Jimi Bani

Jimi Bani is an Indigenous Australian actor, known for his portrayal of land rights activist Eddie Mabo in the 2012 tele-movie Mabo, several television series, and theatre performances.

Jimi Bani
Born	Australia
Occupation(s)	Stage and television actor
Years active	2006 – present

Early life and education

A Torres Strait Islander (Mabuiag Island) of the Wadagadum people, where his father was a tribal chief,^[1] he attended the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.^[2][3]

Career

Bani's first role was in the 2006 mini-series, RAN: Remote Area Nurse, that aired on SBS One.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, he appeared on ABC1's series, The Straits and on the tele-movie Mabo,^[2][4] both of which were nominated for awards. Bani appeared in Redfern Now, a six-part series produced by Blackfella Films that went to air on ABC1 in late 2012.^{[citation needed]}

From late 2013 through 2014 Bani performed in The Shadow King for which he received a Helpmann Awards nomination.^[5] The play was produced by the Malthouse Theatre in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals – Adelaide Festival, Brisbane Festival, Melbourne Festival, Perth International Arts Festival and Sydney Festival.^[6]

Bani was a member of Queensland Theatre's National Artistic Team to assist Artistic Director Sam Strong with its 2017 season.^{[citation needed]}

In 2017 he appeared in a Queensland Theatre production entitled My Name is Jimi which he co-created with Jason Klarwein who also directed the production. The performers included members of his family in a performance which " ... whisks you away to his island for an evening of music, dance, stand-up and storytelling. Four generations of one family take the stage, as Jimi’s grandmother, mother, son and brothers help him spin yarns of totems, traditions and childhood memories".^[7] The show was also performed at the Sydney Festival in 2018.^[8]

In early 2022 Bani played George in a State Theatre Company South Australia production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, to acclaim by critics.^[9][10] Later in 2022, Bani and Jason Klarwein staged an adaptation of Othello at Queensland Theatre, set in the Torres Straits. It was originally premiered at Cairns Indigenous Art Fair in 2021. Bani played Othello as a member of the Torres Straits Light Infantry Battalion during World War II. The production was staged in three languages; Kala Lagaw Ya, Yumplatok and English.^[11] Performing cultural songs and dances alongside Bani, were his three brothers.^[11][12]

Personal life

Bani is a father of five children with partner Idelia, and together they live in Cairns, Queensland. He has three brothers – Richard, Gabriel Bani and Conwell. Bani's great-grandfather was a member of the Torres Straits Light Infantry.^[13]

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result
2008		WA Equity Foundation	Best Newcomer	Nominated[14]
2009	Yibiyung	Helpmann Awards	Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play	Nominated[15]
2012	The Straits	Deadly Awards	Television Show of the Year (part of the ensemble)	Won[16]
2012		BOFA Awards	Best Actor	Won[17]
2012	Mabo	Deadly Awards	Film of the Year (part of the ensemble)	Won[16]
2012			Male Actor of the Year	Won[16]
2012		BOFA Awards	Best Actor	Won[18]
2013		AACTA Awards	AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama	Nominated[19]
2013		Logie Awards	Silver Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor	Nominated[19]
2013		Equity Ensemble Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Telemovie or Miniseries	Nominated[20]
2014	The Shadow King	Helpmann Award	Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play	Nominated[5]
2017		National Dreamtime Awards	Best Male Actor	Nominated[21]

Filmography

Film

Year[22]	Title	Role	Type
	A Thin Black Line	Voice	Virtual reality film

Television

Year[23]	Title	Role	Type
2006	RAN: Remote Area Nurse	Solomon Gaibui	TV miniseries
2007	Beautiful Music		Video short
2012	The Straits	Marou Montebello	TV series
2012	Mabo	Koiki Eddie Mabo	TV movie
2012	Redfern Now	Peter Gibson	TV series, 1 episode
2012	The People Speak Australia	Priscilla Conway	Film documentary
2015	Ready for This	Nat Brockman	TV series, 2 episodes
2016	Black Comedy	Guest Cast	TV series, episodes 2.3, 2.6

