The perfect cocktailp arty Thed oublel ifeo f From Australi a'sm ost underwear modelt o un conventionIa a ctor war hero Gulpililis asleepa nd the atmosphereis tense.P laywright RegC nbb says," We havet o be patient.B ackh ome David is at his best."H ow is he to r,vorkw ith?" lt'sb eena battle..."

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David Gulpilil is a man unleashed.E xuding the air of on one side,s how businesso n the other - a fact that a 70s rock star, he strides towards me in Levi's and is neatlys ummedu p in his play'so peningl ines:" Left a brown suede waistcoat. His taut arms are like side,m y country.R ight side,w hite man'sw orld. This 'tippie twisteds teel,h is gnarledh and swallowsm y own. He toe' in caviar and champagne,t his one in the is latea nd his managerJ, ohn Cann, ashenw irh stress, dirr of my Dreamtime." tells me there'st ime only for photos; David has to get "l don't like cities, I'm a bush man," he says in back to rehearsalsf or his one-man show, Gulpilil, deep,r umbling tones,b oundingu p the srepsr owards due to tour Brisbanea nd Sydneyl ater in the year. the photographerC. lose up, his craggyf ace is like a Interviewing this charismatica ctor,a n inrernational map of the world framed by shoulder-lengrhc urls icon of black Australia whose porrrait is rhis year's fleckedw ith grey.B ut oncet he camerai s on him, the Archibald o Prize winner, was never going to be 51-year-olda ctor is rransformed.\ fith eyesb urning o I straightforward. Gulpilil is known for vanishing intensely,h e performs like a wild man, whooping, during film shootsa nd in the city disappearsto the gabbling storieso f how he rescuedh is wife from the f pub when his minders are momenrarily distracred. jarvso f a crocodile." You wanna hear how I losr my : C His reputationg oes before him: volatile,c harming, finger?" He holds up a truncatedi ndex finger to the unpredictable, puppy. soft as a He is a man who crorvd that has gathered. "lr'll cost you $50," he o - z straddlest wo worlds rraditionalA boriginalc ulrure roars. "You Botra come to my shorv to know how ) l 6 s u r . r o rlvr r e a P R r L2 s 2 o o 4

"He is a complexs oul,"s aysd irectorR olf de Heer." In TheT racLtehre, spends half the film with chainsa roundh is neck. He wore them like this badgeo f honour,p roudb ecauseh e wass howingw hat hadb eend onet o his people."

