Praise	Skinhead
2001	South Pacific	Professor	TV film
	The Hitch	Hitchhiker	Short film
2003	Ned	Steve Hart / Orderly
	Fuel	The Attendant	Short film
2004	Soar	Jack	Short film
	Chipman	Chipman	Short film
	Post	1st AD	Short film
	Sold Out	Voice/Commentary	Short film
2005	A Family Legacy	Australian Commentary	Short film
	Son of the Mask	Animagine Employee
	House of Wax	Lester Sinclair
2006	Candy	Roger Moylan
	Fainting Your Way to the Top	The Presenter	Short film
	Can I Call You	Julian	Short film
2007	Lens Love Story	Len	Short film
2008	Bella		Short film
	Redbelt	Official at Arena
	The Square	Eddie
	Winged Creatures	TV Minister	Released as Fragments on DVD
2009	The News	Daniel	Short film
	Lost & Found	Anthony Eckel	TV film
2010	Shock	Radio Announcer	Short film
	Call Centre	Hugo	Short film
2011	Commercialisms	Director	Short film
	Monkeys	Bartender	Short film
	Pet	Daniel	Short film
	J. Edgar	Bruno Hauptmann
	The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg	Curtis Preest
2012	100 Bloody Acres	Reg Morgan
	Rabbit	Dentist	Short film
2013	The Lone Ranger	Ray
	Wishart	Andy Wishart	Short film
	Record	Jamie	Short film
	The Broken Shore	Jamie Bourgoyne	TV film
	The Outlaw Michael Howe	Michael Howe	TV film
2014	Smithston	Mr Jones	Short film
	The Water Diviner	Father McIntyre
	Son of a Gun	Wilson
	The Little Death	Dan
2016	Down Under	Jason
	The Eleven O’Clock	Nathan Klein	Short film
2018	The Nightingale	Ruse
	Riot	Lance Gowland	TV film
2019	Once Upon a Time in Hollywood	Charles Manson
	Judy and Punch	Punch
2021	Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway	Tom Kitten (voice)
	Mortal Kombat	Kabal (voice)
2022	Nude Tuesday	Bruno/husband
	Monolith	Voice
2023	Run Rabbit Run	Peter
	The Portable Door	Monty Smith-Gregg
	The Bikeriders	Brucie
2024	Better Man	Nigel	Post-production
2024	How to Make Gravy	Roger
2025	Mortal Kombat 2	Quan Chi	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	The Sullivans	Frank Errol
1981	The Patchwork Hero	Hardy Jamieson	6 episodes
1982	Taurus Rising	Phil Drysdale
	Sara Dane	David	Miniseries - 3 episodes
1983	For the Term of His Natural Life	Blinker	Miniseries - 1 episode
1984	Carson's Law	Jimmy	2 episodes
1987	Camera Script		episode "Second Star On The Right"
1988	The Flying Doctors	Tod White	2 episodes
1989	E Street	Dean ‘Dino’ Connors	2 episodes
1990	Elly & Jools	Liam O'Farrell	Miniseries - 12 episodes
1991	The Miraculous Mellops	Felix	3 episodes
	Brides of Christ	Grant	Miniseries - 1 episode
1998	Murder Call	Lindsay Cramer	Season 2, episodes 10-11: “Deadline“ (parts 1 & 2)
1998–1999	All Saints	Danny Bucknell	2 episodes
2001	Flat Chat	Unknown	Episode: "The Old Flame"
	Water Rats	Todd Grierson / Gerry Bourke	4 episodes
2004	Stingers	Dale Kemp	Episode: "The Weakest Link"
	The Cooks	Nigel	Episode: "Beef with You"
2006	Love My Way	George Wagstaffe	18 episodes
	The Unit	Sgt. Parker	Episode: "Old Home Week"
	Stupid, Stupid Man	Pippy	Episode: "The Cobra"
2007	The Loop	Harald Juvlunktinston	Episode: "The Windows"
2008	Cold Case	John Smith	Episode: "The Road"
2009	Chandon Pictures	Scotty Cornish	Episode: "Rockstar"
2010	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Dwayne Simmons	Episode: "Wild Life"
	Satisfaction	Dominic	Episode: "Bug Crush"
	Offspring	Boyd Carlisle	3 episodes
	Rake	Detective Maraco	2 episodes
2010–2015	Justified	Dewey Crowe	22 episodes
2011	Breaking Bad	Scary Skell	Episode: "Cornered"
	Wilfred	Jesse	Episode: "Fear"
2012	Laid	Marcus Dwyer	6 episodes
	The Strange Calls	Adrian	Miniseries - Episode: "Roots"
2012–2013	Vegas	Mr. Jones	4 episodes
2013	The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting	Various characters	Miniseries - 6 episodes
	Almost Human	Lucas Vincent impersonator	Episode: "Are You Receiving?"
2014	INXS: Never Tear Us Apart	Chris Murphy	2 episodes
2015	Battle Creek	Detective Niblet	9 episodes
	Flesh and Bone	Romeo	Miniseries - 8 episodes
	Scorpion	Gleason	Episode: "US vs. UN vs. UK"
2016	No Activity	Bernie	5 episodes
	Quarry	Buddy	8 episodes
	Secret City	Kim Gordon	6 episodes
2016–2017	Incorporated	Jonathan Hendrick	9 episodes
2017	Top of the Lake: China Girl	Toni Bolloti	Episode: "Surrogate"
2018	Squinters	Miles	4 episodes
2018–2021	Mr Inbetween	Freddy	Main cast
2019	Perpetual Grace, LTD	Paul Allen Brown	Main cast
	Lambs of God	Father Bob	Miniseries - 2 episodes
	Mindhunter	Charles Manson	Episode #2.5
	The Commons	Ben Childers	3 episodes
2021	The Serpent	Laver	Miniseries - 3 episodes
	The Underground Railroad	Martin	Miniseries - 2 episodes
	Ultra City Smiths	Various Characters	6 episodes
2022	The Tourist	Detective Inspector Lachlan Rogers	Miniseries - 5 episodes
2022	Thai Cave Rescue	Doctor Craig Challen	Netflix limited series
2023	The Artful Dodger	Captain Gaines	8 episodes

