John has enjoyed an extensive career in corporate entertainment, stage, radio and television in his home state of Tasmania for over 30 years for a variety of companies and organisations. On the mainland stage, John has most recently played COWARDLY LION in the Australian touring production of WIZARD OF OZ and has previously appeared as Stewpot in Opera Australia’s South Pacific, Dick Woollnough/Dee Anthony in The Boy From OZ for The Production Co., Mitch in The Threepenny Opera for Malthouse and STC, Spider/Lord Savage in Jeckyll & Hyde for TML in Korea, Mr. Braithwaite in BILLY ELLIOT The Musical for Universal/Working Title, and Pumbaa in The Lion King for Disney Theatrical Productions in Perth, Melbourne and Shanghai.

His Television credits include Tailings (SBS) ROSEHAVEN (ABC), The Kettering Incident (Foxtel), Winners and Losers (7 Network), Tricky Business (Nine network), Dance Academy (ABC), City Homicide (7 Network) and John Safran’s Race Relations (ABC). His Film credits include A Journey Through Time with Anthony (Zhou Xun), Macbeth 1040 AD for Dark Oak Films, The Sound Of One Hand Clapping (Artist Services) and Back From The Dead (Pocket Money Productions) and his voice can be heard in the films Legend of the Guardians, AUSTRALIA, Daybreakers, Mao’s Last Dancer, Two Fists One Heart, in mini-series for CLEO, False Witness, Scorched, and on TV shows Wild Boys, Rescue Special Ops and Slide.

In 2006 John was nominated for a Mo Award for his role as Pumbaa in The Lion King. John is a Public School Ambassador, an Australia Day Ambassador, a finalist in 2015 Tasmanian Australian of the year, a co-founder/producer and board member of Hobart independent actor’s company Blue Cow Theatre Inc. and a broadcaster on ABC local radio. John is also currently the Artistic director of the Australian Musical Theatre Festival.

As a producer of musical theatre John began his career in the early 90s with a production of Camelot at Hobart’s Theatre Royal. Since then he has produced over 20 musicals with Gilbert and Sullivan Society, X,Wellington Wellington, X and the Theatre Royal Management Board And most recently with John X presents and the record breaking WE WILL ROCK YOU at Hobart’s Theatre Royal that enjoyed a 99% capacity.