Hugh Keays-Byrne

Born on May 18, 1947, in Srinagar, India, still under British rule, his parents came from England, where they moved when he was still very young. Hugh Keays-Byrne ‘s career began in 1968, when he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he played leading roles. During the Australian tour of one of the most famous productions of that company, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, directed by Peter Brook , he was dazzled by the island-continent, and decided to establish his residence there.

Hugh Keays-Byrne made his audiovisual debut with a role in the 1967 Boy Meets Girl series . He was followed by feature films such as Essington , The Trespasers and Snapshot . In 1976, George Miller cast him as the now iconic Toecutter, the leader of a motorcycle gang who annihilates the wife, Jessie, and son, Sprog, of cop Max Rockatansky, played by Mel Gibson , in Mad Max: Wild of the Highway , which began the most successful saga of Australian cinema . “Years go by, and I still sometimes go to the supermarket, and someone says, ‘Toecutter!’ It’s a wonderful feeling,” he commented in an interview.

Subsequently,  Hugh Keays-Byrne played roles of all kinds, in fantasy B-movies such as Droids and Blood of Heroes , arthouse films such as Where Green Ants Dream by Werner Herzog , and series such as The Secret Valley . Miller counted on him again to play J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter  from  the Justice League , in a DC superhero film, which Warner ended up scrapping, however. As compensation for the time invested, Miller asked the company to finance  Mad Max: Fury Road , where he gave  Hugh Keays-Byrnethe opportunity to reprise the role of the main villain, Immortan Joe, tyrannical ruler of the Citadel, where he keeps the town in constant need of water and food to exercise iron control.

That tape was his last job for the big screen. Little is known about the private life of the discreet actor. He has only reported that he is survived by Christina, his widow.