Andrew McFarlane (born 1951) is an Australian actor with many stage, television, and film credits.
Early life and education McFarlane was born in Albany, Western Australia.Playing it straight, 5 October 2006. Keksle75.de, Retrieved 21 June 2015"What I Know About Women", Sunday Life magazine, The Age, 21 June 2015, p. 30 The family moved to Brisbane in the 1960s, often taking long trips to Adelaide where his grandparents lived. His father was a cattle drover and McFarlane accompanied him to far west Queensland, droving, when he was eleven.
After the family relocated to Melbourne, McFarlane attended Camberwell Grammar School, where he was involved in school plays and school cadets.
McFarlane studied a Bachelor of Dramatic Art majoring in Acting, at Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), graduating in 1973, alongside actress Tina Bursill.
Crawfords police dramas Homicide and Matlock Police, McFarlane won a recurring role on Division 4, before joining World War II soap opera The Sullivans, as oldest son John Sullivan. He left the series after eighteen months and in the storyline John was reported missing in action – the writers left his final fate unresolved, in the hope McFarlane would return to the show. He returned to the role in the TV movie spinoff The John Sullivan Story. The role gained McFarlane a Sammy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series in 1977.
In 1977, McFarlane appeared in the Walt Disney family film Harness Fever, as Teddy's older brother Doone Boyd. It was released in UK cinemas in 1977 and again in mid 1978, under the name Born to Run. It wasn't released in Australia however, until 1979. The same year, it was split into two parts and shown on American television on NBC's The Wonderful World of Disney.
From 1979 to 1983, McFarlane had a lead role opposite Robert Coleby in action drama series Patrol Boat, as Lieutenant David Keating. During this time, he also appeared alongside an all-star cast in the 1982 World War I miniseries 1915, as Robert Gillen. A big budget production, the series was sold to over 40 countries, creating a demand for Australian programming in the US.
McFarlane took the lead role of Dr Tom Callaghan in the miniseries The Flying Doctors in 1985, reprising the role in the ongoing series that followed. He left the series after 16 episodes, at the height of its popularity in September 1986, but returned in the fifth season in August 1989 for a further 37 episodes, through to 1991. He also appeared in Rafferty's Rules as Police Prosecutor Gibson in 1988.
From 1995 to 1997, McFarlane had a regular role in children's fantasy adventure series Spellbinder, as Paul's widowed father and scientist, Dr Brian Reynolds. He also had a recurring role in New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, as Bobby Wrightman jr in 1996, before playing Jeff Scheppers in teen series Heartbreak High the following year.
McFarlane began a long-running presenting role on children's series Play School in 2000, with a tenure of over 25 years to date. He then took on two soap opera characters, playing Ian Osbourne, the father of Tasha Andrews in Home and Away in 2004 and Izzy Hoyland's father, Bobby Hoyland in Neighbours in 2005. He also played Hugh Delaney in the drama series The Alice from 2005 to 2006.
In 2009, McFarlane portrayed prominent Australian anti-drugs campaigner and murder victim Donald Mackay in the second season of the Underbelly franchise, Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities. He appeared in a musical for the first time in 2010, in Fame – The Musical at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney.
In 2014, McFarlane had a supporting role as Jim Miller in period drama series Love Child. He also had a recurring role, playing against type, as nefarious Dr Milson in post-war drama series A Place to Call Home. That same year, McFarlane played paedophile priest Father Marco Andrassi in the Foxtel miniseries Devil's Playground, alongside Toni Collette and Simon Burke. The series was devised as a sequel to the 1976 Fred Schepisi film of the same name, which also starred Burke. His portrayal earned him a win at the ASTRA Awards for Most Outstanding Performance in a TV Drama and an AACTA Award nomination for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama.
McFarlane next appeared as Dick Hibey in American political drama feature Truth, opposite Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett. The same year, he had a starring role in ABC's six-part supernatural drama series Glitch, portraying Vic Eastley. In 2016, he followed this with a main role as corrupt politician Geoff Matthews in Cleverman and regular parts in both The Code as Neil, and eight-part crime series Hyde & Seek as Stuart Flanagan. He then starred as Eric Whitley in Newton's Law in 2017.
In 2019, McFarlane appeared alongside Anna Torv, in series Secret City, as Air Chief Marshall Lockwood, a character involved in a political cover-up. 2023 saw McFarlane perform in a Sydney Theatre Company production of Hubris & Humiliation which earned him a win for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Mainstage Production at the Sydney Theatre Awards. In 2025, he reunited with Torv in drama series The Newsreader, playing the recurring role of media mogul Richard Bertrand.
Most recently, McFarlane has starred in 2025 American miniseries Spartacus: House of Ashur, portraying Gabinius, a corrupt Roman senator. He played Charles Mallory in David Williamson's The Social Ladder at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre from January to March 2026.
Personal life McFarlane has long been open about his homosexuality.
