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From growing up in Wilberforce to weathering simulated storms on a Melbourne soundstage, 21-year-old actor Ned Morgan has packed more into his career than many twice his age. With roles spanning from indie heartbreakers to high-profile thrillers, Morgan is emerging as one of Australia’s most versatile young talents.
“I’ve been taking classes since I was 9 and working since I was 12 years old,” Morgan said. “Luckily I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of some truly incredible projects.”
Among the early standouts was Sleepwalking, a poignant short film directed by Melissa Anastasi. “That was my first ever film,” Morgan recalled. “It was a heartbreaking story, and I got to work alongside Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, who’s been one of my biggest mentors.”
From there, Morgan’s journey took him to Fiji for Wrecked, directed by Alethea Jones. “I had the pleasure of flying out to Fiji, shooting with Rob Corddry and taking a few punches in the gut from Will Greenberg,” he laughed.
Most recently, Morgan took on a more contemporary role in Netflix’s reboot of Heartbreak High, describing it as “a little out of my comfort zone but a really fun shoot with Ayesha Madon.”
But it’s his performance as Kieran in the psychological thriller series The Survivors that Morgan considers a turning point. Though he initially auditioned for a different role, fate stepped in.
“I wasn’t the right fit for that job,” he said. “The role of Kieran suited me much more. ‘Local heartthrob and footy star? Yeah, I can do that.’ I’m really grateful things worked out the way they did.”
The Survivors, directed by Tony Ayres and based on Jane Harper’s novel, opens with a chilling storm sequence that tested both Morgan’s physical and emotional limits.
“I remember going into those scenes really confident. I’m a very good swimmer and I thought some of the safety precautions were a little extreme,” he admitted. “Lord am I happy they were all in place. Once the large fire hoses were turned on, the rain machine, the wave machine—it was incredibly easy to fall into the truth of that moment: don’t drown.”
He added with a grin, “I swallowed a lot of water on those days.”
Around 80% of The Survivors was filmed on location in Tasmania, with the fictional seaside town of Evelyn Bay stitched together from places like Eaglehawk Neck. “The beautiful cliff faces that line the coast were the perfect match for the world Jane Harper created,” Morgan said.
His scenes took two to three weeks to shoot, but the impact, he says, will last much longer. “Working with Robyn Malcolm, Damian Garvey, Charlie Vickers and Tony Ayres was a real highlight of my career. I learnt a lot and I gained a lot of confidence on that project.”
Raised in Wilberforce and later Richmond where he went to school, Morgan later attended Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School, a place that helped hone his craft. “I’ve had a number of mentors and supporters that’ve helped me get to where I am,” he said. “Some of the biggest of course being my family—particularly my mother and my sister, who recently appeared on Home and Away as Eliza.”
He also credits industry veterans like Jeremy Lindsay Taylor and his first acting coach David Cuthbertson with shaping his path. “David was probably the first person that made all of this feel possible.”
As for what’s next, Morgan has his sights set across the Pacific. “I plan to move to the US to achieve some larger goals I’ve set for myself,” he said. “I love Australia and our film industry, but there is so much more out there, particularly in the US, and I just have to go and be a part of it.”
With a resume already stacked and ambition to match, Ned Morgan is well on his way from coastal storms to international stardom.
