Biography
David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu AM, known professionally as David Gulpilil and posthumously for cultural reasons as David Dalaithngu for three days, was an Aboriginal Australian (Yolŋu) actor and dancer, known for the films Walkabout, Storm Boy, Rabbit-Proof Fence, and The Tracker.
Known For
Complete Filmography

Journey Home, David Gulpilil
2025
as Self (archive footage)
A powerful record of grief, community and ceremony in which the renowned Indigenous actor is laid to rest on his Homeland of Gupulul in Arnhem Land, N...

Love of an Icon: The Legend of Crocodile Dundee
2025
as Self
Nearly 40 years on, Crocodile Dundee remains Australia’s biggest film—what made it a cultural icon, and why does it still mean so much today?

My Name Is Gulpilil
2021
as Self
Diagnosed with lung cancer, legendary Australian actor David Gulpilil boldly explains the journey that is his extraordinary, culture-clashing life.

My Name Is Gulpilil
2021
Producer
Diagnosed with lung cancer, legendary Australian actor David Gulpilil boldly explains the journey that is his extraordinary, culture-clashing life.

Cargo
2017
as Daku
After being infected in the wake of a violent pandemic and with only 48 hours to live, a father struggles to find a new home for his baby daughter.

Goldstone
2016
as Jimmy
Indigenous Detective Jay Swan arrives in the frontier town of Goldstone on a missing persons inquiry. What seems like a simple investigation unearths ...

MESSiAH
2016
In a playful collision of cultures, a hapless Irishman and his Parisian girlfriend get more than they bargained for when they encounter a particularly...

Another Country
2015
as Self / Narrator
In this documentary companion to CHARLIE'S COUNTRY, Australian actor David Gulpilil tells the story of when his people's way of life was derailed by o...

Another Country
2015
Writer
In this documentary companion to CHARLIE'S COUNTRY, Australian actor David Gulpilil tells the story of when his people's way of life was derailed by o...

Charlie's Country
2013
as Charlie
Blackfella Charlie is getting older, and he's out of sorts. The intervention is making life more difficult on his remote community, what with the prop...

Charlie's Country
2013
Writer
Blackfella Charlie is getting older, and he's out of sorts. The intervention is making life more difficult on his remote community, what with the prop...

Satellite Boy
2012
as Jagamarra
When his grandfather's drive-in cinema and home in the outback town of Wyndham is threatened with demolition, a twelve-year-old Aboriginal boy must jo...

Australia
2008
as King George
Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to pro...

Ten Canoes
2006
as The Storyteller
A story within a story within a story. In Australia's Northern Territory, an Aboriginal narrator tells a story about his ancestors on a goose hunt. A ...

Crocodile Dreaming
2006
as Burrimmilla
Crocodile Dreaming is a modern day supernatural myth about two estranged brothers, played by iconic Indigenous actors David Gulpill and Tom E. Lewis. ...

The Proposition
2005
as Jacko
In 1880s Australia, a lawman offers renegade Charlie Burns a difficult choice. In order to save his younger brother from the gallows, Charlie must hun...
Following the Rabbit-Proof Fence
2003
as Himself
This documentary follows Phillip Noyce as he tries to find three aboriginal girls able to act in his film Rabbit Proof Fence. The film sees a cast of ...

Mimi
2002
as Granddad
A white collector of Aboriginal art gets a shock when the Mimi sculpture she purchased comes to life.

The Tracker
2002
as The Tracker
Somewhere in Australia in the early 20th century outback, an Aboriginal man is accused of murdering a white woman. Three white men are on a mission t...

Gulpilil: One Red Blood
2002
as Self
An hour-long documentary on the life and career of actor David Gulpilil.

Rabbit-Proof Fence
2002
as Moodoo
In 1931, three Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a trek across the Outback.

Serenades
2001
as Rainman
Set in the 1890s in the central desert region of Australia, 'Serenades' tells the tale of Jila who is conceived when her Afghan cameleer father wins h...

Dead Heart
1996
as Second Man in Desert
Ray Lorkin, chief lawman in the tiny rural settlement of Wala Wala, Australia, fears that long-simmering tensions between the area's aborigine natives...

Until the End of the World
1991
as David
In 1999, a woman's life is forever changed after she survives a car crash with two bank robbers, who enlist her help to take the money to a drop in Pa...

Dark Age
1987
as Adjaral
In the Australian outback, a park ranger and two local guides set out to track down a giant crocodile that has been killing and eating the local popul...

Crocodile Dundee
1986
as Neville Bell
When a New York reporter plucks crocodile hunter Mick Dundee from the Australian Outback for a visit to the Big Apple, it's a clash of cultures and a ...

The Right Stuff
1983
as Aborigine
As the Space Race ensues, seven pilots set off on a path to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history b...

Walkabout to Hollywood
1980
as Self
Produced and directed this documentary for BBC in the 1980’s, about David Gulpilil, acclaimed Australian Aboriginal actor, dancer and musician. The fi...
3 Dances Gulpilil
1978
as Dancer
David Gulpilil performs three Aboriginal dances, Emu, Kangaroo and Fish. The first two are solo performances by Gulpilil and are closer to mime than d...

Walya Ngamardiki: The Land My Mother
1978
as Self
Exploring the relationship between Aboriginal people and their land (including the Dreaming, sacred places), this film was inspired by Silas Roberts’ ...

The Last Wave
1977
as Chris Lee
Australian lawyer David Burton agrees with reluctance to defend a group of Aboriginal people charged with murdering one of their own. He suspects the ...

Storm Boy
1977
as Fingerbone
Mike is a lonely Australian boy living in a coastal wilderness with his reclusive father. In search of friendship he encounters an Aboriginal native l...

Mad Dog Morgan
1976
as Billy
The true story of Irish outlaw Daniel Morgan, who is wanted, dead or alive, in Australia during the 1850s.

To Shoot a Mad Dog
1976
as Self
A documentary about the making of the Australian feature Mad Dog Morgan (1976).
The Rainbow Serpent
1975
A timeless classic from the Dreamtime. there are innumerable names and stories associated with the Rainbow Serpent, all of which communicate the signi...
Showing Melbourne to Maningrida
1973
as David Gulpilil
In 1973, fresh from his performance in Walkabout, a film that brought outback landscapes to urban audiences, Gulpilil returned the favour by paying a ...
Showing Melbourne to Maningrida
1973
Director, Producer
In 1973, fresh from his performance in Walkabout, a film that brought outback landscapes to urban audiences, Gulpilil returned the favour by paying a ...

Walkabout
1971
as Black Boy
Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist takes his teenage daughter and 6-year-old son into the Australian outback and attempts to shoot the...