Awards Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 1977 Sammy Award Best Supporting Actor in a TV series The Sullivans 2014 ASTRA Award Most Outstanding Performance in a TV DramaDevil's Playground 2015 AACTA Award Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama 2023 Sydney Theatre Award Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Mainstage Production Hubris & Humiliation
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes Ref. 1976 Break of Day Tom Cooper Feature film 1981 Doctors & Nurses Milligan Feature film 1985 I Can't Get Started Freddy Feature film 1988 Boulevard of Broken Dreams Jonathan Lovell Feature film 2007 Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance Trevor Morgan Feature film 2009 Bourke Boy John Short film 2012 Shadow Valley Pastor Todd Short film2015 Truth Dick Hibey Feature film Library of Love The Duke Short film 2018 Joy Boy Pastor Ted Short film
Television Year Title Role Notes Ref. 1972 Homicide Man 1 episode1974 Matlock Police Ben Reid Episode: "Poppy & the Closet Junkie" Rush Drake Episode: "Lament the Days That Are Gone By" 1974–1975 Division 4 Constable Roger Wilson Recurring role1975 Certain Women Leigh Sheldon 1 episode Behind the Legend 1 episode 1976–1982 The Sullivans John Sullivan Recurring role 1977 Born to Run (aka Harness Fever) Doone Boyd TV film 1978 Case for the Defence Johnny Episode: "Made for Each Other" 1979 John Sullivan TV film 1979–1983 Patrol Boat Lieutenant David Keating Main role, 26 episodes 1981 Cop Shop Graham Carter / 'Fancy' Phil Burns 4 episodes 1982 1915 Robert Gillen Miniseries, 5 episodes 1985The Flying DoctorsDr. Tom Callaghan Miniseries, 3 episodes 1986–1991 Main role, 71 episodes1988 Barracuda (aka The Rocks) Det Sgt Mark Castelli TV film Rafferty's Rules Gibson 10 episodes1993 Time Trax George Whitman Episode: "Fire & Ice" Paradise Beach Gordon G.P. Malcolm Henderson Episode: "Living with the Past" 1994 Halifax f.p. Owen Toser Episode: "Acts of Betrayal" 1995–1996 Spellbinder Dr Brian Reynolds Main role, 26 episodes 1996 Shortland Street Bobby Wrightman jr 18 episodes Little White Lies Mark Lynch TV film 1997 Heartbreak High Jeff Scheppers Recurring role, 5 episodes1998 The Violent Earth Tom Sutton Miniseries, 2 episodes The Day of the Roses Public Servant Miniseries, 2 episodes1999 All Saints David Miller Episodes: "Truth & Consequences: Part 1 & 2" Murder Call Adrian MacKerras Episode: "Dead Offerings" Blue Heelers Mark Powers Episode: "The Price of Silence" Airtight Conrad TV film 2000 Tales of the South Seas Miniseries, 1 episode 2000; 2001 Water Rats Patrick Kernaghan / Doug McLaren 2 episodes 2000–2025 Play School Host 2002 Heroes' Mountain Mike Sodergren TV film Crash Palace Prosecutor 1 episode 2003 Tempted Mike TV film2004 The Alice Hugh Delaney TV film Through My Eyes John Phillips Q.C. Miniseries, 2 episodes Home and Away Ian Osbourne 2 episodes2005 Neighbours Bobby Hoyland Recurring role, 20 episodes Blue Water High Warren Episode: "Timing is Everything" 2005–2006 The Alice Hugh Delaney Miniseries, main role, 22 episodes 2008 Emerald Falls Dr. Henry Forbes TV film Dream Life Daniel TV film 2009 Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities Donald Mackay 1 episode 2012 Singapore 1942 End of Empire Lt. Colonel Ian Stewart Documentary Guess How Much I Love You Big Nutbrown Hare / Otter (voice) Animated series, episode: "Treasure Hunt"2014 Rake Marriage Priest 1 episode Love Child Jim Millar Season 1, 3 episodes Janet King Keith Nelson 3 episodes A Place to Call Home Dr. Milson 4 episodes Devil's Playground Father Marco Andrassi MiniseriesASTRA Award for Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor 2015–2017 Glitch Vic Eastley 8 episodes 2016 Black Comedy Guest Episode 2.4 Cleverman Geoff Matthews Main role, 6 episodes The Code Neil Regular role, 6 episodes Hyde & Seek Stuart Flanagan Minister, 3 episodes 2017 Newton's Law Eric Whitley Q.C. Miniseries, main role, 8 episodes Seven Types of Ambiguity Donald Sheere Miniseries, 3 episodes Pulse Mack 2 episodes 2018 Riot Neville Wran TV film 2019 Secret City: Under the Eagle Air Chief Marshal Wes Lockwood 6 episodes 2020 Between Two Worlds 3 episodes 2022 It's Fine I'm Fine Henry 1 episode2023 The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Dr. Harris Miniseries, 1 episode Mother and Son Principal Worstin 1 episode2025 The Newsreader Richard Bertrand 5 episodes My Life Is Murder Graydon 2 episodes 2025–2026 Spartacus: House of Ashur Gabinius 10 episodes
Theatre