Hulme's first film role was starring in the Australian 1994 thriller
The Intruder, directed by
Richard Wolstencroft but the film was not released due to the sudden closure of the production company
Boulevard Films (it was belatedly released on
DVD in 2005). In 1997, Hulme wrote the screenplay for the Canadian action-thriller
Men with Guns directed by
Kari Skogland (not to be confused with the
similarly titled US film directed by
John Sayles that was released the same year). In 2000, Hulme appeared in the Australian thriller
Four Jacks, directed by
Matthew George. Hulme received the prize for best actor at that year's Melbourne Underground Film Awards. In 2001 Hulme re-teamed with George when the latter directed the controversial film comedy ''
Let's Get Skase'' which Hulme both co-wrote and starred in. The film's premise was inspired by the real-life comedy event staged by
Andrew Denton back in the 1990s on his late-night show
Denton in which he had staged a telethon called
Chase for Skase to raise funds to hire a kidnapper to bring fugitive businessman
Christopher Skase back to Australia from Spain where he had moved following the collapse of his business empire in 1991. The film was a satirical comedy in which Hulme played the leader of a rag-tag gang of hired kidnappers who plan to break into Skase's Spanish mansion and smuggle him back to Australia to face his creditors. Unexpectedly, the real-life Skase died in
Mallorca in August 2001 whilst the film was in post-production, causing some criticism of the timing of the film's release shortly afterwards. In 2003, Hulme scored roles in the sequels to the smash-hit science-fiction film
The Matrix. He played the role of Sparks, one of the free-born crew members of one of the hover-ships in the films
The Matrix Reloaded and
The Matrix Revolutions, both films shot in Sydney. He also reprised the role for the
Enter the Matrix video games. He wrote an introduction to the 2003 edition of
Dick Russell's 1992 book
The Man Who Knew Too Much about
Richard Case Nagell. During preparations to film
The Dark Knight (2008), the sequel to
Batman Begins (2005), it was reported that Hulme was being considered for the role of
the Joker. Ultimately, the role went to fellow Australian actor
Heath Ledger. Hulme later said that he had never been in the shortlist for the role; he had never even met the film's director,
Christopher Nolan, despite media reports to the contrary. In 2006, Hulme played the role of
MacDuff, alongside
Sam Worthington in
Geoffrey Wright's
adaptation of
William Shakespeare play
Macbeth, in which the play was set amongst Melbourne's criminal underworld. Although the film received mixed reviews and fared poorly at the box office, Hulme's performance received considerable praise. That same year, Hulme played a brash, foul-mouthed record company executive in the Australian film comedy
BoyTown directed by Kevin Carlin and reprised the role in the unreleased spin-off mockumentary
BoyTown Confidential directed by
Tony Martin. In 2008, Hulme appeared in the Australian TV comedy series
The Hollowmen, produced by
Working Dog Productions. Over the next two years, Hulme appeared in episodes of the TV comedies
Chandon Pictures and
The Librarians as well as the police drama
Rush. In 2010, Hulme became a regular cast member on the drama series
Offspring, playing the role of the brilliant but eccentric Dr. Martin Clegg in seven seasons. Hulme has continued to also work in theatre, appearing in the
Sydney Theatre Company's 2009 production of the
comedy-drama play
Elling, based on an original Norwegian film and novel and directed for the stage by
Pamela Rabe, a performance for which Hulme received good reviews. He returned to the big screen in 2011, appearing as a rogue SAS soldier in the action-thriller
The Killer Elite, directed by
Gary McKendry. The film, an Australian–US co-production and partially filmed in Victoria, starred
Robert De Niro,
Jason Statham and
Clive Owen. In 2012, Hulme starred in the television film
Beaconsfield, a dramatized depiction of the
Beaconsfield Mine Collapse in
Tasmania, 2006 where one miner was killed in a sudden cave-in and two others, Todd Russell and Brant Webb, were trapped for 14 days, prompting a large-scale rescue operation which drew in nationwide media coverage. Hulme starred as Russell, deliberately gaining weight in order to play the burly miner, alongside
Shane Jacobson who played Webb. He had a well received supporting role in the 2012 Australian comedy
Any Questions for Ben?, created by Working Dog Productions. In addition to
Beasconsfield, Hulme starred in the title role in another film, ''
Howzat! Kerry Packer's War. Hulme, having lost most of the weight he gained in 2011 for the filming of Beaconsfield'' (for the sake of his other acting commitments with the Fundamental Amish Theatre Company of Frankston), was again obliged to regain more girth to play the role of the heavy-set famous businessman. The role earned Hulme considerable praise and the film was a ratings hit. In 2012, Hulme also appeared in the comedy film
Scumbus, written and produced by, and starring, Ed Kavalee, the film airing in November. Hulme has also appeared in Kavalee's next feature, the comedy-satire
Border Protection Squad, which has been completed but is awaiting a distributor. In 2013, Hulme starred in the prequel to
Howzat!, a miniseries called
Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch War. Hulme played the role of another member of the Packer dynasty,
Sir Frank. The miniseries aired in September and Hulme received good reviews, one critic praising his "forceful performance" although ratings were disappointing. In March 2014, Hulme was cast in the
Nine Network's eight-part 2015 drama series,
Gallipoli and in which he played
Lord Kitchener. In 2024, Hulme appeared as
Immortan Joe (replacing the late
Hugh Keays-Byrne) and Rizzdale Pell in
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the fifth film in the
Mad Max franchise and a spin-off/prequel to 2015's
Mad Max: Fury Road. On 16 October 2025, Hulme was announced as
Ebenezer Scrooge for the 2025 season of
A Christmas Carol. ==Filmography==