Aaron Pedersen
Pedersen at the 2020Berlinale
Born	(1970-11-24)24 November 1970 (age 54) Alice Springs,Northern Territory, Australia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–present

Aaron Pedersen (born 24 November 1970) is anAboriginal Australian television and film actor. He is known for many film and television roles, in particular as Detective Jay Swan in the filmMystery Road (2013), its sequelGoldstone (2016), andspin-off television series (2018–2020). He has been nominated for many and won several acting awards, including the 2021AACTA Award for International Award for Best Actor in a Series.

Pedersen, who is ofArrernte andArabana descent, was born on an Ansett flight toAlice Springs,^[1] his home town. He and his seven siblings grew up in foster homes away from their alcoholic mother,^[2] Margaret,^[3] and experienced much family violence in the home.^[4] From an early age, he looked after his brother, Vinnie, who hascerebral palsy and a mild intellectual disability.^[3]

In the early 1990s, Pedersen underwent a cadetship at theABC inMelbourne, and worked as a journalist and presenter. He was a host for the TV seriesBlackout.^[1]

His acting career began in 1994, when he starred in the miniseriesHeartland and was voted Bachelor of the Year byCleo magazine.^{[5][better source needed]} He came to notice in 1995 as co-host ofGladiators Australia, an Australian game show.^{[citation needed]}

Pedersen's first major acting role was as lawyer Vince Cellini inWildside in 1997. In 1999, he played Detective Senior ConstableMichael Reilly inWater Rats, and took a major role inThe Secret Life of Us (2005).^[1]

Since 2007, he had the leading role inSBS's drama seriesThe Circuit, and from 2007 to 2011 he appeared inChannel Seven's dramaCity Homicide.^{[citation needed]} He appeared as Cam Delray inABC Television'sJack Irish series, beginning in 2012 and running for several seasons.^[1]

Pedersen took the lead role of Detective Jay Swan inIvan Sen'sMystery Road (2013), a role he reprised in its sequel filmGoldstone (2016), and itsspin-off television series (2018–2020).^[6][1]

He played war veteran Frank Gibbs inA Place to Call Home (2017–2018) and Tom Campbell inTotal Control (2019).^{[citation needed]} In 2020 to 2021, he was the presenter for an ABC Television documentary seriesAustralia Remastered. In the same year, he featured as a presenter with writerHolly Ringland in an eight-episode documentary series on ABC Television calledBack to Nature.^[7]

In 2024, Pedersen would appear in the Foxtel/Binge seriesHigh Country.^[8]

In 2007, Pedersen was the recipient of theBob Maza Fellowship, which recognises emerging acting talent and support professional development for Indigenous actors.^[9]

Pedersen has been nominated for many and won several awards.^[10]

He won the Best Actor award at theMelbourne Underground Film Festival forDarklovestory (2006).^[11]

My Brother Vinnie (2006) won the Best Short Documentary award at theMelbourne International Film Festival and was nominated for anIF Award for Best Short Documentary. Pedersen was also nominated for aDeadly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film.^[12]

Pedersen won a Deadly Award nomination for Male Actor of the Year in 2003 and 2011, and was nominated for it in 2007.^[12]

In 2013, he was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in theAsia Pacific Screen Awards, for his role in the filmMystery Road.^[11]

After being nominated several times over the years forAFI and AACTA Awards, in 2021 he won theAACTA International Award for Best Actor in a Series, for his role inMystery Road.^[13][14]

Pedersen speaks at schools and prisons, and is concerned at therate of incarceration of Indigenous Australians, seeing parallels with the early history of Australia, being founded as a penal colony; the link between poverty and crime.^[1]Other speaking roles includeemceeing various events, including theMelbourne Indigenous Arts Festival, and has hostedBlack Nite Film Festival since 2009. He was co-host of the 2011 Deadly Awards, and has undertaken many other public speaking engagements.^[12]

Pedersen has looked out for his younger brother Vinnie, who hascerebral palsy and mild intellectual disabilities, on and off since he was a child.^[3] In 1997, when Aaron was pursuing his career as an actor in Sydney, their grandmother, who had been helping to care for Vinnie in Alice Springs, died. There were no services available nor other family support, so Aaron took on the role as full-time carer and Vinnie joined him in Sydney. After things got difficult for Aaron, his de facto mother-in-law, Mum Frances, stepped in and Vinnie moved in with her.^[3]

Vinnie accompanies Aaron during his filming.^[15] The short documentary filmMy Brother Vinnie (2006), written by Pedersen, directed bySteven McGregor, and shot byWarwick Thornton (both friends), was selected for theMelbourne International Film Festival andMessage Sticks Indigenous Film Festival.^[16][3][17]

Pedersen's partner in life was Sarah Bond. The split up in 2017. While he is not currently seeing anyone, he says that caring for Vinnie means that there is no space in his life for children. He loves working with wood, and has a "secret desire to be a tradie".^[1]

• "Aaron Pedersen is a different kind of archetypal leading man" byElisabeth Vincentelli,The New York Times, 13 October 2020

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAaron Pedersen.

• Aaron Pedersen atIMDb

• Living people
• Australian game show hosts
• Australian male television actors
• Indigenous Australian male actors
• Male actors from the Northern Territory
• People from Alice Springs
• 1970 births

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