AustLit logo

AustLit

Brendan Cowell Brendan Cowell i(A66261 works by)
Born: Established: 1976 Sutherland, Sutherland - Engadine area, Sutherland area, Sydney Southern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Male
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

BiographyHistory

Brendan Cowell began his acting career in television commercials at an early age. He completed a BA degree in Communications (theatre/media) at Charles Sturt University, Bathurst and continued his acting career in theatre, film and television, as well as writing for the theatre and directing.

Cowell was a finalist in the Bulletin Microsoft Smart 100 competition in 2004.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Plum Sydney : HarperCollins Australia , 2021 22941364 2021 single work novel

'The wildly impressive, raucously funny and deeply moving second novel from award-winning writer, actor and director for television, theatre and film, Brendan Cowell, confirming the talent he showed in his bestselling debut novel from 2010, How It Feels.

'Peter 'The Plum' Lum is a 48-year-old ex-star NRL player, living with his son and girlfriend in Cronulla. He's living a pretty cruisey life until one day he suffers an epileptic fit and discovers that he has a brain disorder as a result of the thousand-odd head knocks he took on the footy field in his twenty-year-career. According to his neurologist, Plum has to make some changes - right now - or it's dementia, or even death.

'Reluctantly, Plum embarks on a journey of self-care and self-discovery, which is not so easy when all you've ever known is to go full tilt at everything. On top of this, he's being haunted by dead poets, and, unable to stop crying, discovers he has a special gift for the spoken word. With spectral visits from Bukowski and Plath, the friendship of local misfits, and the prospect of new love, Plum might just save his own life.

'From award-winning writer, director and actor, Brendan Cowell, Plum is a powerfully moving, authentic, big-hearted, angry and joyous novel of men, their inarticulate pain and what it takes for them to save themselves - from themselves. It's got a roaring energy, a raucous humour, a heart of gold and a poetic soul.' (Publication summary)

2022 longlisted Indie Awards Fiction
form y separately published work icon Ruben Guthrie ( dir. Brendan Cowell ) Australia : Scarlett Pictures , 2015 8474049 2015 single work film/TV

A hard-drinking advertising executive is given a second chance by his long-suffering girlfriend, on condition that he stays away from alcohol for a year.

2015 shortlisted Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Best Adapted Screenplay
2015 joint winner AWGIE Awards Film Award Adaptation With Holding the Man
y separately published work icon The Sublime 2014 Fortitude Valley : Playlab , 2016 7503347 2014 single work drama

'From award-winning actor and writer Brendan Cowell comes a brilliantly perceptive take on everything true Australians hold dear: mateship, family, footy and sex scandals.

'First there’s Dean, a former NRL star who’s switched codes and cities. Then there’s his brother Liam, the footy workhorse who tries to clean up Dean’s mess but mostly just makes things worse. And finally, there’s Amber, the teenage athlete who rests uneasily on the edge of complicity and victimhood. The team footy trip to Thailand is where things start to get ugly, but when the brothers meet on game day it’s a showdown Melbourne will never forget.

'The Sublime cuts through the media-managed world of professional football to expose human foibles that exist way beyond the sporting field. Director Sam Strong combines forces with actor Josh McConville to create a fiery production for lovers of any code, and for those who’ve never set foot inside a stadium.' (Production summary)

2015 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting
Last amended 16 Nov 2004 14:00:39
Other mentions of "" in AustLit:
    X