Australian actor Richard Cawthorne was born in Hong Kong in 1976, the youngest of two, his mother Zelda was a journalist for the South China Morning Post, and his father Russell, a Marketing Executive for Hong Kong film company Golden Harvest Studios. After spending his final year of education boarding in the UK, Richard moved to Australia in the mid 90's. Training initially at St Martins Youth Arts Centre, Richard then went on to study at Melbourne's National Theatre where he graduated in 1999. Early guest appearances on Australian television paved the way to Richard earning his first semi regular role as 'Ruban 'Roo' Hausman' on the popular Australia soap Neighbours (1985) (2004/2005). In 2003 Richard was cast as the lead in the independent feature Razor Eaters (2003), though the film was not a commercial success, Richards work won both critical praise and a subsequent Best Actor Award at the Shreikfest Film festival (Los Angeles) in 2005. In 2012 Richard won the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award (AACTA), for his critically acclaimed portrayal of notorious Australian underworld figure Dennis Allan in the prime time drama Killing Time (2010).
