Conversations

Bryan’s played more than 80 roles on stage and screen. Raised in working-class Sydney, his talent, hard work, and unmistakable presence have been his ticket to the world. From Breaker Morant and Newsfront to Two Hands and Sweet Country, a huge number of classic Australian films feature Bryan, a testament to his talent, popularity and work ethic. Bryan also spent a period working in America, starring most notably in Cocktail and Gorillas In The Mist, before ultimately choosing Sydney over Hollywood.In the 1980s, working on the American-made series The Thorn Birds utterly changed Bryan’s life. He and British co-star Rachel Ward fell in love and married soon after.Their creative partnership has been enduring and they worked on Bryan's latest film Palm Beach together, with Rachel directing and co-writing, and Bryan also co-producing.Palm Beach was inspired by a reunion of friends in later life, and a health scare that rocked Bryan’s confidence for several years. Further informationBryan was awarded the Australian screen industry's top honour, winning the Longford Lyell Award at the 2018 Australian Academy Cinema Television AwardsTo binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Yosemite’s most punishing climb is the 3000ft sheer face of El Capitan mountain called the Dawn Wall. Tommy grew up exploring Yosemite and in 2015 he and his partner Kevin Jorgeson became the first to free-climb the wall

Dan Ziffer had a front row seat for the testimony of victims, financial advisors and bankers offered up to Australia's Banking Royal Commission

Adele Ferguson on the dishonest dealings of Australia's banks and financial institutions, and the damage done to customers and whistleblowers

Peter's Korean birth mother spent years searching for her son in America. Then she discovered an AFL star living in Perth (R)

Writer Dominic Smith on the glittering, perplexing history of the silent film era

Grant Edwards won the title of The Strongest Man in Australia for four years in a row by pulling trains, planes, trucks and ships. At work, he fought child exploitation and human trafficking. But while protecting others, Grant forgot to look after himself

Roger Pulvers lived an adventurous life in the Soviet Union, Japan and Poland, before he chose a whole new identity in 1976

A severe spinal injury could not crush Dinesh Palipana's drive to become a doctor (R)

Robert Raven puts aside his long-held fear of spiders to collect them and uncover hundreds of new species. (R)