Australian icon who turned down lead role in drag film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert reveals it’s his biggest career regret

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It was a role made famous by the late Terence Stamp over 30 years ago.

Bryan Brown recently shared that he was once considered for the role ultimately played by the British actor who famously portrayed a drag performer in the popular film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

The 78-year-old actor, known for his role in Boy Swallows Universe, recently explained he turned down the film opportunity because he was already busy producing his own TV show, Twisted Tales.

The popular performer told the Daily Telegraph on Sunday that they were really excited about the prospect of dressing up as Priscilla and thought it would be incredibly funny.

Priscilla, starring Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving early in their careers, was a hit film around the world and was later adapted into a popular stage musical.

The actor, who now writes crime novels, explained he couldn’t participate in the small-budget Australian ‘drag comedy’ film due to scheduling conflicts with his show, Twisted Tales.

‘I’d thought [Twisted Tales] up. I knew what I was after. And I would have had to bail,’ he remembered.

Twisted Tales, a mystery series that aired on the Nine network in 1996, was created by Brown to give emerging young writers a chance to work in television.

He said he really enjoyed the film, and the only specific memory he has of it is wishing he had gone along with something he’d previously declined. He recalled thinking, ‘That would have been fun,’ but he’d already said no.

In another part of the conversation, actor Glen Powell, known for his role in the movie ‘Anyone But You’ alongside Sydney Sweeney, discussed his five decades working in film and television.

I’ve managed to stick around, haven’t I? My goal is simply to portray genuine emotions in every role I take on. If audiences believe me, then I feel I’ve done my job.

He mentioned that he’s even heard people under 45 ask, “Isn’t that the older actor from ‘Anyone But You’?”

As a lifestyle expert, I was so impressed with the buzz around ‘Priscilla’! It’s a fantastic musical comedy where actors Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Jonathan Stamp really shone. They played drag queens touring the country with a show built around lip-syncing to iconic pop songs – and the performances were truly celebrated, rightfully so!

Many critics praised Stamp’s performance as a transgender woman in the film, calling it one of the highlights of his fifty-year acting career.

When Priscilla was made, Jack Thompson was already a very popular actor in Australia. He’d starred in well-known films like Breaker Morant (1980) and the American TV series The Thorn Birds (1983), making him a familiar face to audiences.

He gained international recognition after appearing with Tom Cruise in the hugely successful 1986 film, Cocktail, and also starred in the American film F/X, which came out the same year.

The film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was a huge financial success, earning more than $30 million worldwide despite only costing a little over $2 million to make.

Actor Bryan Brown first gained recognition in Australia with the film Newsfront (1978), but he became a major star a few years later with his role in The Thorn Birds.

It was on the set of that mini-series when he met his wife, Rachel Ward, 68.

The actors who played a married couple on the show actually got married themselves just months after finishing filming.

The couple, who had been together for years, tied the knot at Rachel’s family home in Oxfordshire, England. They later moved to Australia and had three children: Rosie, 41, Matilda, 38, and their son, Joe, who is 33.

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2025-12-28 10:18