Tom Budge

Screen

Early in his acting career, Budge appeared in a number of Australian television shows, beginning with a recurring guest role in long-running soap opera Neighbours. He also had regular roles in children's series Round the Twist, playing Tiger Gleeson in seasons 3 and 4, from 2001 to 2002, and comedy-drama series Shock Jock as Clive Rank from 2001 to 2002.

Budge then transitioned from television to film, making his silver screen debut alongside Nathan Phillips and Luke Carroll as Pickles in 2002 sports drama Australian Rules. He reunited with Phillips in 2003 comedy film Take Away, which also starred Rose Byrne, Vince Colosimo and Stephen Curry. That same year, he played the role of Normie Norman in comedy film The Honourable Wally Norman.

In 2005, Budge appeared in western film The Proposition, playing opposite Guy Pearce and Ray Winstone as Samuel Stoat and in Three Dollars with David Wenham and Frances O'Connor. 2006 saw him appear in several films, including World War II feature Kokoda with Angus Sampson and Ewen Leslie and romantic drama Candy, alongside Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish. For his performance as Trev in 2006 thriller Last Train to Freo, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at both the Australian Film Institute Awards and the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards.

In 2008, Budge joined the cast of Ten Empty, including Jack Thompson and Brendan Cowell, playing the role of Brett. That same year, he was tipped to play AC/DC guitarist Angus Young in a movie about the former AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott. From 2008 to 2009, Budge appeared in several episodes of the television drama East of Everything, before landing a role in 2009 musical comedy drama Bran Nue Dae with Geoffrey Rush and Jessica Mauboy. He then played PFC Ronnie Gibson in Steven Spielberg-produced HBO World War 2 miniseries The Pacific, which aired in 2010.

Budge featured opposite Deborah Mailman in 2012 biographical TV movie Mabo, about Torres Strait Islander activist Eddie Mabo, who campaigned for Indigenous land rights. He then appeared opposite Ewan McGregor and Brenton Thwaites in 2014 crime drama film Son of a Gun, playing the role of Josh. In 2015, he portrayed Cliff Sutton in the World War I miniseries Gallipoli, starring Kodi Smit-McPhee. He then had an ongoing role as Jeremy in comedy-drama series The Wrong Girl, with Jessica Marais, in 2017.

In 2019, Budge played town mayor Mr. Frankly in Mirrah Foulkes’ directorial debut feature film Judy and Punch, alongside Damon Herriman and Mia Wasikowska. He then played the regular role of Shane in sci-fi mystery drama series Bloom, opposite Bryan Brown, Jacki Weaver and Phoebe Tonkin. In early 2020, it was announced that Budge had been cast in an undisclosed role in The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime. In March 2021, he walked away from the role due to creative differences, saying that "after recently seeing the first episodes shot over the last year, Amazon has decided to go in another direction with the character I was portraying."

Budge had a recurring guest role in comedy-drama series Upright in 2022, playing Geert, opposite Tim Minchin. In 2024, he starred as writer/producer Guy Chambers in the Robbie Williams biographical musical drama film Better Man, reuniting with his Judy and Punch co-star Herriman. That same year, he played Simpkins in comedy drama film Runt, alongside Jai Courtney and Jack Thompson.

Stage

Budge has also performed for the stage, including in the Belvoir production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 2004 Helpmann Awards. In 2013, he was again nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Eddie Perfect’s The Beast, with the Melbourne Theatre Company.

Budge won rave reviews for both his roles as Clov in Andrew Upton and Hugo Weaving’s 2015 production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame with the Sydney Theatre Company, and The Rasputin Affair at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre in 2017.

Music

When not acting, Budge has said that he enjoys playing guitar and singing. He also performs in The Tom Budge Band, and has toured both in Australia and internationally. In the 2005 film The Proposition, Budge's character sang the Canadian folk song "Peggy Gordon", which can be found on YouTube.

Film

Television