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Australian actor and activist Tony Barry is being remembered by film industry heavyweights for an extensive and impressive career after passing away at the age of 81 on Wednesday.
Key points:
- Australian actor and activist Tony Barry died on New South Wales' north coast
- His five-decade long career induced major feature films such as Baz Lurhmann's Australia
- Indigenous and environmental activism was also a major part of Tony Barry's life
Fellow actor Sam Neill was among those who paid tribute, writing in a tweet that Barry was a "lovely man, terrific actor and hero of mine".
Born in Queensland's Ipswich during 1941, Barry worked in more than 120 film and television productions and enjoyed a theatre career in both Australia and New Zealand.
His first major feature film was 1977's The Mango Tree and he went on to work on more than 60 features over five decades, including Baz Luhrmann's Australia.
Barry was recognised in 2014 for his "extraordinary contribution to the Australian film industry" with a Film Critics Circle of Australia award.
Australian actor Chris Haywood first worked with Barry on the Australian film, Newsfront, in 1978.
Haywood said he and Barry were part of the acting social scene in Sydney and that he was "very much a man of the town".
"He was a wonderful, all-encompassing character," he said.
Barry was diagnosed with melanoma 20 years ago and the cancer resulted in him losing part of his leg in 2014.
Haywood said the experience was life-changing for Barry.
"He just turned the whole process around, taking anger out of his life, and became an extraordinary example of how to exist in this world without being totally at the mercy of drugs and chemo and everything else," he said.
"He was an incredibly brave and committed human."
An 'accomplished actor'
David Jowsey from Bunya Productions cast Tony Barry as the corrupt police officer named Sarge in the 2013 film Mystery Road.
"He was just so menacing and terrific in the movie. He was a very accomplished actor," Mr Jowsey said.
"There is a scene where he is sitting in the car eating an ice cream and he says, 'We don't want a war' and it's so chilling.
"The corruption he portrays is just spine-tingling."
Mr Jowsey said Barry would be remembered for cult classics like Mystery Road and Goodbye Pork Pie but also as an activist.
A passion for activism
Barry was deeply involved in bringing to light Indigenous deaths in custody, particularly the case of Eddie Murray, who was found dead in a police cell at Wee Waa during 1981.
"Tony was an activist for Indigenous rights and billeted the family of Eddie Murray, opening his home to them during the coronial inquests, and the people around during that time never forget that," Mr Jowsey said.
Documentary film maker David Bradbury first met Barry as a young film maker when the actor was at the height of his acting career.
They continued to meet at political and activist rallies and forged a friendship.
When Barry moved to NSW's Northern Rivers region two decades ago, his friendship with Bradbury cemented and, in recent years, they worked on a film about forest destruction in the region.
"Last Sunday night Tony wanted me to film him [reciting] a poem by AD [Alec Derwent] Hope," Bradbury said.
"Three days before he died we were recording a piece-to-camera and I think this [message] will be a really good one for Tony to go out on."
Bradbury said one of the things Barry liked doing most was going to high schools to promote environmental issues.
"Tony wasn't really well-heeled. He ended up in a public housing unit at Brunswick Heads, but he gave a thousand dollars prize money for kids who could come up with the best artwork about the environment."
Barry's possessions will be auctioned and the proceeds distributed among Lismore's flood victims, as per his wishes.