Rhys Wakefield is an Australian actor and director whose films have grossed over $350 million worldwide.
He first started out as a regular on the Australian TV series Home and Away where he starred in 363 episodes. He played the lead in James Cameron’s thriller Sanctum, the Polite Leader in The Purge franchise and was nominated for Best Actor in a Feature Film by the Australian Film Institute and the Australian Film Critics Circle for his role in The Black Balloon. Wakefield’s first directed feature film, Berserk, was released in American cinemas on April 5, 2019. It stars Nick Cannon, James Roday, Nora Arnezeder, Erin Moriarty, Jack Falahee and was executive produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones. The film was partially based on someone trying to break into Wakefield’s home. Wakefield also co-wrote and produced the film with William Day Frank.
Wakefield co-wrote and directed the short film A Man Walks Into a Bar, which was a finalist at the 2013 Tropfest International Short Film Festival in Sydney. In 2016, his screenplay Please Close the Gate was officially selected for the Beverly Hills Film Festival and was a feature finalist at the Cinequest Screenwriting competition.
