Diane Craig
Irish actress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diane Mary Craig (born 1949), sometimes credited as Di Craig, is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress best known for her performances in film and television.
Diane Craig | |
|---|---|
| Born | Diane Mary Craig 1949 (age 75–76) |
| Other names | Di Craig |
| Education | National Institute of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1970–2013 |
| Known for | Ned Kelly (1979) The Restless Years (1978–1979) E Street (1991–1993) Out of the Blue (2008–2009) |
| Spouse | Garry McDonald (m. 13 April 1971) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
Craig was born in County Down, Northern Ireland in 1949. Her family relocated to Australia in 1960. She attended Sydney's prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA).
Career
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Film
Craig left NIDA after a year, making her debut in 1970 starring in the British Australian feature film Ned Kelly (1970), alongside Mick Jagger – replacing Marianne Faithfull in the role of Maggie Kelly.[1]
Her subsequent film appearances included roles in drama feature The Mango Tree (1977), Double Deal (1981), war film The Highest Honor (1982) and Travelling North (1987) starring Leo McKern and based on the David Williamson play of the same name. She played the lead role of Diane Lane in the 1989 political satire A Sting in the Tale. Her most recent film was the 2009 drama In Her Skin, based on the true story of the murder of 15-year-old Rachel Barber, alongside Guy Pearce, Sam Neill and Miranda Otto.
Additionally, she has appeared in several television films, including drama Roses Bloom Twice (1977), The Newman Shame (1978) starring one-time James Bond, George Lazenby and After Marcuse (1988). She has also featured in American comedy film Traveling Man (1989) alongside John Lithgow, sport biopic Never Tell Me Never (1998) opposite Claudia Karvan and One of the Lucky Ones (2007).
Television
Craig has also appeared on the small screen in numerous serials, miniseries and telemovies. Early television appearances included recurring roles in Snake Gully with Dad and Dave as Mabel Smith (1972), police drama Division 4 as Jenny Franklin (1973–1975) and sport drama And The Big Men Fly as Lil (1974), based on the Alan Hopgood play of the same name. She played the regular role of Majorie Faber in soap opera Certain Women (from 1975 to 1976), Alison Finlay in police drama Cop Shop and Pamela Summers in period drama The Sullivans (both, from 1978 to 1979).
She is probably best known however, for her long-running roles in the soap operas The Restless Years as Gail Lawrence (from 1978 to 1979), and E Street, replacing actress Penny Cook as main character Dr. Elly Fielding (from 1991 to 1993).[2]
Craig appeared several times in the cult television series Prisoner and played a recurring role in medical soap opera The Young Doctors as Diane Brooke (1980–1981). She had ongoing roles in Home and Away playing Theresa Lynch (1995) and Heartbreak High playing June Dyson (1995–1996). Craig's last long-running role was as Deborah McManus in the 2008 series Out of the Blue.
She has featured in several miniseries including political drama Dead Men Running (1971), crime drama Scales of Justice (1983), historical series All The Rivers Run (1983) alongside Sigrid Thornton and based on the book of the same name, True Believers (1988), underworld crime drama Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities (2009) and media drama Howzat! Kerry Packer's War (2012).
Craig has also made guest appearances on numerous television series, including The Godfathers, Matlock Police, Homicide, Boney, Ryan, Young Ramsay, Bellamy, Holiday Island, A Country Practice, Chopper Squad, Skyways, Carson's Law, Special Squad, The Henderson Kids, Willing and Abel, Mother and Son (alongside husband Garry McDonald), Rafferty's Rules, the 1980s reboot of Mission: Impossible, Acropolis Now, The Flying Doctors, Law of the Land, Medivac, Murder Call, Wildside, All Saints, Packed to the Rafters and Crownies.
Theatre
Craig has acted on stage in numerous theatre productions, beginning from her time studying at Sydney's NIDA. She has appeared for Nimrod Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Belvoir Street Theatre and Old Tote Theatre Company.[3]
She has featured alongside husband Garry McDonald in several plays, including Let's Get a Divorce (1970), Double Act (1995), Two Brothers (2005) and Don Parties On (2011), the sequel to David Williamson’s Don's Party.[3]
Her most recent appearance was in the Williamson play Crunch Time in 2020.[3]
Personal life
Craig met Garry McDonald when they were cast as husband and wife in a 1970 production of Let’s Get a Divorce at Hobart’s Theatre Royal. They were married on 13 April 1971.[4] They have two grown children, including actor daughter Kate, who played McDonald's character's daughter on Mother and Son.[5] The couple live in Berry on the New South Wales south coast.[6]
Acting credits
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Film
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Ned Kelly | Maggie Kelly | Feature film |
| 1970 | No Roses for Michael | Short film | |
| 1977 | The Mango Tree | Miss Pringle | Feature film |
| 1977 | The Cowboy | Short film | |
| 1978 | Road Toll | Short film | |
