Gerry Sont Explained

Gerard Sont
Birth Date:1961 1, df=yes
Birth Place:Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation:Actor, host
Notable Works:Melvin, Son of Alvin as Melvin
Home and Away as Brett Macklin, Chan Macklin
Chances as Cal Lawrence
Years Active:1977–present

Gerard Sont (born 24 January 1961), also known as Gerry Sont and Gerald Sont (billing as), is an Australian actor and TV host.

Early life & education

Sont studied acting at E.15 Stratford in London, and later trained with Ms Uta Hagen in New York. He joined Actors Equity of Australia in 1976.

Career

Film and television

Sont played the titular Melvin in Melvin, Son of Alvin. He played recurring character Brett Mackin on Home and Away (from the series inception in 1988, with appearances until 2005), and a main character, Cal Lawrence, in the TV series Chances.

He was the first host of Australia's version of Double Dare and was a presenter on ABC's magazine style TV series Antenna.

Theatre

Sont has appeared on stage in productions such as How Does Your Garden Grow? at the State Theatre, Sydney in 1996, The Cherry Orchard at the New Theatre, Sydney in 1996, The Gospel of Mark at Belvoir Street Downstairs Theatre in 2000 and The Object of Desire at La Mama in 2007. He appeared as Jean-Michel in a 1985 production of the musical La Cage aux Folles at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney and the Palais Theatre.

He currently works together with his wife at the theatre company they founded together, 'ThéâtreExcentrique', based in Botany, Sydney. His 2017 performance in the play, I'd Rather Goya Robbed Me of My Sleep was met with rave reviews.[1]

TVC

Sont has appeared in numerous television advertisements since 1981, for brands including Streets Cornetto, Adidas, KFC, Aero, New Woman magazine, Land Rover Discovery, TD Waterhouse, Mitsubishi, Youi, Colgate, Oral-B, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Chivas Regal.

Teaching

Sont taught at NIDA for nine years, where he created and facilitated their TV Presenters course, and was a senior trainer in Corporate Performance. He also taught classes at The Actors Centre, and was Head of Drama at the Australian College of Entertainers in Melbourne for a year. He eventually transitioned into theatre productions and corporate training, and became an affiliate lecturer at UNSW Business School, AGSM.[2]

Personal life

Sont met his wife Anna Jahjah, a French-Lebanese actor, in 2012 while working on a workshop for the Alliance Française. They were married in 2014.[3]

Filmography

Film

TitleYearRoleType
1982Running on EmptyVictorFeature film
1982Early FrostParty GuestFeature film
1984Melvin, Son of Alvin Melvin PurpleFeature film
2006Superman ReturnsHospital ReporterFeature film
2006Gene-XProfessor WhiteFeature film
2013MoverMr. CarterShort film
2015The LSD ManJournalistShort film

Television

TitleYearRoleType
1976–78The Young DoctorsRic Martin / Billy WebbTV series, 26 episodes
1977Glenview HighAndrewTV series, 1 episode
1982–83A Country Practice Martin Simpson / FredoTV series, 4 episodes
1983Waterloo StationRick ThompsonTV series
1983The Don Lane ShowGuestTV series, 1 episode
1984Antenna PresenterTV series
1985Butterfly IslandBob GallioTV series, season 1, 7 episodes
1988; 2005Home and AwayBrett MacklinTV series, 46 episodes
1989Double DareHostTV series
1991The Flying Doctors Joe Mitchell TV series, 1 episode
1991–92ChancesCal LawrenceTV series, 36 episodes
1993Paradise BeachPeterTV series, 1 episode
2000PizzaAd DirectorTV series, 1 episode
2000Head StartJournalistTV miniseries, 2 episodes
2002All SaintsAndre Klugston / KlugstenTV series, 3 episodes
2009The CutRadio Chat Show HostTV miniseries, 1 episode
2024Critical IncidentVic KaczmarekTV series, 1 episode

