John Orcsik

John Orcsik (born 3 May 1946), credited also variously as Jon Orcsik, John Orschik, John Orscik and John Crosik, is an Australian television and film actor, screenwriter, director and producer, known for his television roles starting from the late 1960s, but also for the film version of the soap opera Number 96. He was married to actress Paula Duncan.

Early life

Orcsik was born in 1946, in Austria to refugee parents and is of Hungarian descent. He was raised and educated in Perth, Western Australia In his teens, he began training in amateur theatre, including playing Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman.

In his early years, he was also a bodybuilder and karate student, and owned and operated a horse riding school in Western Australia. His horse riding skills later coming in handy for television roles in Ben Hall and Tandarra.

Orcsik moved to Sydney to further his acting career.

Career

After relocating to Sydney, Orcsik scored his first job within three weeks, after auditioning for the lead role in a play called The Knack, alongside Jacki Weaver. The production toured to Tasmania. In 1989, he auditioned and was accepted into the Melbourne Theatre Company, where he spent over two years as a contract actor. His agent then encouraged him to return to Sydney, to begin working in film and television.

Orcsik made his screen debut appearing in the rural drama soap opera Bellbird. In 1967, he played various guest roles in the Crawford Productions police dramas Homicide, Division 4 and Matlock Police.

He had a role in television series Number 96 in 1972, and subsequently reprised the role in the feature film version of the serial, in 1973. He later briefly reappeared in the same series, late in its run, playing a different character, this time credited as 'John Crosik'. He also appeared in 1974 film Petersen, and played a minor role in 1975 action film The Man from Hong Kong.

After roles in other Crawford Productions programs, Bluey (1976) and The Sullivans, and an appearance in Chopper Squad (1978), in 1978 Orcsik joined new Crawfords police series Cop Shop early in its run as Detective Mike Georgiou. He had been brought in to replace Tony Bonner but ended up becoming one of the main cast members. He continued in the role until the end of the series in December 1983.

After Cop Shop ended, Orcsik worked as a television scriptwriter, contributing several scripts to the series Prisoner. He also continued acting and throughout the 1980s. He played several roles in television movies and miniseries, including Harvest of Hate (1979), The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro (1989), Displaced Persons (1984), Dadah Is Death (aka A Long Way from Home, 1988) and Kokoda Crescent (1989). Other credits of the 1980s included television series Mission: Impossible (1988) and the film The Edge of Power (1987). With his swarthy Mediterranean appearance, Orcsik was cast as Middle Eastern characters in many of these productions.

He also had roles in such Australian television series such as Zoo Family (1985), Home and Away (1992), Paradise Beach (1993), Lift Off (1995), Pacific Drive (1996), and Medivac (1997). He directed the 1996 TV movie Academy.

Orcsik's later acting appearances include a cameo role as a doctor in miniseries The Day of the Roses (1998) and a recurring role in serial Neighbours (1999–2002), as well as parts in Stingers (2000), Blue Heelers (2002), MDA (2002), The Saddle Club (2003), Always Greener (2002; 2003), Scooter: Secret Agent (2005).

He also appeared in the 2011 TV movie Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away. In 2019, he played the gypsy leader, Alexandru Draghici in "Sorrow Song", a season 5 episode of The Doctor Blake Mysteries.

His most recent credits have been Superwog and New Gold Mountain, both in 2021.

After a request by industry professionals in Queensland, John started film and television acting studio The Australian Film & Television Academy (TAFTA) on the Gold Coast in 1994, coaching many actors including Kodi Smit-McPhee. He has since expanded to Melbourne and Sydney and continues to run classes online and in-person.

Personal life

Orcsik first met Paula Duncan in 1973 on the set of Number 96, before going on to star together with her in Cop Shop from 1979, where they fell in love. They were married in June 1982, and their characters married on Cop Shop soon after.

When Duncan fell pregnant in real life, the producers wrote it into the script. Their daughter Jessica Orcsik was born on Valentine's Day 1984. Jessica has since followed in her parents' footsteps and is an actor and producer.

Orcsik and Duncan were married for 19 years, before getting divorced, but are still close friends. They have since acted together in 1990s series Paradise Beach, followed by a television advertisement for 'Sleep Tight', a treatment for snoring and sleep apnea.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

As actor

As director

Source:

Notes

• 12 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• at IMDb