Meyne Wyatt (born 1989) is an Aboriginal Australian actor. He has appeared in short films, feature films, telemovies, and television series, and has also written for television.
Early life Meyne Wyatt was born in Kalgoorlie in 1989, to Sue, a painter and children's book illustrator, and Brian, who worked for the National Native Title Council. His father was a Yamatji man, while his mother is from the Wongatha group, and Wyatt is the youngest of four siblings. He attended Hale School in Perth from the age of 13.
After leaving Hale, Wyatt completed a theatre course at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). He auditioned for full-time places at WAAPA and the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), and was accepted into both. He decided to attend NIDA and graduated in 2010.
Career Following his graduation from NIDA, Wyatt appeared in several theatre productions in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane. He won the Best Newcomer accolade at the 2011 Sydney Theatre Awards for his performance as an Aboriginal teenager in Lachlan Philpott's production of Silent Disco. In 2012, Wyatt was cast in the supporting role of Jimmy Middleton in the musical comedy film The Sapphires. He also made his debut with the Bell Shakespeare company, in a production of The School for Wives.
In early 2013, Wyatt starred in the lead role of Ralph Meyers's production of Peter Pan at the New Victory Theater. In that same year, Wyatt filmed a supporting role in The Broken Shore, a television miniseries based on Peter Temple's 2005 novel of the same name. He also appeared in the film adaptation of Tim Winton's short story collection The Turning. Wyatt played Frank Leaper, a footballer "who walks away at a key moment of his career", in the segment titled Family, which was directed by Shaun Gladwell.
Wyatt appeared in the second season of Redfern Now as a father whose newborn baby goes missing. He was initially cast in the first season of the drama, but had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict. His performance earned him nominations at the 2014 Logie Awards and at the 3rd AACTA Awards.
In 2014, Wyatt also appeared in the cast of feature film Strangerland, alongside Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes. On 20 July 2014, it was announced that he had joined the cast of long-running soap opera Neighbours, as Nate Kinski. Wyatt is the first Indigenous actor to join the main cast since the show began in 1985. Executive producer Jason Herbison stated the decision to cast an Indigenous actor was "unintentional" and that Wyatt had been the best actor for the role. Wyatt relocated to Melbourne for filming and made his screen debut as Nate on 18 August 2014. Wyatt began appearing in the six-part sketch-comedy show Black Comedy in November 2014.
Wyatt took a break from Neighbours to appear in a Sydney Theatre Company production of King Lear, alongside Geoffrey Rush, from November 2015 to January 2016. Wyatt's father died from throat cancer in October, causing him to miss the first two weeks of rehearsals. The director, Neil Armfield, briefly considered recasting the role of Edmund, as he was concerned that Wyatt would find it hard to play a man who plots to murder his father. However, Wyatt found the play "a good distraction". He also appeared in the feature film What If It Works?.
Wyatt left Neighbours in early 2016 and his character's last scenes aired in June that year. In 2017, Wyatt appeared in the American series The Leftovers, which was filmed in Australia. In 2018, he had a regular role in drama series Mystery Road, as Cedric Thompson.
Wyatt's first play, City of Gold, was published in July 2019 by Currency Press. A co-production between Queensland Theatre and Griffin Theatre, the play premiered in Brisbane, before transferring to Sydney.
In 2021, Wyatt joined Shareena Clanton, Sachin Joab and Remy Hii in bringing to light racism on the set of Neighbours. He reported several instances of racism, including "the 'c' word", and hearing multiple instances of homophobia.
Wyatt starred in the 2021 ABC television comedy series Preppers. He also appeared in 2024 horror film The Moogai and in the comedy drama series Strife.
On 17 April 2025, Wyatt was named as part of the extended cast for season two of Return to Paradise.
Other activities In June 2020, Wyatt delivered a powerful four-minute monologue from his play City of Gold, on a special episode on ABC Television's Q+A about Black Lives Matter and Aboriginal deaths in custody. In the monologue, he describes the impact of racism on his life. It was widely covered by national media. 9 June 2020, published by Guardian Australia. Comedian Nazeem Hussain suggested in a tweet that it was "the best two minutes of Australian television ever".
In 2020, encouraged by his mother, Wyatt entered a painted self-portrait in the Archibald Prize and became the first Indigenous artist to win the Packing Room Prize in September 2020.
Wyatt co-authored a children's book, Maku, with Randa Abdel-Fattah, published in 2022.
Awards and nominations Year Work Award Category Result Ref. 2011 Silent Disco Sydney Theatre Awards Best Newcomer 2014 Redfern Now Logie Awards Most Outstanding Newcomer Redfern Now AACTA Awards Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama 2020 Meyne Wyatt National Dreamtime Awards Actor of the Year City of Gold Sydney Theatre Awards Best Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Mainstage Production City of Gold Sydney Theatre Awards Best New Australian Work City of Gold Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Victorian Premier's Prize for Drama Self portrait Archibald Prize Packing Room Prize 2024 Maku DANZ Children's Book Award Best Chapter Book
Acting credits
Television Year Title Role Notes Ref.2013 The Broken Shore Donny Coulter Miniseries Redfern Now Justin Myles Episode: "Babe in Arms" 2014–2016 Neighbours Nate Kinski 426 episodes 2014–2018 Black Comedy Guest 9 episodes 2017 The Leftovers Rowan 1 episode 2018 Mystery Road Cedric Thompson 6 episodes 2019 Les Norton Percy Kirby 1 episode Wentworth Anton 2 episodes2021 The Moth Effect Milo 1 episode Preppers Guy 6 episodes 2023 Strife Robert 5 episodes 2025 Return to Paradise Scott Forbes Episode: "Death Trip"
Film Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2012 The Sapphires Jimmy Middleton 2013 The Turning Frank Leaper 2014 The Night Sky Narrator Short film 2015 Strangerland Burtie 2016 Exhale Chaz Short film 2017 What If It Works? Drew 2018 The Obscure Raleigh Short film The Nightingale Voice artist Reaching Distance Zach 2020 The Moogai Fergus Short film2022 We Are Still Here Michael Fences Adam/A2 Short film 2024 The Moogai Fergus Feature film
Stage Year Title Role Notes Ref.2011 The Brothers Size Oshoosi Size Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Co Silent Disco Squid Stables Theatre, Sydney, Butter Factory Theatre, Wodonga with HotHouse Theatre, Griffin Theatre Co & ATYP 2011–2012 Bloodland Gulami Wharf Theatre, Sydney, Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide, QPAC, Brisbane with STC, Adelaide Festival, Queensland Theatre, & Bangarra Dance Theatre 2012 The School for Wives Australian tour with Bell Shakespeare Buried City Meynedog Belvoir Theatre, Sydney 2013 Peter Pan Peter Pan Belvoir Theatre, Sydney 2015–2016 King Lear Edmund Sydney Theatre Company 2019 City of Gold Bille Brown Theatre, Brisbane, Stables Theatre, Sydney 2022 City of Gold Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC 2026 Redfern Renaissance Belvoir Theatre, Sydney
As writer Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2012 Buried City Devisor Belvoir Theatre, Sydney 2019; 2022 City of Gold Playwright Bille Brown Theatre, Brisbane, Stables Theatre, Sydney, Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC 2022 Heartbreak High Writer Episode 4 2023 Total Control Writer Season 3, episode 4
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