I done it." He is a whirlwind and then he is gone, whisked away (one repon put the sum at $1000); he took a fee of about $10,000 for back to rehearsals. Crocodile Dundee. which made more than $400 million at the box office. Since he was plucked out of the bush by English director Nicolas Gulpilil appears in a ragged jumper. He seems withdrawn and Roeg and cast in 1971's Walkabout, Gulpilil has achievedw hat many vulnerable and eyes me warily but as he sips sweet black tea, words would think impossible.H e was flown to London and presentedt o the tumble out in a back-to-front manner. He speaks 14 tribal languages; Queen holding spearsa nd wearing a lap-lap, then on to Cannesa nd Los English was the fifth languageh e learnt. Angeles. He has starred in a rosary of films - Storm Boy, Crocodile "My play is the true story about how I cope all alone," he begins." Its Dundee and Phillip Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence. He's co-starred with messagei s to understand everybody... For people to understand me, Richard Chamberlain (The Last Wauel and Dennis Hopper (Mad Dog you have to learn about my land, my language." He fixes me with a Morganl.ln 2002, he received an AFI Best Actor Award for his stunning defiant glare. "l live in a humpy house.T he Australian Government has performance in The Tracker, 's challenging film about to wake up and look at how people like me are living. The Prime white settlement,a nd last year he picked up the inaugural Miniscer is doing his iob for [white] Australia; why can't they look at award (as part of the Adelaide International Film Festival) for an what's going on in black Australia?" He draws angrily on a cigarette. outstanding contribution to the film industry. He was born under a tree on his father's land, Gulpulul, NII in 1953. Despite such an acclaimed career,G ulpilil lives in a humpy cobbled Details of his childhood are hazy but at about eight he saw his first together with corrugated iron and plastic sheeting,w ith no electriciryo r white man land in a plane. He saysh e thought it was a ghost and fled. running water. "l've travelled a lot but Ramingining in His mother (a "wonderful woman, soft and gentle", saysf amily friend and where David lives is the most foreign country I've ever beent o," saysd e author Richard Trudgen) suffered from leprosy and "would get around Heer. "He is a complex soul. In some ways, highly sophisticateda nd the bush with a wooden leg". His father was a ceremonial dancer who very smart; in others there are things that are beyond his cultural died from gangrenea fter having his foot amputated. Gulpilil was then referencea bility. In The Tracker, he spends half the film with chains brought up by his uncle, dividing his time berween the bush and the around his neck and I expectedp roblems. But we couldn't get the chains mission school in Maningrida, becoming an accomplishedd ancer who off him. David wore them like this badge of honour, proud becauseh e won prizes at eisteddfods.H e worked briefly as a stockman in the area. was showing what had been done to his people." He was 11 when he saw his first film and 15 when cast in Walkabout. For years Gulpilil had a car called Never Ending Story and organising to Until then, Aboriginal roles were mostly confined to group scenesa nd meet him starts to feel like that. Our interview, arranged for the following extras. So when Gulpilil was cast as an empowered,s exualh ero, it made moming, is cancelleda t 11.30pm. His managerc alls to say Gulpilil won't international headlines.W hen not acting, he would tour with a troupe of talk "unless he's paid $10,000". (SundayLife doesn't pay its interviewees.) performers in Australia and, occasionally,E urope. In about 1990, he Cann's parting words are: "Come if you want. I've given up." returned to his community. Those who know of his fame are quick to Gulpilil and some of the crew are staying out of Adelaide and away from knock "the spoilt blackfella" (Gulpilil's words) off his pedestal." He's in the tempcation of ciry pubs - usually he lives in an alcohol-free community. a no-win situation," says Rolf de Heer. "Either he is ripping off his I arrive at a rustic farmhouse at 9.30am the next day. Gulpilil is asleepa nd community or he is being ripped off by white people." the atmosphere is tense. Cann lights one filterless Gitane after another; Gulpilil is a , once regarded as a race of fearlessw arriors. playwright Reg Cribb, who co-wrote Gulpilil with the actog says, "We TodaS his people face a bleak future with mortaliry ratesf our and a half have to be patient. Back home David is at his best." How is he ro work times the national averagea nd spiralling levelso f alcohol and substance with? "It's been a banle," sighs Cribb. "There's a lot of suspicion from abuse." I'm waiting for the governmentt o say sorry to me," saysG ulpilil. David about white people. He doesn't realise that with this play he can "For all of Australia and for my people." He getsu p suddenly." l've been own something artistically for the first rime." Gulpilil feelsh e's beenr ipped batding through drugs and alcohol, everyone talks about drinking, offthroughout his career: he barely receiveda cent, he says,f or Walkabout smoking ... say that Gulpilil crazy one.B ut," he lifrs up his shirt ro reveal

I 8 s u N o a yl t p e A p R r L2 s , 2 o o 4 Froml eft, CraigR uddyi 2004 Archibald-winninpgo rtrait;w ith co-starG ary Sweeta t the premiereo f IAe lroc/

