Theatre Brown went to Britain in 1972 and eventually won minor roles at
the Old Vic. He returned to Australia and became a member of the
Genesian Theatre, Sydney. He appeared in Colleen Clifford's production of
A Man for All Seasons, before joining the
Queensland Theatre Company in 1975 for a tour of
The Rainmaker.
Early films He made his cinema debut in
Scobie Malone (1975) as a policeman. He delivered two lines and was listed last in the credits as "Brian Bronn". In 1977, he had the lead in a short feature,
The Love Letters from Teralba Road (1977), which was written and directed by
Stephen Wallace. Brown had small roles in
The Irishman (1978), which was directed by
Donald Crombie,
Weekend of Shadows (1978) from
Tom Jeffrey, and
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978), which was directed by
Fred Schepisi. He had a bigger part in
Newsfront (1978), which was directed by
Phillip Noyce, the miniseries
Against the Wind (1978), which was directed by
Simon Wincer, and
Money Movers (1978), which was directed by
Bruce Beresford. Brown had the lead in the low budget film
Third Person Plural (1979) from
James Ricketson and a key role in Jeffrey's
The Odd Angry Shot (1979) and Crombie's ''
Cathy's Child (1979). He played the lead in a short for Wallace, Conman Harry and the Others'' (1979), and had a leading role in
Albie Thoms'
Palm Beach (1980). In 1980, Brown became known to international audiences for his performance in
Breaker Morant, directed by Beresford. This was a significant turning point in his career.
Stardom Brown played the leading role in Wallace's
Stir (1980). He had starring roles in
Blood Money (1980), a thriller, and
Winter of Our Dreams (1981), a relationship drama with
Judy Davis written and directed by
John Duigan. Brown had a huge international success playing the lead role in the TV miniseries, "
A Town Like Alice" (1981), which won popularity in the United States. This co-starred
Helen Morse and the two of them were reteamed in
Far East (1982), written and directed by Duigan. Brown had another big success internationally with his role as Luke O'Neil in
The Thorn Birds (1983), starring
Richard Chamberlain and
Rachel Ward (whom he later married). Brown was nominated for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie for his work. This led to a number of international offers for Brown. He had the lead in a British TV film,
Kim (1984) (playing a British agent in Imperial India) and supported
Paul McCartney in
Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984). Brown returned to Australia for another miniseries from the makers of
Alice, as
Peter Lalor in
Eureka Stockade (1984). In the UK, Brown played an Australian hitman in
Parker (1984) and he returned home to play Cliff Hardy in
The Empty Beach (1985). He supported
Matt Dillon and
Debra Byrne in
Rebel (1985).
US career Brown was given the lead role in the US action film
F/X (1986), which was a hit. However
Tai-Pan (1986), directed by Daryl Duke from
The Thorn Birds, was not a financial success, despite being based on a best seller by
James Clavell. Brown returned to Australia to make
The Umbrella Woman (1987) with Ward and then a new version of
The Shiralee (1987). He supported
Tom Cruise in
Cocktail (1988) and
Sigourney Weaver in
Gorillas in the Mist (1989). In Australia he played the lead in a World War Two drama,
Blood Oath (1990), directed by Wallace and did a romantic comedy based on a story by him and
Tony Morphett,
Sweet Talker (1991), directed by Mike Jenkins. In the US he did
F/X2 (1991), a sequel to
F/X, where he was also executive producer, and the TV film
Dead in the Water (1991). He did a comedy with
Dudley Moore,
Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), followed by some thrillers:
Devlin (1992),
The Last Hit (1993), and
Age of Treason (1994); in the latter he was a detective in Ancient Rome. Brown had the lead in a short lived British TV series
The Wanderer (1994) and starred in the popular cable film
Full Body Massage (1995).
Return to Australia Brown returned to Australia to star in
Dead Heart (1996), which he also produced. He produced and starred in
Twisted Tales (1996) which led to an anthology TV series. He played
Ned Land in the 1997 miniseries
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with
Michael Caine, then did a TV film for
Ken Russell,
Dogboys (1998) and a thriller
On the Border (1998). In 1999 Brown starred in the romantic comedy
Dear Claudia and had a support role in
Two Hands (1999) with
Heath Ledger and
Rose Byrne. Brown starred in
Grizzly Falls (1999), and
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1999). In Australia he had a support role in
Risk (2000) and the lead in
On the Beach (2000) and
Dirty Deeds (2002) which he also produced. He produced a short film by his wife,
The Big House (2001). Brown had support roles in
Footsteps (2003),
Along Came Polly (2004),
Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman (2005),
Spring Break Shark Attack (2005), and
The Poseidon Adventure (2005). He produced a short feature directed by his wife, ''Martha's New Coat
(2005) and made Two Twisted (2005). Back in Australia Brown was in Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback (2007), and Cactus (2008), which he also co produced. He was in Dean Spanley (2008), and had a small role in Australia'' (2008). Brown produced and had a small role in
Beautiful Kate (2009), directed by his wife. He was in
Limbo (2010) and
Love Birds (2011) and guest starred on
The Good Wife. He had the lead in
Better Man (2013) and appeared in
An Accidental Soldier (2013) also directed by his wife. He and his daughter did a series of shorts,
Lessons from the Grave (2013). He starred in the ghost film
The Darkside (2013) and had the lead in a TV series
Old School (2013). In 2014 he appeared on stage for the
Sydney Theatre Company at the
Wharf Theatre with
Alison Whyte in
David Williamson's play
Travelling North. He was in
Kill Me Three Times (2013),
Cocktails & Dreams (2015),
Deadline Gallipoli (2015),
Gods of Egypt (2015),
The Light Between Oceans (2016), and
Red Dog: True Blue (2016). He had roles in
Australia Day (2017), and
Sweet Country (2017) and is in
Palm Beach directed by his wife, and the 2019 TV series
Bloom. Brown appeared in the opening ceremony of the
2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. In June 2024, Brown would return to
Darby and Joan (TV series) after the show was renewed for a second series.
Writing His 2021 crime novel,
Sweet Jimmy, was published by
Allen & Unwin in print and as audio book, narrated by Brown.
Sweet Jimmy was highly praised by film historian and author
Brian McFarlane, who called it "an extraordinary piece of work". and as audio book, narrated by Brown. Brown published his third book,
The Hidden, a crime novel set on the
New South Wales North Coast, in 2025.
Production work Brown's production company made the series
Twisted Tales and
Two Twisted (similar to
Alfred Hitchcock Presents). The second series had an additional twist: both stories in each episode were connected in some way, and the audience was invited to try to spot the connection. ==Honours and awards==