| Birth Name: | Stephen Peacocke |
| Birth Date: | 30 October 1981 |
| Birth Place: | Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 2006–present |
Stephen Peacocke (born 30 October 1981) is an Australian actor, who appeared in theatre productions and portrayed minor roles in television dramas and films, including Suburban Mayhem and All Saints. Peacocke rose to prominence for his portrayal as Darryl Braxton on the television soap opera Home and Away, (2011–2016). For his role he won the Logie Award for Most Popular Actor on two occasions and is regarded as one of the show's most popular characters.
Following Peacocke departure from Home and Away, he went onto have minor roles in the box office films Hercules (2014), Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016), and Me Before You (2016). He has starred as Detective Josh Levine in the Australia drama series Wanted and of 2023, stars in the Network Ten drama series Five Bedrooms, Seven Network's RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Service and the ABC drama series The Newsreader.
Peacocke was born in Dubbo, New South Wales to Gareth Peacocke, a former accountant, and his wife Sylvia.[1] He has a brother, who encouraged him to pursue acting.[1] Peacocke attended schools in South Dubbo before finishing his secondary education at a Bathurst boarding school.[1] He went on to study communications at the University of Newcastle and took a drama class taught by Glenn Hazeldine, who also encouraged him to take up acting.[2] Peacocke worked numerous labouring jobs in his twenties while trying to start his acting career, including unloading freight trucks and working as a jackaroo for $3 an hour.[3] Peacocke played rugby for the Dubbo Kangaroos, but various injuries led him to theatre work instead.[1] In 2004, Peacocke won a City of Newcastle Drama Award for playing Ricko in a production of A Property of the Clan.[2] He moved to Sydney in order to pursue his acting career and he lived in a share house in Stanmore, where he struggled to make rent before he was cast in Home and Away.[2]
Peacocke appeared in the short play festival Brand Spanking New with actress Bel Deliá, in playwright/director Augusta Supple's work Interrupting Grace directed by Nick Curnow,[4] and also on Supple's later venture Stories from the 428. He also had a role in Kit Brookman's It Was Raining All Afternoon.[5]
Peacocke began his on-screen acting career in 2006 when he appeared in a small role in the Australian film Suburban Mayhem. He started appearing on television in 2007, when he played the role of Zeb Hall in the medical drama series All Saints. His other television credits include Packed to the Rafters, Rake and East West 101.[1] He also appeared in the television film Emerald Falls in 2008, which starred Georgie Parker. Peacocke played a role in a parody of Rihanna's "Umbrella" music video called "Drifting in my cappella" with 1BUCK80.[6] Peacocke appears in the 2011 feature film Burning Man, with Matthew Goode and Bojana Novakovic.[1]
In early 2011, Peacocke received the role of Darryl "Brax" Braxton, a local River Boy, on the Australian soap opera Home and Away.[7] Peacocke also revealed his plans to work in the United States in the future.[8] In 2012, Peacocke won the Logie Award for Most Popular New Male Talent.[9] The following year, he won the Most Popular Actor award.[10] He also received a nomination for the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television.[11] Peacocke announced his departure from Home and Away in February 2015. He filmed his final scenes in late 2014 and he made his last on-screen appearance 10 June 2015.[12] Two months later, Peacocke returned to Home and Away to shoot scenes for a storyline which aired in late 2015.[13]
Peacocke appears as Nic in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, an adaptation of Kim Barker's memoir The Taliban Shuffle.[14] He also appears in the adaptation of Me Before You as Nathan, opposite Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin.[15] Peacocke then starred as Detective Josh Levine in the 2016 Australian television series Wanted.[16] He also appeared in the comedy film Cooped Up.[17]
2019 saw Peacocke star alongside Kat Stewart and Hugh Sheridan in Network Ten's drama series Five Bedrooms, which focuses on five people who buy a house together after meeting at a wedding.[18] The series was renewed for a second season, which began airing in August 2021, after a production delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] After starring in war film ,[20] Peacocke joined the cast of comedy drama Squinters for its second season,[21] and appeared in the drama Les Norton.[22]
Peacocke starred in the Nine Network miniseries Informer 3838 as Detective Paul Dale, who heads up the Victorian Police drug squad, until he is wrongfully arrested and imprisoned.[23] [24] Peacocke plays flight nurse Pete Emerson in the 2021 drama series RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Service. He carried out his own research to prepare for the role, including talking with people who worked with the Flying Doctor Service and training with a nurse.[25] Peacocke also stars in the ABC drama series The Newsreader, which is set in a 1986 television newsroom.[26] For his performance as sports reporter Rob Rickards, Peacocke earned an AACTA Award nomination for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama.
In February 2023, it was announced that Peacocke had joined the cast of Nine's crime drama Human Error, alongside Leeanna Walsman and Rahel Romahn. Production on the six-part series began that same month in Melbourne. Peacocke plays Detective Dylan Mackenzie.[27]
Peacocke is a private man and has been dating Bridgette Sneddon since 2005.[28] [29] The couple met at the University of Western Sydney and announced their engagement on 7 March 2014 and married the same year in a private ceremony.[30] In 2023, it was revealed that the couple have a daughter.[31]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Suburban Mayhem | Store Attendant | Feature film | |
| 2008 | Cue Howard | Sir William Delamere | Short film | |
| Emerald Falls | Bushwalker | Television film | ||
| 2010 | The Black Dog | Steven | Short film[32] | |
| The Robbery | Interrogator | Short film | ||
| 2011 | Burning Man | Paramedic | Feature film | |
| 2014 | Hercules | Stephanos | Feature film | |
| 2016 | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | Nic | Feature film | |
| Me Before You | Nathan | Feature film | ||
| Cooped Up | Mike | |||
| 2019 | Lieutenant Adrian Roberts | Feature film | ||
| 2024 | Before Dawn | Cpl Beale |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | All Saints | Zeb Hall | Episode: "Balancing Act" | ||
| 2009 | Packed to the Rafters | Waiter | Episode: "Belonging" | ||
| 2010 | Rake | Michael Warner | Episode: "R v Mark" | ||
| 2011 | Telethon | Himself | Episode: 15 October 2011 | ||
| 2011–2016 | Home and Away | Darryl "Brax" Braxton | Main cast | ||
| 2016–2017 | Wanted | Detective Josh Levine | Main cast | ||
| 2019–2023 | Five Bedrooms | Ben Chigwell | Main cast | [33] | |
| 2019 | Squinters | Brett | TV series: 6 episodes | [34] | |
| Les Norton | Murray "Muzza" Norton | TV series: 3 episodes | |||
| 2020 | Informer 3838 | Paul Dale | Miniseries: 2 episodes | ||
| 2021–present | RFDS | Pete Emerson | Main cast | ||
| 2021–present | The Newsreader | Rob Rickards | Main cast | [35] | |
| 2024 | Human Error | Dylan Mackenzie | TV series | [36] |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Daytime Star | Home and Away | [37] | ||
| Logie Awards | Most Popular New Male Talent | |||||
| 2013 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Daytime Star | [38] | |||
| Logie Awards | Most Popular Personality on Australian Television | |||||
| Most Popular Actor | ||||||
| 2014 | Logie Awards | Most Popular Personality on Australian Television | ||||
| Most Popular Actor | ||||||
| 2015 | Logie Awards | Most Popular Personality on Australian Television | ||||
| Most Popular Actor | ||||||
| 2016 | Logie Awards | Most Popular Actor | [39] | |||
| 2021 | AACTA Awards | Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama | The Newsreader | [40] | ||
| 2022 | Logie Awards | Most Popular Actor | RFDS | [41] |