Paul Mercurio

Paul Joseph Mercurio AM (born 31 March 1963) is an Australian actor, choreographer, dancer, TV presenter and politician. Mercurio is best known for his lead role in the 1992 film Strictly Ballroom and his role as a judge on TV series Dancing with the Stars.

He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2022, representing the electorate of Hastings.

Early life

Mercurio was born in Swan Hill, Victoria in March 1963; his father was American character actor and boxer Gus Mercurio. Paul began ballet at nine. When his parents separated in 1969, he moved to Perth, Western Australia with his mother, where he grew up in housing commission properties. He attended John Curtin Senior High School, now known as John Curtin College of the Arts, where there is a theatre named after him. He credits his theatre arts teacher for inspiring him to follow his dream. Mercurio focused on acting during his high school years but after he graduated, he caught the Indian Pacific train from Perth back to Melbourne where he studied at the Australian Ballet School.

By the age of 19 in 1982, he was Principal Dancer with the Sydney Dance Company—a position he held for ten years. During this time, he was commissioned to choreograph six works performed by the company.

Entertainment career

Feature films

Mercurio made his film debut in Baz Luhrmann's breakout film Strictly Ballroom, receiving an Australian Film Institute Award nomination in 1993. Mercurio was a choreographer on the film. For his performance in Strictly Ballroom, Mercurio was also nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1992, losing to Russell Crowe. Flamenco dancer Antonio Vargas, the actor who played Fran's father, also choreographed scenes in the film.

Mercurio's other film credits include: Exit to Eden, Back of Beyond, Così, Red Ribbon Blues, Welcome to Woop Woop, The Dark Planet, The First 9½ Weeks, Kick and Sydney – A Story of a City. He starred, wrote, choreographed, produced and directed the short film Spilt Milk. Most recently, Mercurio has taken roles in independent films, such as Hunting for Shadows and A Silent Agreement with director Davo Hardy.

In 2019, Mercurio appeared in a supporting role as Sal in Promised (2019), a film directed and co-produced by Nick Conidi, and starring Tina Arena, Antoniette Iesue and Daniel Berini. The film was released in Australia on 24 October 2019.

Baz Luhrmann expressed some interest in using Mercurio in Moulin Rouge to Mercurio's agent, but after a series of failed attempts to speak to Luhrmann personally, Mercurio found out that there was no role for him in the movie via the production company. He has not appeared in any other Luhrmann films and only appears briefly in Disc 4 of Red Curtain Trilogy as a pixelated image.

Concerned about being typecast early on in his film career, Mercurio turned down the role of Adam Whitely (which instead went to Guy Pearce), in the 1994 film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Television

Mercurio made his TV debut in a documentary on his life called Life's Burning Desire in 1992. He starred in the lead role of Joseph in the Emmy Award-winning US TV mini-series The Bible: Joseph in 1995. Later, he joined the ensemble cast for the 1998 mini-series drama The Day of the Roses, depicting the 1977 Granville railway disaster, for which he received a Logie nomination. Throughout the 1990s, Mercurio guest-starred in Australian TV shows including Blue Heelers, All Saints, Murder Call, Medivac, Heartbreak High and Water Rats.

Mercurio was a judge on the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars until August 2008, when he was dropped from the judging panel because he was deemed "too nice" for television. He was also a judge on the New Zealand version. From 2008 to 2010 he hosted a series called Mercurio's Menu where he travelled Australia, cooking in different locations.

Dance and choreography

From 1982 until 1992 Mercurio toured with Sydney Dance Company both nationally and internationally, performing as a principal dancer and choreographing. After leaving the Sydney Dance Company, Mercurio founded the Australian Choreographic Ensemble in 1992, where he was the Director, Principal Dancer and Principal Choreographer until 1998.

