- published: 15 Apr 2011
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Gary Sweet (born 22 May 1957 in Melbourne) is an Australian film and television actor known for his roles in Alexandra's Project (2003), Police Rescue, Cody, Big Sky, The Battlers, Bodyline and Stingers.
He grew up in Warradale, South Australia and attended Brighton high school in Adelaide. He later obtained a teaching degree and whilst at Sturt Teachers' College took up drama.
His first role was in low-budget horror film Nightmares. In the early 1980s, Sweet became recognisable through the on-going role of Leslie 'Magpie' Maddern in the Crawfords television series The Sullivans.
In 1984, Sweet had his first major role as Donald Bradman in the Network Ten miniseries Bodyline, the story of the 1932–33 Test cricket series between England and Australia.
The award-winning (and highly underrated) 1987 Australian TV movie "The Great Bookie Robbery" was a gritty true-crime story seeing Sweet's character "Chico white" playing the inside man trying to infiltrate the close-knit bank robbers.
Between 1990 and 1996, Sweet starred in the drama series Police Rescue as Sgt. Steve "Mickey" McClintock. This role was a popular role for Sweet, and lead him to win several major television awards, including the Australian Film Institute's Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Television Drama for his performance (in 1991 and 1992), the Variety Club Heart Award for TV Actor of the Year (1993), and two TV Week Silver Logie Awards for Most Popular Actor and Most Outstanding Actor (1992, 1994).
C.O.N.T.R.O.L., feed you young on the fear of hell. And when you reach down to pull the plug, turn you white with the fear of god. One day I looked down and saw the man feeding rosaries down our throats was holding hands with the businessman who was wringing the blood from all these stones. They said "Do you believe in life after death"? I said I believed in life after birth, and the holy church swallowed hard for the body of Christ. So when they say It's A Sin, they mean it's high treason to kill the mule before his back gives out. This is company time. And we never close, we never close. We'll sink you with crosses and bury you in rows. When they say Every Day is a Gift they mean Blessed Are the Working Poor, whose high hopes pay for all these golden crosses. Never catching up but never stopping, taxed to death and still repenting when they say that you'll burn up in hell if you die with this mark on your soul. But there can't be any worse things below than Pascal's sainted bureaucrats got in mind for the hopeful masses. The scheme is hatched and the priest dispatched. And when they say Amen they mean I Hope You Live Forever Hand To Mouth. I've got plans - both my hands on the plug of your god's wasted love. Both hands on the plug of your god's wasted love. Kill the bosses, kill the priests, kill the shepherds - save the sheep.