Hugo Kingsley Johnstone-Burt (born 10 October 1988) is a Scottish-Australian actor. He grew up in Sydney and decided to become an actor after attending his first drama class. Johnstone-Burt graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 2009. He appeared in small roles in Australian dramas Rake, Sea Patrol and Underbelly: The Golden Mile, before he was cast as Fish Lamb in Cloudstreet. The role earned him two ASTRA Award nominations. Johnstone-Burt went on to star in Carelesss Love and he took on the role of Constable Hugh Collins in ABC1's Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. In 2012, Johnstone-Burt appeared in Tricky Business and filmed a guest role in Home and Away. He has also appeared in the musical drama film Goddess (2013) and the disaster film San Andreas (2015).
Early life
Johnstone-Burt was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.[3] He moved to Australia with his family when he was two years old, and grew up in Sydney.[3][4] His parents were both in the navy. His brother is in the army, while his sister is a lawyer.[4] Johnstone-Burt told TV Week's Erin Miller that he chose a career in acting because he was not good at anything in high school, saying "I was a bit of a clown and liked to muck around and make people laugh, and then I went to my first drama class and thought, 'Well, amazing, I can do this for the rest of my life.'"[4] His parents supported his career choice and after leaving Barker College, Johnstone-Burt auditioned for the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) aged 18.[4][5] However, he was told he was too young to attend and he decided to go travelling instead.[5] When he returned to Australia, Johnstone-Burt auditioned for NIDA again and was accepted.[5] For his graduation play in 2009, he took on the role of Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest.[4][6]
Career
Johnstone-Burt had small roles in episodes of Rake and Sea Patrol and starred in the film Before the Rain.[2][7] He also appeared as "a young thug" in Underbelly: The Golden Mile.[2][6] The actor stated that the role allowed him to play tougher than he is in real life and commented that it "gives you a bit of a rush."[6] Johnstone-Burt garnered a nomination for an Out of the Box award from the Inside Film Awards.[8]
A week before he graduated from NIDA, Johnstone-Burt was approached to play the brain damaged Fish Lamb in the television adaptation of Tim Winton's Cloudstreet.[2][9] After attending the audition, the actor believed he had done a good enough job to secure the role.[10] He told a The Daily Telegraph reporter, "I supposed I walked out thinking I did a good job – seeing how I worked with [director Matthew Saville] and taking his direction. Then I had to sit by my phone for a month and hopefully get a call."[10] To prepare for the role, Johnstone-Burt visited a home for people with intellectual disabilities and he then spent four months shooting the miniseries in Western Australia.[2]
For his performance in Cloudstreet, the actor earned nominations for Best New Talent and Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor at the 2012 ASTRA Awards.[11] A reporter for the Herald Sun also included Johnstone-Burt in their "11 Faces To Watch in 2011" list.[12] The actor next appeared as Seb in John Duigan's film Careless Love.[13] He also travelled to Hollywood for the pilot season, where he auditioned for upcoming television shows and films.[2] Johnstone-Burt was then cast as Constable Hugh Collins in ABC TV's Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, a drama series based on Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher historical mysteries.[14]Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries was renewed for a second series in which he reprised his role.[15]
In 2015, Johnstone-Burt continued to appear in his role of Hugh in the third season of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. He also had a leading role in the feature film San Andreas, alongside Dwayne Johnson.[19][20] Johnstone-Burt appeared in the Network Ten drama The Wrong Girl as Vincent, the brother of lead character Lily played by Jessica Marais.[21][22] He reprised his role of Hugh Collins in the 2020 feature film Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears. It was shot on-location in Melbourne and Morocco in 2018.[23] The following year, he appeared in Rick Donald's comedy series Australia's Sexiest Tradie.[24] In 2023, Johnstone-Burt played Henry Broad in the British drama series Ten Pound Poms.[25] He also appeared in the British sitcom Queen of Oz.[26]
In 2024, Johnstone-Burt appeared in the 7plus series Roast Night.[27] He also guest-starred in an episode of the crime comedy drama series Return to Paradise.[28]
Personal life
Johnstone-Burt has been in a relationship with news reporter Julie Snook since 2016.[29] The couple announced their engagement in November 2019,[30] and they married in the Blue Mountains in March 2021, having postponed the ceremony twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[31] Johnstone-Burt and Snook welcomed their first child, a son, in December 2022.[32]
