After working for the
Queensland Theatre Company and
Twelfth Night Theatre in
Brisbane in 1977, he started appearing on Australian TV. By the beginning of 1979, he began playing Mickey Pratt in the teen-oriented Australian
soap opera The Restless Years, a role which lasted 16 months. In 1978, he appeared as Charlie in the
Old Tote Theatre Company production of
Da and as Jud Templeton in the play
Tribute in 1979. In 1980, he played Hughie in the
Anzac Day play
The One Day of the Year. He also featured in the TV police drama
Cop Shop in 1980–81 and in
Skyways. In 1981, Burlinson had his career break when he was given the main role in the biggest Australian film production ever, which was to be shot the next year,
The Man from Snowy River, as the title character, Jim Craig. He had only a few short weeks to learn how to ride a horse and discovered he had somewhat of a natural ability and affinity with horses.
Snowy River was filmed and released in Australia in 1982, quickly becoming the highest-grossing Australian film ever at that time, bringing Burlinson to stardom. In his next film, Burlinson portrayed
horse trainer Tommy Woodcock in
Phar Lap: Heart of a Nation. This film was another hit and confirmed Burlinson as a major star in the Australian film industry. In 1985, Burlinson was cast by Dutch director
Paul Verhoeven for a role in his first English-speaking film, the cult film
Flesh and Blood. In 1986, Burlinson played the main role as yuppy windsurfer in the main modern day comedy romance
Windrider alongside teen actress
Nicole Kidman in her first adult role. The film was a modest hit in Australia. In 1987, Burlinson was given his first role in a science fiction movie,
The Time Guardian, in which he played the main role, Ballard, a visitor from another world, opposite Hollywood stars
Dean Stockwell and
Carrie Fisher. In 1988 he starred in the long-waited
Snowy River sequel,
The Man from Snowy River II, called
Return to Snowy River in the US and
The Untamed in the UK. From then onwards, Burlinson focused on historical productions, including the highly acclaimed 1988
LWT mini-series
Piece of Cake, set in England in 1939 and based on the 1983
novel of the same name by
Derek Robinson and the Canadian Western drama film
The Legend of Kootenai Brown retitled
Showdown at Williams Creek in the United States, set in pioneer North America. He also does stage work, musicals and concerts as well as assisting charities. Apart from his acting career, he is also a singer. A life-long love of the music of
Frank Sinatra led Burlinson to compose an ode to the singer. He appeared on TV in 1990 on
Ray Martin's
Midday Show to nervously debut his singing voice to the Australian public with the song he had written, "The Man in the Hat". The following year
Tina Sinatra cast Burlinson as the voice of the young Sinatra in a miniseries she produced on her father's life, the
Golden Globe Award-winning
Sinatra. With new doors now open to him, Burlinson auditioned for several musicals. Burlinson returned to the stage in
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in 1992. He starred with some of Australia's most notable stage performers,
Noel Ferrier,
June Bronhill and Jackie Love. In 1996 he had stage roles with the
Sydney Theatre Company, starring as Franklin in
Merrily We Roll Along and as Ricky in
Miracle City. In 1998, Burlinson created
Frank – The Sinatra Story in Song which opened at the
Seymour Centre in Sydney before going to other major cities. Sinatra himself died just two weeks before the opening night. From 1998 to 2003 Burlinson toured Australia regularly and also took the show to corporate events. In 2001 the show's name was changed to
Frank – A Life in Song. In 2002 he took the show to his native Toronto, Canada. Burlinson's versatility has also been featured in appearances on TV's
Carols by Candlelight in 1999 and 2002. He had also had a role on the
ABC doctor drama
G.P. and hosted a season of the
Nine Network TV show
Animal Hospital. Burlinson provided Sinatra's singing voice in the 2003 Australian movie
The Night We Called It a Day. Burlinson returned to the world of theatre in April 2004 in the lead role of Leo Bloom in
Mel Brooks' musical
The Producers. He co-starred with
Reg Livermore,
Bert Newton and
Chloe Dallimore. For three years Burlinson was a judge on ''
Australia's Got Talent'' alongside
Red Symons and
Dannii Minogue. In 2010, he played a featured role in the movie
The Cup, directed by
Simon Wincer, who had directed
Phar Lap. Burlinson has continued to produce and star in his own musical shows celebrating the music of Frank Sinatra and other vocal stars including ''Now We're Swinging!'' which toured around Australia. He also co-starred in the concert performances of "
Young at Heart" (2017) and "Swing That Music" (2018) at major venues around Australia. In 2019, Burlinson played the role of lawyer Billy Flynn in the stage musical 'Chicago' in Sydney and Brisbane. ==Filmography==