Jonathan Hardy, a renowned actor and writer, was born in New Zealand and gained widespread recognition for his distinctive voice as the iconic character Dominar Rygel XVI, a pint-sized, egocentric ruler-in-exile of a galactic empire, in the cult TV series Farscape.
Educated at St. Patrick's College and Victoria University in Wellington, Jonathan trained in acting at the New Zealand Player's Drama School. He later became a prominent figure in his country's theatrical scene as the artistic director of the Auckland Mercury Theatre from 1980 to 1985.
Prior to his tenure at the Mercury Theatre, Jonathan studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on a scholarship and subsequently spent ten years gaining valuable experience on British stages with the National Theatre, the Bristol Old Vic, and the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon Avon.
In New Zealand, he was particularly acclaimed for his performance as Willy Loman in an Auckland Theatre Company production of "Death of a Salesman" and had another notable role in "Twelve Angry Men" with the same organization.
After moving to Australia in 1972, Jonathan was featured in several films, including "The Mango Tree" (1977) and "Mad Max" (1979),and had guest spots on popular television shows like "Prisoner" (1979) and "The Flying Doctors" (1986).
He also made occasional forays into screenwriting, with his first script for the controversial Boer War drama "Breaker Morant" (1980) earning him an Oscar nomination and an Australian Film Institute Award.
In the cast of the two-act play "Breaker Morant", debuting at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne in February 1978, Jonathan played the key role of Major James Francis Thomas, who defended Morant at the infamous court martial.
Jonathan was known for his work ethic and boundless energy, and despite undergoing heart transplant surgery in 1988, he continued to work for many years. He also had a reputation for a wonderfully wicked sense of humour, once describing Rygel's most endearing traits as "biting people and farting helium".
