Dundee revisited

David Biden has an article about the cast of one of Rico's favorite movies, Crocodile Dundee:

“That’s not a knife. Now this is a knife!”  It’s the most commonly-known quote from the hit 1986 film, Crocodile Dundee. The movie follows a man from the Australian Outback to the heart of New York City. While critics only gave 2.5 out of 5 stars, it’s a memorable part of 1980s culture, and is an example of the decade’s film-culture. Here is the cast from Crocodile Dundee… then, and now:

John Meillon:

Meillon was responsible for portraying Dundee’s business partner, Wally. He was already quite experienced when he landed the part, his portfolio alone practically got him the role. In 1979, he made the Queen’s honors list. Unfortunately, following Crocodile Dundee II, Meillon passed away in 1989, in his own home. This meant that he didn’t get to play in the last one, but thankfully, the second movie is commonly considered to be the worst of the three, so in that regard, he was spared.

Mark Blum:

The talented Mark Blum continued his career, landing roles in such hits as The Sopranos, The West Wing, and Frasier. However, today, he is best recognized (and rightfully so) for his extraordinary and recurrent appearance as Uncle Bob on Mozart In The Jungle.

 

Gus, the limo driver, was played by the wonderful Reginald VelJohnson. For a chauffeur, his role was quite memorable because of all the antics he demonstrated throughout the film. His acting did not go unnoticed by casting agents, and he landed a role in Die Hard 2 soon after. Today, Reginald is still acting and has appeared in numerous television shows since Dundee. He has a knack for playing authority figures, something for which he has become rather well known. His last role was as an officer on The Disney Channel’s Boy Meets World spinoff, Girl Meets World.

The pretty lady in the series, Sue Charlton, was played by the lovely and talented Linda Kozlowski. She played Mick Dundee’s love interest in the movies, but their on-screen chemistry was no acting: the two actors were actually so smitten in real life that Hogan left his wife for her. Unfortunately, they didn’t last long. She and Paul Hogan (who played Mick Dundee) had a son together named Chance. The couple filed for divorce in 2003, attributing their separation to the fact that they “had nothing in common.” Today, Linda (who's obviously had a lot of work done) still lives in Los Angeles, California, but manages a tourist business in Marrakesh, Morocco.

David Gulpilil played the token Aboriginal guy, so his role wasn’t major. But, let’s be honest, Dundee wouldn’t have been the same without him. Fans are probably wondering what happened to him, and where is he now? Well, to answer the question, he’s been up to quite a bit. In 2006, he was caught with a home-made machete, and in 2010 he broke his wife’s arm with a broom. He was sentenced to a year in jail. Despite all the chaos, he still won an award at Cannes for Best Actor in Charlie’s Country.

Remember The Donk? He was portrayed by Steve Rackman. In addition to acting, he was an avid wrestler during the time that the film was shot. His real-life weird nickname: Crusher. Intimidating, right? Talk about type-casting... Rackman made an appearance in all three of movies in the Crocodile Dundee trilogy. Following the release of the third film, Steve decided to retire from acting (and wrestling). He opened and managed a gym in Australia.

 

Another actor who wasn’t exactly a leading man was Gerry Skilton, who played the role of Nugget. His sweetheart attitude, humor, and companionship made him and endearingly integral part of the film, so he’s worth mentioning.

Duffy was portrayed by Terry Gill. Duffy was a very unique character to play, and did it phenomenally. Not only that, but Terry himself was apparently a great guy. Producers and other cast members kept saying how awesome he was to work with, and how nice of a person he was. Gill’s age definitely shows, but he’s still as wonderful as ever. This guy is enjoying his time being retired, and living the life of an actor who played in one of the biggest classics of our culture and time. In 2013, he had his last television role as Stan in It’s a Date.

Here is the Hogan family today. Paul and Linda are divorced, and poor Chance is dealing with the impact of his parent’s split. All three of them look completely unrecognizable (having had a lot of plastic surgery) and entirely indifferent to each other.