I'm part of the wilderness. .. I go hunting for crocodile,t urtles ... I do fishingw ith spear."E veryd ay? "Vru got to get up in the morning and finish about 4 o'clock. I don't get paid for that." Gulpilil frequentlyr eturns to this gripe about "the hole in his pocket" and that he'so wed a house by the government (construction on his father's land was abandoned becauseit was difficult to reach)." He can't managem oney," sayse x- partner Airlie Thomas, who lived with him on and off from 1991 to 1994. "He livesi n a culturew here everythingb elongst o everybody.H e could have unlimited moneya nd he would still not havee nough." When askeda bout his homeland,h e melts." l missi t, I love it, lonely, no citl', no nothing ... I can feel the spirit of rhe land, messagec oming a sleek,m uscledt orso, "l never put on weight; I'm a thoroughbred." through my body.M aybe my son callingm e." He pokesm y arm. "l feel Gulpilil'se xploitsi n the "raging" 70s are legendaryH. e partied with it there.O r sisterc alling me, I get a messageh ere." He touchesh is leg. in London and performed in Central Park with Jimi "My father is theres omewhereI. sit on the land and start singing.I feel Hendrix. He met in Hawaii and Marlon Brando in the spiritsa round me." He gazeso ut the car window. Hollywood. His acring( and drinking) mentorsw ere his Walhahout co-srar In Gulpilil, which received a standing ovation every night at last , who'd be on set "shaking, couldn't stand", and Dennis month's AdelaideF estival,h is humpy is re-createdo n sta€iea nd a real fire Hopper- "mad, reallym ad one;i t was whiskya nd marijuanaa nd kissing burns in a tin drum. The performancec losesw ith him daubing himself in cameras,"G ulpilil laughs." Dennis Hopper comesf rom the heart,t hat's white paint and, while he invokest he spirit of the crocodile,b eginninga n wherea ctingi s. I mean,d rinking and smoking- everyoned oest hat." He eerieh unting dance.I t fills the theatrew ith an atmosphereo f wildnessa nd throws me a look. "I havet o ioin in whitefellas'corroboreseo metimes." stillness.A s he leaps,t he flamesc ast shadows behind. His wailing song By the mid-8Os,t he stresso f living "whitefella way", homesickness lifts the rafters as if sounding a call to the ancients pirits to come home. and depressionh ad taken their toll. He was rarely offered film roles, But in the car it's the struggleb etweenb lack and white Australiat hat occasionallyp erforming traditional dancef or tourists and sleepingr ough concernsh im. "l cry for my people," he says." l want change,m ake it in Darwin parklands.l n 1987,w hen Gulpilil shouldh aveb eenr eceiving equal berweenb alanda Iwhite, and] Yolngu people." He motions towards his Member in the Order of Australiaf or his servicet o the arts, he was the road ahead." Just like this bitumen, you know, one lane,o ne way. in jail for drink-driving. A seconds tint in lail followed 13 yearsl ater, Black and white, one red blood. I want same like that, becauseI am with the magistrates ayingt hat Gulpilil had given Australia and his people your first-classm an from country of Australia calledA boriginal." ! a lot but he could have done more if he'd stayed away from the grog. DavidG ulpililT, woW orldsb y CraigR uddyis parto f the ArchibaldP rizee xhibition "l must be stupid but I learnt in jail." Gulpilil becomess erious." Jail at the Art Galleryo f NSW until May 16 and at the VictorianA rts Centre, was shocking.I t was very hard; the numbero f young Aboriginalk ids in MelbourneN, ovembe6r to January9 ,2005. custody." He slaps his hand on the table, agitated." One little black fellow, hanging himself... But they look after me. I havet o wash the dishes,2 52 dishesT. hat was my job, clean up, inside out, clean up the drugs, clean up the fingernails..."h e trails off as his mobile rings. It is his eldests on,J ida,w ho is in his early3 0s.D avid has three children - two sons and a daughter,P hoebe,1 3 - from threew omen; only Jamie,1 9, livesa traditional life with him. "I needa big mob of wives," he laughs,w inking. Some 15 years ago he took a tribal wife, Robyn Dlunginy, a talented artist. He thrusts photos into my hand -Jamie and David carving spears;R obyn, proud and severein a turquoise dress,w ith David sitting behindl ike a tribal chieftain. Gulpilil's crew are hovering anxiously,w aiting to leave. He ignorest hem and fetchesa greens hirt embroideredw ith "Australian Crocodile Tracker". "I'm a crocodile tracker," he says." This year making a tele-featurefi lm with me as the Crocodile Hunter, maybe we get Steve Irwin along... Next year doing with Rolf de Heer. It's an Aboriginal story about before white men came." Gulpilil wants to keep ralking and we decidet o finish the interview on the trip back to Adelaide. I drive. Gulpilil talks, his giant fingersw rapped around my microphone like a horny claw. How did vou learn to hunt? "l born with it.