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Winning a scholarship, he trained at Wagga Wagga Teachers’ College, and aged nineteen was teaching in the mid-western town of Mendooran. NIDA staff did not share his enthusiasm. In rehearsal Hargreaves quickly became the leader, intellectually and in detailed research. After graduating from Wagga Wagga Teachers' College, he taught at Mendooran Central School at age 19 and subsequently at Crows Nest Boys High School in Sydney.^[1] This period marked his early professional engagement outside the performing arts, though it was short-lived as he shifted focus to dramatic training at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1966.^[1]

Awards and Recognition

Australian Film Institute Awards

Hargreaves won the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1983 for his portrayal of Logan in Careful, He Might Hear You.^[6] This performance contributed to the film's success, highlighting his ability to convey emotional depth in a dramatic family narrative.^[12]In 1984, he received the AFI Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role for My First Wife, directed by Paul Cox, where he played a composer grappling with marital breakdown.^[13] The film also secured awards for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, underscoring Hargreaves' central contribution to its critical acclaim.^[14][15]Hargreaves earned another AFI Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1986 for Malcolm, playing Frank, the inventive handyman companion to the protagonist.^[16] This win was part of the film's sweep of eight AFI Awards, including Best Film, reflecting the ensemble's impact in the comedy-drama genre.^[17]He was nominated for Best Actor in a Lead Role at the 1989 AFI Awards for Emerald City but did not win, with Sam Neill taking the award for Evil Angels.^[18] In 1994, Hargreaves received another nomination in the same category for Country Life, adapted from an Anton Chekhov play, though the award went elsewhere.^[16] These nominations, alongside his three wins, marked a total of six AFI recognitions over his career, affirming his prominence in Australian cinema during the 1980s and early 1990s.^[12]

Byron Kennedy Award and Other Honors

In 1994, John Hargreaves received the Byron Kennedy Award from the Australian Film Institute, marking him as the first actor to earn this honor for outstanding contributions to the Australian film industry.^[1] The award, established in memory of producer Byron Kennedy, recognizes individuals who exemplify excellence and innovation beyond traditional categories.^[19] Hargreaves' citation highlighted "not only the brilliance and daring of his acting, but for his ability to inspire," noting that his presence elevated the performances of colleagues around him.^[19] This accolade was regarded as a career pinnacle, surpassing even his multiple acting wins from the same institution.^[1]Earlier in his career, Hargreaves earned international recognition with the Best Actor Medal at the 1978 Sitges Film Festival for his lead role as Peter in Long Weekend, a psychological thriller directed by Colin Eggleston.^[20] The Catalonian International Film Festival, known for its focus on genre and fantastic cinema, awarded him for a performance depicting a troubled couple's destructive weekend retreat, underscoring his versatility in portraying complex, introspective characters.^[20] No other major non-AFI honors are prominently documented in his career, though these awards affirmed his influence within Australian and select global film circles.^[1]

Personal Life

Relationships and Sexuality

Hargreaves engaged in heterosexual relationships during his youth, describing himself as "boldly heterosexual" at that time, before realizing and publicly acknowledging his homosexuality in the early 1980s.^[1]From 1984 to 1988, he lived with his French partner, actor Vincent Perrot, in and near Paris; the relationship concluded before Hargreaves returned to Sydney.^[1]Actor Sam Neill, a close friend, later recalled Hargreaves as "very gay" and noted his habit of kissing Neill publicly to provoke discomfort, highlighting Hargreaves' open expression of his sexuality among peers.^[21] No records indicate that Hargreaves married or had children.^[1]

Lifestyle Choices and Public Persona

Hargreaves publicly acknowledged his homosexuality in the early 1980s, a deliberate choice that contrasted with his earlier exclusively heterosexual relationships and shaped his later personal authenticity amid Australia's conservative cultural norms of the period.^[1] This openness extended to his lifestyle, including a period of residence in and near Paris from 1984 to 1988 with French actor Vincent Perrot, reflecting a pursuit of personal fulfillment over domestic stability.^[1]His public persona emphasized naturalism and unpretentious energy, earning him descriptions as the "quintessential Australian" with a halo of iconic status by the 1990s.^[5] Known for a playful demeanor featuring a booming laugh and physical restlessness—such as habitually thrusting in and out of chairs during interactions—he balanced tireless professional commitment with spontaneous social engagement, including advocacy for causes beyond acting.^[5][1]Hargreaves prioritized experiential authenticity in lifestyle choices, exemplified by immersing himself in a small American town to prepare for his 1981 stage role in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, underscoring a rejection of superficial preparation in favor of lived realism.^[5] He expressed ambivalence toward acting's demands, once remarking, "You sometimes wonder why you become an actor in the first place...

Another honour, however, the Australian Film Institute Byron Kennedy award for excellence in the film industry in 1994, was a high point.

Although unaware for some time, he had contracted the human immunodeficiency virus in 1984. Hargreaves graduated in 1970 and proved the worth of such a career strategy: he won a contract with that company. John worked constantly, shifting gears easily between film, television and theater. The role required Hargreaves to express some of the traits later associated with other characters he played on screen: among them, an awkwardness in trying to cover obvious shortcomings with charm and, often, a basic Australian decency.

