Thomas Andrew Long (3 August 1968 – 4 January 2020) was an Australian film and television actor. He played court official and avid surfer Angus in the late 1990s TV series SeaChange and Brenden Abbott in the 2003 Australian TV movie The Postcard Bandit.
Early life Long was born on 3 August 1968 in Boston, Massachusetts, as his Australian parents were visiting there at the time. On their return to Australia he grew up on a farm near Benalla, Victoria. He worked as a jackaroo and shearer after attending Geelong Grammar School, before going abroad, travelling to India, the United Kingdom, Los Angeles, and South Carolina.
After returning to Australia, Long successfully auditioned for a place at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1994.
Career Long appeared in several Australian television series, most notably the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) hit SeaChange (1998–2000) and the Nine Network police drama Young Lions (2002). He appeared in the Australian films Two Hands (1999) and The Dish (2000). Long played Brenden Abbott in the 2003 telemovie The Postcard Bandit and appeared in the film The Book of Revelation.
He also appeared in The Last of the Ryans, Doing Time for Patsy Cline, Do or Die, Risk, Heroes' Mountain: The Thredbo Story, Black Jack: Ghosts, Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback, and East of Everything, and Woodley.
Long stopped acting after he collapsed on stage during a performance of the play Coranderrk: We Will Show the Country at the Sydney Opera House in July 2012.
Personal life Long was in a long-term relationship with actress Rachael Maza, breaking up in 1998 just before the birth of their son, Ariel. The couple reunited in 2005, after Maza and Ariel survived a deadly car accident, albeit with serious injuries.
Long married Rebecca Fleming in February 2019.
Long was diagnosed in 2012 with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. He underwent chemotherapy and received a stem cell transplant to treat the disease. In December 2018, Long was given an updated prognosis of 3–12 months to live. In March 2019, Long travelled to Seattle, Washington, to undergo a medical trial, after which he was pronounced "cancer free".
On 4 January 2020, Long died of encephalitis at age 51.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Type 1994 Country Life Billy Livingstone Feature film 1997 The Last of the Ryans Peter Walker TV movie 1997 Doing Time for Patsy Cline Brad Goodall Feature film 1999 Two Hands Wally Feature film 1999 Strange Planet Ewan Feature film 2000 Risk Ben Madigan Feature film 2000 The Dish Glenn Latham Feature film 2001 Hildegarde Tony Feature film 2002 Heroes' Mountain Paul Featherstone TV movie 2003 The Postcard Bandit Brenden Abbott TV movie 2006 The Book of Revelation Daniel Feature film 2006 Black Jack: Ghosts Mike TV movie 2007 Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback Tony Elliot TV movie
Television Year Title Role Type 1992 The Leaving of Liverpool Ned TV miniseries (2 part) 1995 Echo Point Dave Campbell TV series 1998-2000 SeaChange Angus Kabiri TV series 2001 Do or Die Michael Tyler / Joey TV miniseries 2002 Young Lions Det. Sr. Const. Guy 'Guido' Martin TV series 2006 Two Twisted Karl Wells TV series, 1 episode 2008-09 East of Everything Vance Watkins TV series 2012 Woodley Greg TV series (final appearance)
References
External links
Interview : Web Wombat Movie Channel