Music Video Appearances

Year	Title	Artist	Role
2016	Wasting Time	Bernard Fanning	Wayne, Gary & Terry
2020	Unreal	Julia Stone	Self

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Auntie Mame		Theatre Royal, Adelaide with Therry Dramatic Society
1988	Brighton Beach Memoirs		Arts Theatre, Adelaide with Adelaide Repertory Theatre
1990	Operation Holy Mountain	Tony	Q Theatre, Penrith
1992	Lost in Yonkers	Jay Kurnitz	Theatre Royal Sydney, Playhouse Melbourne, Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide, Geelong Arts Centre, Monash University, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Canberra Theatre, Lyric Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company & Melbourne Theatre Company
1992	St. James Infirmary Blues	Tim	Q Theatre, Penrith
1993	St. James Infirmary	Dominic Connolly	Russell Street Theatre with Melbourne Theatre Company
1993	Summer of the Aliens	Lewis	Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
1994	Two Weeks with the Queen	Colin	Playhouse Theatre, Perth, Cremorne Theatre, Glen Street Theatre
1995	Sanctuary	John	Bridge Theatre Coniston, Lakeview Street Theatre & Playhouse Theatre, Perth with New England Theatre Company & Theatre South
	A Fair Country	Gil Burgess
	Soar	Jack	Tamarama Rock Surfers
1996	The Cripple of Inishmaan	Bartley McCormick	Sydney Theatre Company
	Five Sevens (workshop)		Sydney Theatre Company
	The Fortunes of Richard Mahony (workshop)		Sydney Theatre Company
	Cloudstreet	Ted Pickles, Gerry Clay, Toby Raven	Belvoir St Theatre with Company B Belvoir
1998	2 Strikes		Red Shed Theatre, Adelaide with Tamarama Rock Surfers for Adelaide Fringe Festival
1998	Sanctuary		Lakeview Street Theatre with Theatre South & The New England Theatre Company
1999	Laughter on the 23rd Floor	Ira Stone	Sydney Opera House with Ensemble Theatre
	ATM	Nick, Ricky, Cyrus, Phillipe, Little Boy	Roguestar Productions
2002	Presence	Sam	Stables Theatre with Griffin Theatre Company
2002	Buried Child	Vince	Belvoir Street Theatre with Company B
2004	Petunia Takes Tea	Mother	Newtown Theatre for Short and Sweet (festival)
2004	The Underpants	Cohen	Playhouse, South Bank with Queensland Theatre Company & Company B
	Terrorism - New Russian Plays	Man	Sydney Theatre Company
	Half a Life (workshop)		Belvoir Street Theatre
2004	Light on the Hill		Belvoir Street Theatre with Company B
2005	The Spook	Martin	Glen Street Theatre & Playhouse, South Bank with Company B
2005	Broken Valley		Belvoir Street Theatre for Company B
2008	The Pillowman	Katurian	Belvoir Street Theatre with Company B
	10,000 Beers (workshop)	Len	Playwriting Australia
2009-10	Tot Mom	Charaktere	Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2013	The Wild Duck	Gregers Werle	Holland Festival & Vienna Festival with Belvoir Street Theatre
2015	The Blind Date Project	Tom	Performing Lines with Ride On Theatre for Sydney Festival
2016	Speed-the-Plow	Bobby Gould	Roslyn Packer Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company

Awards

Year	Award	Award category	Nominated work	Result
1981	Logie Awards	Most Popular New Talent	The Sullivans	Nominated
1981	Logie Awards	Best Performance by a Juvenile	The Sullivans	Nominated
1982	Logie Awards	Best Performance by a Juvenile	The Sullivans	Nominated
1989	Penguin Awards	Excellence in a Performance by a Juvenile	The Flying Doctors	Won
2012	AACTA Awards	Best Comedy Performance	Laid	Nominated
	Equity Ensemble Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2013		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Movie or Miniseries		Nominated
2014	Australian Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actor	100 Bloody Acres	Nominated
	AACTA Awards	Best Lead Actor	The Little Death	Nominated
2015		Best Supporting Actor	Down Under	Nominated
		Best Guest or Supporting Actor – Drama	Secret City	Won
2017	Logie Awards	Most Outstanding Supporting Actor		Won
2018		Most Outstanding Actor	Riot	Nominated
	AACTA Awards	Best Lead Actor – Drama		Won
	Equity Ensemble Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Movie or Miniseries		Won
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Mr Inbetween	Nominated
2019	AACTA Awards	Best Actor	Judy and Punch	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	The Nightingale	Nominated
		Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama	Lambs of God	Nominated
			Mr Inbetween	Nominated

In 2018 he was awarded the Orry-Kelly Award, recognising a body of work that contributes to Australia's national identity.

Other works

Music

• 2015: "Raining Gold" – ARO (Aimee Osbourne)

External links

• Damon Herriman at IMDb