Theatre

As actor

TitleYearRoleType
1977 One Wayside Theatre, Sydney with Keyhole Productions
1977 Something for Everyman Sydney with Keyhole Productions
1977 Baxter Roger Baxter Wayside Theatre, Sydney with Keyhole Productions
The Green Bay Tree Fort Lauderdale's Public Theatre, Florida
1985 La Cage aux Folles Jean-Michel Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, Palais Theatre, Melbourne with J. C. Williamson
1988 A Streetcar Named Desire Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney & Lyric Theatre, QPAC, Brisbane
1991 Life St Martins Youth Arts Centre, Melbourne with Fly on the Wall Theatre & Performing Arts Projects
1991 Loving Friends Rippon Lea Estate, Melbourne with Performing Arts Projects
1991 Working Out Fairfax Studio, Melbourne with Victorian Arts Centre
1991 Heroic Measures Klimov / Slava / Lebedev Merlyn Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company[4]
1996 The Father We Loved on a Beach by the Sea New Theatre, Sydney for Sydney Fringe Festival
1996 How Does Your Garden Grow? State Theatre, Sydney with GLS Productions
1996 The Cherry Orchard
Othello
2000 The Gospel of Mark
2003 Milk Old Fitzroy Theatre, Sydney
2003 Three Winters Green Stables Theatre, Sydney
2005 About Alice The Crypt Theatre, Sydney with Raw-em Theatre Company
2006 Action / Shakers The Crypt Theatre, Sydney
2007 The Object of Desire Grant La Mama, Melbourne with Fly on the Wall Theatre for Midsumma Festival
2010 Taking a Bullet Agent Kubrick Still Knocks Productions for Short+Sweet[5]
2013 Richard III (Or Almost) Guy Laurence King Street Theatre, Sydney[6]
2014 Poo Poo Pee Doo July-et Caputlet Short+Sweet & Sandy Point Theatre with Théâtre Excentrique[7]
2014 Leaves Chas King Street Theatre, Sydney with Théâtre Excentrique & Emu Productions[8]
2015 Antigone First Guard PACT, Sydney with Théâtre Excentrique[9]
2016 7 Days in the Life of Simon Labrosse Labrosse Creative Space 99, Sydney with Théâtre Excentrique
2017 I'd Rather Goya Robbed Me of My Sleep Than Some Other Son of a Bitch Father / Narrator Old 505 Theatre, Sydney with Théâtre Excentrique[10]
2017; 2018; 2019 Murders at the Museum Australian Museum, Sydney, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney with Théâtre Excentrique[11]
2019 Exit the King The Doctor Théâtre Excentrique[12]
2022 Tideline Old 505 Theatre, Sydney with Théâtre Excentrique

As director / producer

TitleYearRoleType
2004 Mamet x 2: All Men Are Whores Director Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Sydney with Roughhouse Theatre
2005 Dwarf Spotting Director Seymour Centre, Sydney with Out Of Bounds Productions for Short+Sweet
2005 True West Director Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Sydney with Insomniac Theatre Company
2013 Robert Zucco Producer Old Fitzroy Theatre, Sydney with Le Theatre des Assassins & Independent Theatre Company
2016; 2017 Beirut Adrenaline Production Manager Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney[13]
[14] [15] [16]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.theatrexcentrique.com/person/gerry-sont/#
  2. https://www.icacm.com.au/gerry-sont#biography
  3. http://www.theatrexcentrique.com/person/gerry-sont/#
  4. https://stories.malthousetheatre.com.au/shows/heroic-measures/
  5. https://www.aussietheatre.com.au/news/short-sweet-final-this-week
  6. https://sydneyartsguide.com.au/richard-iii-or-almost/
  7. http://www.theatrexcentrique.com/poo-poo-pee-doo-2/
  8. http://www.theatrexcentrique.com/leaves/
  9. http://www.theatrexcentrique.com/antigone-by-jean-anouilh/
  10. http://www.theatrexcentrique.com/id-rather-goya-robbed-me-of-my-sleep-than-some-other-son-of-a-bitch/
  11. http://www.theatrexcentrique.com/murder-at-the-museum2/
  12. http://www.theatrexcentrique.com/exit-the-king/
  13. http://www.theatrexcentrique.com/beirut-adrenaline/
  14. https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/405244
  15. https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/229018
  16. https://gerrysont.com