Cast Details

Newsletter SMS Alerts Contact Us Version française Facebook Twitter SMS Mobile
Theatres FIND A MOVIE MOVIES AT HOME

Site Navigation

  1. Theatres
  2. Movies
  3. Events
  4. Buy Tickets
  5. Video
  6. Blog
  7. Contests
  8. Corporate Sales
  9. SCENE
  10. Buy/Rent Movies
  11. Gift Cards
 
Find Cast Members | Find Movies
Please enter a name.
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Cast Archive: Jai Courtney
Jai Courtney
Birthday: March 15, 1986
Birth Place: Sydney, New South Wales, AU
Resides: Australia
Companions Gemma Pranita
Jai Courtney has many of the qualities to be the next great American action star. Ruggedly good looking, he can nail a no-nonsense south Jersey accent, has played a gladiator-like warrior and is, well, Australian. In the tradition of compatriots Russell Crowe, Chris Hemsworth and Sam Worthington, Courtney has made a testosterone-charged splash in Hollywood playing a tough guy though he probably has more in common with fellow Sydneysider Hugh Jackman. Classically trained, Courtney has quickly made a name for himself with two in-your-face action roles, alongside Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher (2012) and Bruce Willis in A Good Day to Die Hard (2013). However, the muscular Australian hopes to use the exposure to build a career across genres.

Born March 15, 1986 in Sydney, Australia, Courtney and his sister were raised in Sydney's leafy northwest suburbs, attending Galston Public School where their mother, Karen, was a teacher. His father, Chris, was a civil servant with the state electricity company, implying that there were no show business influences in the family when Jai caught the acting bug as a 10-year-old. He went on to develop his dramatic skills at Cherrybrook Technology High School. At 18, Courtney, like many of Australia's finest thespians before him, tried and failed to win a place at the country's leading acting school, the National Academy for Dramatic Art (NIDA). However, he later nabbed a spot at the respected Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Hugh Jackman's alma mater. WAAPA trains students in everything from classic theater roles to screen musicals, a diversity Courtney set about exploring after graduation.

Four head-turning appearances in TV melodramas "All Saints" (Seven Network, 2008-2009) and "Packed to the Rafters" (Seven Network, 2008-2013) brought him to the attention of the Australian public. Until the 2010s, however, his girlfriend, WAAPA-trained Gemma Pranita, was the better-known face courtesy of her starring on the popular soap opera "Neighbours" (Eleven, 1985- ). Courtney also featured on the big screen in 2009 in the Australian road movie "Stone Bros." The limited work didn't make him a star in Australia, but was enough to give him the chance to secure the part of Varro in the series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" (Starz, 2010). The historical drama, starring Welsh-Australian Andy Whitfield, was a cable hit in the United States. Courtney left the series behind to concentrate on breaking into film when close friend Whitfield died in 2011 from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

With a leg up in Hollywood, the actor regularly headed to Los Angeles to audition. In mid 2011, "Jack Reacher" star and producer Tom Cruise was impressed by Courtney's audition tape and immediately cast him. The role funded Courtney's continued "commute" from Sydney to LAX, but offers of quality work were coming from home rather than abroad, so in 2012 he was on the verge of setting aside his Hollywood dream. However, while preparing to fly to Sydney, Courtney's agent called, advising him to drop everything to read with Willis for a shot at the career-changing role of the legend's son in the fifth film in the of the "Die Hard" franchise. He took the advice and grabbed his chance at stardom.

My Favourite Theatres more...

My Favourite Theatres more...

My Favourite Movies

Latest From the Blog

Epic director shares his vision for animated forest flick
Abrams reveals cut Cumberbatch shower scene from Star Trek Into Darkness
Aniston, Sudeikis play family in first trailer for We're the Millers
Pass the pints: Simon Pegg and pals are on an epic quest to The World’s End
More...

What's Hot


\






Browse By Category

line_spacer

About us

Cineplex Inc. (“Cineplex”) is one of Canada’s leading entertainment companies and operates one of the most modern and fully digitized motion picture theatre circuits in the world. A top-tier Canadian brand, Cineplex operates numerous businesses including theatrical exhibition, food services, gaming, alternative programming (Front Row Centre Events), Cineplex Media, Cineplex Digital Solutions and the online sale of home entertainment content through CineplexStore.com and on apps embedded in various electronic devices. Cineplex is also a joint venture partner in SCENE – Canada’s largest entertainment loyalty program.

Cineplex is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and operates 136 theatres with 1,455 screens from British Columbia to Quebec, serving approximately 71 million guests annually through the following theatre brands: Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy, Famous Players, Colossus, Coliseum, SilverCity, Cineplex VIP, Cinema City and Scotiabank Theatres. Cineplex also owns and operates the UltraAVX, Poptopia, and Outtakes brands. Cineplex trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CGX". More information is available at cineplex.com.