| 1980 | And Sometimes I Feel Like I'm Only 18 | Short film | |
| 1980 | The Applicant | Herself (as Di Craig) | Short film |
| 1980 | The Tape Recorder | Short film | |
| 1981 | Double Deal | Miss Stevens | Feature film |
| 1982 | The Highest Honor (aka Southern Cross) | Mrs. Page | Feature film |
| 1984 | Tell Us in Your Own Words | Short film | |
| 1987 | Travelling North | Sophie | Feature film |
| 1989 | A Sting in the Tale | Diane Lane | Feature film |
| 1998 | The Cowboy | Short film | |
| 2005 | Marti's Party | Trish | Short film |
| 2007 | One of the Lucky Ones | Neighbour | Short film |
| 2009 | Emergence | Margaret | Short film |
| 2009 | In Her Skin | Joy | Feature film |
| 2013 | 101 Cupcakes | Matilda[7] | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Dead Men Running | Teresa Doherty | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 1971 | The Godfathers | 1 episode | |
| 1971–1974 | Matlock Police | Madeleine Reynolds / Christine Anderson / Kate Wilson/Val Hudson | 4 episodes |
| 1972 | Crisis | TV pilot | |
| 1972 | Homicide | Trish Langley | Season 9, episode 41: "Change of Heart" |
| 1972 | Snake Gully with Dad and Dave | Mabel Smith | 8 episodes |
| 1973–1975 | Division 4 | Jenny Franklin | 5 episodes |
| 1973 | Boney | Marion | Season 2, episode 4: "Boney and the Powder Trail" |
| 1973 | Ryan | Lacey Glen | Episode 29: "A Little Something Special" |
| 1974 | And The Big Men Fly | Lil | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 1974 | This Love Affair | Episode 6: "Seven Tenths of a Second" | |
| 1975–1976 | Certain Women | Majorie Faber | 27 episodes |
| 1977 | Hotel Story | 1 episode | |
| 1977 | Roses Bloom Twice | Jenny | TV movie |
| 1977; 1980 | Young Ramsay | Tess Cameron / Sara | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | Chopper Squad | Jenny | Season 2, episode 13: "The Big Trip" |
| 1978 | The Newman Shame | Ginger | TV movie |
| 1978–1979 | Cop Shop | Alison Finlay | 27 episodes |
| 1978; 1979 | The Sullivans | Pamela Summers | 28 episodes: #289-291 & #410-434 |
| 1978–1979 | The Restless Years | Gail Lawrence | 43 episodes |
| 1979 | Mr Squiggle and Friends | Guest Host | 1 episode |
| 1979 | Skyways | Catherine Tissot | Season 1, episode 83: "Catnip" |
| 1980 | Cop Shop | Eve Kadar | 2 episodes |
| 1980 | The Great Australian Comedy | TV pilot | |
| 1980–1981 | The Young Doctors | Diane Brooke | 7 episodes |
| 1980–1985 | Prisoner (aka Prisoner Cell Block H) | Jacki Nolan / Anita Selby / Sarah Forrest | 22 episodes |
| 1981 | Holiday Island | Marie-Claude | 1 episode: "Treasure Shop" |
| 1981 | Bellamy | Connie | Season 1, episode 17: "A Minor Charge of Murder" |
| 1982 | Taurus Rising | Libby Hilton | |
| 1982; 1983; 1987; 1991 | A Country Practice | Diane Irving / Deborah Townsend / Carmel Hutchins / Judy Harper | 10 episodes |
| 1983 | For Love or Money | Herself | Film documentary |
| 1983 | Scales of Justice | Meredith | Miniseries, episode 3: "The Numbers" |
| 1983 | All The Rivers Run | Dorothy Barrett | Miniseries, episode 1 |
| 1984 | Carson's Law | Anne Preston | 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Special Squad | 1 episode | |
| 1985 | The Henderson Kids | Alice Henderson | 2 episodes |
| 1987 | Have a Go | Guest Judge | 3 episodes |
| 1987 | Willing and Abel | 1 episode | |
| 1988 | Mother and Son | Delores | Season 4, episode 4: "The Surprise" |
| 1988 | True Believers | Elsie | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 1988 | After Marcuse | Liz | TV movie |
| 1988 | Rafferty's Rules | 1 episode | |
| 1988 | Stringer | 1 episode | |
| 1989 | Mission: Impossible | Lady Michelle Faulkner | 1 episode: "The Lions" |
| 1989 | Travelling Man | TV movie | |
| 1989 | Chances | Barbara Taylor | TV pilot (never screened on TV) |
| 1989 | Living with the Law | 1 episode | |
| 1990 | Family and Friends | Pamela Chandler | |
| 1990 | The Flying Doctors | Marion Burgess | Season 7, episode 10: "A Little Tenderness" |
| 1991 | Acropolis Now | Miss Joan Wilson | Season 3, episode 6: "The Kid" |
| 1991–1993 | E Street | Dr. Elly Fielding | 153 episodes |
| 1993 | Law of the Land | Season 1, 2 episodes | |
| 1994 | Love Rules | Host | |
| 1995 | This Is Your Life: Garry McDonald | Guest | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Home and Away | Theresa Lynch | 22 episodes |
| 1996 | Medivac | Mrs. Flynn | Season 3, episode 8: "Code Purple" |
| 1996–1997 | Heartbreak High | June Dyson | 24 episodes |
| 1997 | Murder Call | Diane Cochrane | Season 1, episode 5: "Who Killed Cock Robin?" |
| 1998 | Never Tell Me Never | Shirley Shepherd | TV movie |
| 1998 | Wildside | Robyn Stark | 2 episodes |
| 1999; 2001 | All Saints | Colleen Collins / Sophia Hanrahan | 4 episodes |
| 2002; 2015 | Australian Story | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | One of the Lucky Ones | Neighbour | TV movie |
| 2008–2009 | Out of the Blue | Deborah McManus | 75 episodes |
| 2009 | Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities | Barbara Mackay | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Packed to the Rafters | Marjory | Season 2, episode 5: "Brave New World" |
| 2011 | Crownies | Carolyn Fletcher | Season 1, episode 17 |
| 2012 | Howzat! Kerry Packer's War | Well Dressed Woman at SCG | Miniseries, 1 episode |
Theatre
References
External links
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