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue / Co.
	A Dream Play	Poet	WAAPA
	Three Sisters	Chebutykin	WAAPA
	Stories from Suburban Road	Tom	WAAPA
	The Winter's Tale	Florizel	WAAPA
	The Country Remains	Mr Sparkish	WAAPA
	Love & Human Remains	Robert	WAAPA
	UnAustralia	Mannie	WAAPA
2008	Jandamarra	Jandamarra	Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre with Black Swan State Theatre Company
2008	Romeo and Juliet	Tybalt & Friar	Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2008	Yibiyung	Smiley	Malthouse Theatre, Belvoir
2010	The Sapphires	Jimmy	Playhouse, Perth with Black Swan State Theatre Company, Scott Theatre, Adelaide, Belvoir St Theatre
2011	Krakouer!	Jimmy	Clocktower Centre with Deckchair Theatre
2013	Peter Pan	John / Pirate / The Crocodile	Belvoir
2013	The Dragon	Lancelot	Malthouse Theatre
2013	Half and Half	Ned	Cairns Centre of Contemporary Arts with Jute Theatre Company
2015	Storm Boy	Fingerbone Bill	Wharf Theatre, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Geelong Arts Centre, Canberra Theatre, Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, STCWA with STC
2013-14	The Shadow King	Edmund	Malthouse Theatre, Carriageworks, Heath Ledger Theatre, Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide, Darwin Amphitheatre, Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts & Culture, Brisbane Powerhouse
2016	The Shadow King	Edmund	Barbican Theatre, London with Malthouse Theatre
2016	Title and Deed	The Traveller	Belvoir St Theatre
2017-18	My Name is Jimi	Jimi	Cairns Centre of Contemporary Arts, Bille Brown Theatre, Belvoir St Theatre, Fairfax Studio, Sydney Festival, Playhouse, Brisbane with Queensland Theatre
2018	Hedda	Ejlert Lovborg	Bille Brown Theatre with Queensland Theatre
2020	Othello	Othello	Cairns Indigenous Art Fair & Bille Brown Theatre with Queensland Theatre
2022	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	George	Dunstan Playhouse with STCSA
2022	The Return	Warrior	Malthouse Theatre
2023	Every Brilliant Thing	Narrator	STCSA

^[6][24][25]

References

1. "Jimi Bani Biography". Austlit. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
2. "Jimi Bani Is Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
3. Blake, Elissa (14 October 2016). "Jimi Bani is The Man in Title and Deed at Belvoir St". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
4. "Blackfella Films dramatisation of the life of land rights activist Eddie Mabo managed just 554,000 viewers on ABC1". Retrieved 6 July 2012.
5. "Past nominees and winners Theatre 2014". Helpmann Awards. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
6. "Jimi Bani". AusStage. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
7. "My Name is Jimi". AusStage. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
8. Sebag-Montefiore, Clarissa (11 January 2018). "My Name is Jimi review – Jimi Bani welcomes us to his tribe in rare gift of a show". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
9. Mead, Rachael (30 January 2022). "Theatre review: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". InDaily. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
10. Bleby, Peter (2 February 2022). "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". State Theatre Company of South Australia. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
11. Blake, Gabi (7 September 2022). "'Othello is truly a dream role – no gammin!' Jimi Bani takes on the role of a lifetime". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
12. Bergman, Gabi (6 September 2022). "Queensland Theatre breathes new life into Shakespeare's Othello in a new adaptation by Jimi Bani and Jason Klarwein, set in the Torres Strait during World War II". AussieTheatre.com. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
13. Bergman, Gabi (6 September 2022). "Queensland Theatre breathes new life into Shakespeare's Othello in a new adaptation by Jimi Bani and Jason Klarwein, set in the Torres Strait during World War II". AussieTheatre.com. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
14. https://creativerep.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BANI-Jimi-CV-3.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
15. "Past nominees and winners 2009". Helpmann Awards. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
16. "2012 Deadly Awards". Deadlys. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
17. https://creativerep.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BANI-Jimi-CV-3.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
18. https://creativerep.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BANI-Jimi-CV-3.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
19. "Jimi Bana Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
20. "2013 3rd Equity Ensemble;e Awards". Equity Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
21. https://creativerep.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BANI-Jimi-CV-3.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
22. https://creativerep.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BANI-Jimi-CV-3.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
23. "Jimi Bani Filmography". IMDb. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
24. "Romeo and Juliet | STC By Brad Syke". Australian Stage. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
25. https://creativerep.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BANI-Jimi-CV-3.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}