Nathan Hill
(Nathan John Hill)
b. March 14, Melbourne, Australia.
BIOGRAPHY:
Nathan was influenced in his younger years by the thrill of Horror Films and the excitement of acting for his family and friends. His family heritage is steeped in performance and art making, so his creativity is both inherent and also uniquely his own. The greatest influence on his desire to make films comes from his maternal grandfather who was a maker of home movies, a musician and a performer in the Entertainment Corps during the Second World War in New Guinea.
While Nathan’s early home films were in the genre of ‘horror’ he had a talent for dramatic intensity and twists and turns which elevated the overall productions from merely sensational and gratuitous to engagement on an emotional as well as social level. His first full-length film The Hidden at age 19 years, while made with local friends, was based on the social context of the time, i.e. the relationship between the developmental stages of adolescence and identity formation with the insidious pull to experimentation and temptation of drug taking. Issues around the dealership of drugs, making gain from those vulnerable, power and delusion themes, the fight for the right and the cost of this for those who hold higher values.
Nathan’s education began whilst doing work experience for ABC TV during high school. He then went on to study at NMCOT (Corporate Video), Box Hill TAFE (Theatre Technology), Humourversity (Stand-Up comedy), Academy of TV (Television acting) and VCA Drama School (Stage acting).
Nathan completed his film studies at Footscray Film Dept., being the first to obtain the Advanced Diploma of the Screen (4 yrs).
The Hidden
CRITICAL
OVERVIEW:
While Nathan’s basic themes in his work revolve around good versus evil and power dynamics in relationships he seeks to engage his audience intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and socially using his own lived experience and his reflection on this. That he errs on the dark side of relationships in the subject matter of power, control and sexuality, is to raise awareness of these elements which continue in these times despite the raised awareness brought about by the feminist movement and the post modern era. His work can be shocking but it is shock with a purpose to bring home the realities of the world at this time. For example: Men who pursue women for their own sexual gratification (The Upsell, Tomboys) come up against Women who are not prepared to be used and abused. Dysfunctional families teach that love is hard to find and no one wins (Suburban Nightmare).
Nathan has a fascination for the (ancient) ‘good versus evil’ theme (The Strange Game of Hyde & Seek, The Hidden, The Beasthouse, Lost Property) and uses a stylistic approach to heighten this sense of the struggle to understand and come to terms with this ongoing dilemma. With Hyde he includes man’s abuse of power over women as much as man’s grandiose need to be triumphant in discovering the meaning of existence.
Throughout his work there are themes which are juxtaposed against each other: Darkness/Light, Blindness/Self discovery, truth and falsity, revenge and understanding, struggle and resolution, running from fear and owning one’s fear. All in the context of human relationships and the struggle for freedom.
FILMOGRAPHY:
The Beasthouse
The Samurai (1991, 30 mins, SVHS, Colour)
Also Writer and Producer
The Hidden (1993, 77 mins, 8mm, Colour)
Also Writer & Producer, Co-Writer Nick Goodman
The Beasthouse (1999, 20 mins, 8mm & digital video, B&W)
Also Producer, Co-Director Andrew Carter
Lost Property (2001, 2 mins, 8mm. B&W)
Also Writer
The Upsell (2001, 7 mins, DVCPRO, Colour)
Also Writer & Producer, Co-Producer Adam May
The Samurai
Suburban Nightmare (2002, 14 mins, DVCAM, Colour)
Also Writer & Producer, Co-Writer Paul Mosley, Co-Producer Felicity King
The Strange Game of Hyde & Seek (2003, 30 mins, digital video, Colour and B&W)
Also Writer and Producer
Platform (2007, 20 mins, digital video, Colour)
Also Producer, Co-Director Andrew Carter
Tomboys / Fox Force (2009, 82 mins, Digital Betacam, Colour)
Also Writer and Producer, Co-Writers Stuart Van Eysden & Fabian Lapham
Jasper (2010, 75 mins, 35mm, Colour)
Also Writer and Producer
Séance / 666 Seance Hour (2011, 75 mins, HD, Colour) Also Writer and Producer
Model Behaviour (2012, 90 mins, HD, Colour)
Also Producer
Apocalypse Canoe / The Idiodyssey (2014, 90 mins, digital video, Colour)
Also Producer
Revenge of the Gweilo (2015, 80 mins, HD, Colour)
Also Writer and Producer
*On Nathan’s very first night in Los Angeles he sat down to dinner with Gunnar ‘Leatherface’ Hansen.
*One of Nathan’s personal mentors is William ‘Greatest American Hero’ Katt.
*Nathan produced a corporate video in his first year of tertiary studies titled "An Introduction to Dental Technology" which sold to Germany and Los Angeles.
*Nathan's screen debut was in the internationally acclaimed martial arts short film, ‘The Huntsman’ directed by Brent Houghton, cinematography & music by Jamie Blanks. The film now lies in the personal collection of both John Woo and Peter Jackson.
*Nathan has studied six different martial arts styles and obtained medals in the state championships for full contact fighting.
*In the feature film ‘Radio Samurai’ Nathan’s stunt vest was tailor made by Jackie Chan.
Tobe Hooper signature
*On Nathan’s 30th birthday he received a copy of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre signed by director Tobe Hooper.
*Nathan was cast to play Bruce Spence's son in a production which lost funding.
*Nathan acted alongside Kestie Morassi in the feature film “Scam” which was not completed due to rushes being destroyed in a post-production house fire.
*Nathan dated ABC radio presenter Irene Scott.
*Played the lead in a stage performance of an adaptation of the television show ‘Perfect Match’.
*He worked on the Paul Moder film ‘A Bullet In The Arse’ in which he performed two different un-credited character voice-overs.
*Was approached and turned down an offer by Drew Sinton to become a member of the occult.
*Turned down a role in the pornographic horror film ‘Crimson Kiss’ by Mark Savage.
*Was rejected by Bryan Brown and ‘Two Twisted’ on a script submission.
