Hugh Keays Byrne (1947-2020)

Hugh Keays-Byrne
BIRTH 18 May 1947
India
DEATH 1 Dec 2020 (aged 73)
Australia

Hugh Keays Byrne (1947-2020)

Actor. Best known to international audiences for two separate starring roles in the Mad Max film series, Hugh Keays-Byrne was born in a princely state of was then the British Raj in India. Following his family’s relocation to Britain, he commenced his acting career, playing in numerous productions of the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1973 he relocated to Australia where he began transitioning from a stage performer into a television actor.

Hugh Keays Byrne Birth 18 May 1947 India

His first big screen role came the following year when he played the role of Toad, a motorcycle gang member, in the low budget film, Stone. The role by which international audiences best remember him came in the 1979 dystopian film Mad Max. Keays-Byrne starred opposite Mel Gibson as the film’s psychopathic antagonist, Toecutter.

Hugh Keays Byrne Death 1 Dec 2020 (aged 73) Australia

Following the success of Mad Max, he acted in a number of Australian films and television programs including the cult series, Farscape. In 2015, in his final film role, Keays-Byrne returned to Mad Max universe when he starred as Immortan Joe, the apocalyptic war lord of Mad Max: Fury Road. His performance in the role garnered a nomination for best villain at the MTV Movie Awards.