John grew up in the St George area, and attended Marist Brothers’ Boys’ School, Kogarah. Critic Paul Byrnes observed that Hargreaves' character work shaped the "Australian screen identity" through everyday authenticity rather than idealized heroism. Letter to Evan Williams, 21 November 1994. I don’t know anything and I can’t do anything," while critiquing overly polished personal narratives as "all bullshit."^[5][1] This candor reinforced his image as a perfectionist who made effort appear effortless, fostering admiration for his grounded, anti-heroic presence in public perception.^[5]

Death

Health Decline and Cause

Hargreaves contracted the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1984, though he remained unaware of his infection for several years.^[1] His condition progressed to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), with the first AIDS-defining illness occurring around 1992.^[1] Despite the advancing disease, he maintained an active professional schedule, including starring roles in television productions as late as 1995.^[3]In the months leading to his death, Hargreaves experienced noticeable deterioration, including fatigue and respiratory issues such as a persistent cough, which he initially attributed to a minor infection acquired during travel.^[22] He ultimately succumbed to AIDS-related complications on 8 January 1996, at age 50, while receiving care in a hospice in Darlinghurst, Sydney.^[1][2] The Australian Dictionary of Biography, drawing on contemporary accounts, describes this period as a "lengthy preparation" marked by the inexorable advance of the illness, underscoring the challenges of managing HIV/AIDS in the pre-antiretroviral therapy era prevalent at the time.^[1]

Funeral and Immediate Aftermath

Hargreaves died on 8 January 1996 at a hospice in Darlinghurst, Sydney, from AIDS-related complications, and his funeral was held shortly thereafter at St Canice's Catholic Church in Elizabeth Bay.^[1] The service drew attendance from fellow actors and industry peers, reflecting his standing in Australianperforming arts circles.^[5]Pallbearers at the funeral included prominent actors Sam Neill and Bryan Brown, underscoring Hargreaves's professional relationships and respect within the film community.^[1][23] Following the ceremony, he was buried in the Protestant section of Woronora Cemetery in Sutherland.^[1]In the immediate aftermath, tributes from colleagues highlighted Hargreaves's talent and personal impact; for instance, director Donald Crombie described his death as one of the saddest events in his life, emphasizing Hargreaves's contributions to Australian cinema.^[23] Media obituaries, such as one in The Independent, noted his career achievements without delving into extensive public discourse on his passing, consistent with the era's handling of AIDS-related deaths in the entertainment industry.^[12]

Legacy

Influence on Australian Cinema

Hargreaves emerged as a key figure in the Australian cinematic revival of the 1970s and 1980s, delivering versatile performances that emphasized relatable, unheroic characters central to the era's social realist films.

An actor of sparkling, biting wit, he once said he would easily give up his remarkable career if it ever bored him, in favor of metallurgy because it was something that always interested him. ‘Great talent,’ recalled the director John Clark, ‘but the voice and acting teachers considered him lazy’ (2015). Interview by the author, 6 August 2015

Llewellyn-Jones, Tony.

These characters are unheroic, even anti-heroic. These roles, often in award-winning features, helped elevate performance standards during a period when Australian films began competing globally, as evidenced by festival selections and exports.^[1]The 1994 Byron Kennedy Award, presented by the AFI (now AACTA) and the first given to an actor, underscored Hargreaves' broader industry impact for "brilliance and daring" in acting alongside his inspirational presence, with tributes noting that his involvement elevated collaborators' efforts.

Governor-General Sir John Kerr had dismissed the Whitlam government on 11 November 1975. Guest roles in popular television series, mainly produced by Crawford Productions Pty Ltd and the Australian Broadcasting Commission, occupied his journeyman years, together with several stage roles. Film critic Paul Byrnes observed in 1987 that Hargreaves excelled in portraying "failures" with an inherent charm and decency reflective of Australian character, as seen in early films like The Removalists (1975).^[1] His versatility across genres earned him three Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Careful, He Might Hear You (1983), Best Actor for My First Wife (1984), and Best Supporting Actor for Malcolm (1986).^[24] These accolades underscored praise for his ensemble work and nuanced emotional depth, particularly in Paul Cox's My First Wife, where his depiction of marital dissolution was lauded for its realism.^[24]Posthumously, Hargreaves' contributions were recognized with the inaugural Byron Kennedy Award from the AFI in 1994, honoring his excellence and influence in Australian cinema despite not achieving international stardom.^[1] Obituaries highlighted him as one of Australia's "fine actors, not stars," capable of turning his hand to diverse roles from loutish figures in Don's Party (1976) to delicate characterizations in Country Life (1994).^[24] A 2000 event, John Hargreaves … a Celebration, reflected on his pursuit of elusive "Truth" in performance, with director George Miller recalling his brilliance and meticulous preparation.^[1] His legacy endures as a quintessential figure in the revival of Australian film, embodying unpretentious talent amid the industry's 1970s-1980s renaissance.^[24]