‘I only play one character,’ Crocodile Dundee star jokes after Geoffrey Rush introduces him as winner of Longford Lyell award

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Paul Hogan has been awarded one of the highest honours in the Australian film industry at a ceremony in Sydney, as part of this week’s 6th Aacta award celebrations.



The Crocodile Dundee star received the Longford Lyell award for outstanding contribution to the Australian screen from actor Shane Jacobson on Tuesday, having arrived from Los Angeles on Monday.

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He said it felt “mystifying” to receive the honour, and was awestruck to be introduced by Aacta president and Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush.

“[Rush] is an actor. I only play one character,” Hogan told media at the presentation in Sydney.

“Crocodile Dundee started out as a sketch – it was supposed to be Hoges in New York, a fluke,” he said, describing his most famous role.

Cate Blanchett was last year’s recipient of the award, with previous winners including Geoffrey Rush, Jack Thompson and director Peter Weir.

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The Aacta awards have been honouring the country’s TV and film industry for six years, as the continuum of the AFI awards which have been running since 1958.

The craft awards were held at an industry luncheon on Monday. The main awards ceremony will take place in Sydney on Wednesday.



