Jack Thompson's career as an actor has seen him recognised by in his own country and overseas. He has appeared in more than 50 feature films, a number of which were made in the USA or produced by American film studios. Among the international films he has appeared in are: The Earthling (1980), Merry Christmas Mr Laurence (1983), Broken Arrow (1996), Last Dance (1996), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (2002), The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) and The Good German (2006),
The adopted son of broadcaster and poet John Thompson (q.v.), Thompson's parents separated when he and his brother, David, were small children. At around age six their mother died and they went to an orphanage in Narrabeen, on Sydney's northern beaches. While their Thompson (the John Payne) met Peter Thompson and the pair became best friends. Payne eventually moved in with the Thompson family and was later adopted. After completing school he spent some time on a cattle station in the Northern Territory and developed a close association with the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land. He later attended the University of Queensland and appeared in Brisbane amateur theatrical productions with companies such as Twelfth Night and the University of Queensland's Drama Society.
Having changed his surname to that of his adoptive parents, Thompson pursued a career as an actor, undertaking his only formal training at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre. His break-through as an actor came when he was offered a role in the Channel 7 series, Motel. He later went on to appear in episodes for such TV series as: Riptide, Woobinda, Animal Doctor, Skippy, The Rovers, Division 4, Boney, Matlock Police, Homicide and Ryan, before being offered a lead role in the series Spyforce (qq.v.).
Thompson's film career began with a minor role in Wake in Fright (1971), and was followed in 1973 with a feature role in the four-part anthology, Libido (1973). His first lead role in a feature film was Petersen (1974). This has been followed by more than 60 film and television roles, a number of which are considered Australian classics. These include: Sunday Too Far Away (1975), Scobie Malone (1975), Caddie (1976), Mad Dog Morgan (1976), The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978), The Journalist (1979), Breaker Morant (1980), The Club (1980), The Man From Snowy River (1982), Burke and Wills (1985), Ground Zero (1987), Turtle Beach (1992) and The Sum of Us (1994), The Oyster Farmer (2004), The December Boys (2007) and Ten Empty (2008). In 2009 he also made a brief but memorable appearance in Mao's Last Dancer (qq.v.).
Thompson's roles in television mini-series and movies also include: Waterfront (1984), The Rainbow Warrior Conspiracy (1989), The Dwelling Place (1994), The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996), McLeod's Daughters (1996), My Brother Jack (2001) and the 2007 series Bastard Boys (qq.v.)