Mercurio continues to dance and choreograph professionally. He has worked as a choreographer on five films, including Strictly Ballroom and the Will Smith movie I, Robot. He has choreographed an American TV campaign for Coca-Cola, the Harry M. Miller production of Jesus Christ Superstar and Annie Get Your Gun as well as numerous other stage productions. In January 2004, he appeared on stage in The Full Monty.

He received a Mo Award for Dance Performer of the Year 1992, and was nominated in 2004 for a Helpmann Award for his choreography for the musical Annie Get Your Gun.

Food

Mercurio began brewing his own beer in 1988. He then hosted three cooking television series – Tasmania's Food Trail (from 2006, for two seasons), Mercurio's Menu (from 2008 to 2010. for three seasons) and New Zealand on a Plate (2011). Following this, he appeared on the cooking segments of numerous live daytime TV shows, including a featured chef spot on Channel Nine's The Morning Show in 2013.

In 2009 Mercurio released a cook book called Mercurio's Menu, based on his TV series, as well as “Cooking with Beer”, which were both best-sellers. In 2015, he released a third cook book “Kitchen Mojo”.

In 2005 Mercurio released his own beer in Victoria, and since then has held beer dinners and beer cooking demos and been a judge for international beer competitions. In 2016 he brewed Australia's first Aphrodisiac Beer "Ye Ole Horney Ale", together with BentSpoke Brewery. He then opened his own beer café in 2014, produced a range of meat rubs and condiments and formed his own company "Beerlicious". He has since cooked in restaurants and at markets and festivals.

Political career

Mercurio was elected as a councillor for Mornington Peninsula Shire in November 2020, representing the Watson ward.

Mercurio was preselected as the Labor candidate for the district of Hastings in December 2021. The Hastings district covers the eastern Mornington Peninsula and French Island. While Hastings was won by the Liberal Party at the 2018 Victorian state election, an electoral redistribution meant that the seat notionally favoured Labor by a margin of 0.01 percent. Neale Burgess, MP for Hastings since 2006, did not contest the 2022 state election, with Briony Hutton selected as the Liberal candidate for the seat. Mercurio stated that he had been approached by both the Liberal and Labor parties to stand as a candidate, but felt a stronger affinity towards Labor due to their support for the arts, women's equality, and LGBTQ rights. Mercurio took leave from his council position to stand in the state election. Hastings was one of a handful of seats that was too close to call in the immediate aftermath of the 26 November state election, although Mercurio led in the initial count. On 2 December, ABC election analyst Antony Green called the seat of Hastings for Mercurio. Despite polling behind Hutton on first preferences, Mercurio received 51.35 percent in the final two-party-preferred count. Mercurio's win triggered a March 2023 by-election in Watson ward.

Mercurio announced in 2025 that funding would be granted through the state budget for bus upgrades in the Mornington Peninsula, including the creation of a new route that would run across the peninsula from Hastings to Mornington. The proposed bus route, which has not yet begun operating, would be the first regular cross-peninsula public transport service since the closure of the Mornington railway line to commuter traffic in 1981.

Personal life

Mercurio has been married to his wife Andrea (who was a ballerina with The Australian Ballet and Sydney Dance Company) since 1987, and together they have three children: Emily, Elise and Erin. The oldest is a stage manager, the middle is a musical theatre actor and writer, and the youngest is a vet nurse and performs as a pop singer.

He appeared on the Australian version of the television show Who Do You Think You Are? in 2012 in which he discovered that his grandfather was a member of the Milwaukee division of Cosa Nostra (the Sicilian mafia) in the 1950s. Mercurio has reflected on this legacy in subsequent interviews and spoken about the effect it has had on his father, and his relationship with his father.

In 2000, Mercurio's brother Michael took his own life in his early 30s.

In December 2022, Mercurio was hospitalised with complications from atrial fibrillation following his election win.

Credits

Film

As actor

As choreographer/crew

Television

As actor

As crew

Stage

As performer

As director

As choreographer

TVC

Awards, nominations & honours

External links

• at IMDb
• at AustraliaDancing (archived)