Wayne Tunks, a renowned Australian playwright, actor, and director, was born on July 1, 1975, at Blacktown Hospital in Sydney's Western Suburbs. He is the third child of Frederick and Lorraine Tunks, with older brothers Robert and Gary.
Growing up, Wayne demonstrated a strong interest in the arts, joining the Let's Video group with the Western Area Adolescent Team. During his time with the group, he completed two courses and won an award for his short film, "One Great Night," which he co-wrote and starred in.
After completing his secondary education at Marayong South Primary School and Doonside High School, Wayne pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Television Production at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga from 1993 to 1995.
Following his university education, Wayne worked in newspaper advertising and later became an arts writer for the now-defunct Sydney version of Beat Magazine. However, he eventually decided to focus on his passion for storytelling and attempted to shoot his first film.
Undeterred by the setback, Wayne turned his attention to playwriting and produced his first play, "Beyond the Door," which premiered in August 2000 at the Mad Monkey Studios and starred Rebecca Smart, Rodger Corser, and Wayne himself.
Over the next few years, Wayne established himself as a prominent figure in the Sydney independent theatre scene, producing numerous successful shows, including "The Subtle Art of Flirting," "The Bridesmaid Must Die!," "We'll Always Have Wagga," and "37 Ways To Say I'm Gay."
As an actor, Wayne has appeared in a range of television shows and films, including "Underbelly: Squizzy," "The Doctor Blake Mysteries," and the soon-to-be-released feature film "Fragmentary," in which he also worked as a casting consultant.
In 2010, Wayne relocated to Melbourne to work as a storyliner on the long-running Australian drama series "Neighbours." He also worked as a creative consultant and first assistant director on the documentary series "A House Around the Corner" in 2012.
After returning to Sydney in 2015, Wayne was appointed Festival Director for Short+Sweet, the world's largest short play festival, in 2017. He also shot his first web series, "After Nightfall," which he wrote, directed, acted in, and co-produced. The first season was released in 2018 and received widespread critical acclaim, earning several awards worldwide, including Best Director at the Web Series Festival in Utah and Best Mystery/Thriller Series at the NYC Web Fest.
In 2019, Wayne wrote, directed, co-produced, and starred in the feature film "According to Otto," an adaptation of his hit stage play.
