The Castle

The Castle is one of the finest Australian films to come out of Australia not just Melbourne.

Is there a funnier film that typifies the Australian fighting spirit than The Castle?

The Castle is a comedy about the Kerrigans, an (almost) ordinary Australian family, living beside an airport, who go all the way to the High Court to defend their humble home, their 'castle', against compulsory acquisition.

The Castle starred a whose-who of Australian actors including Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Sophie Lee, Eric Bana (1st film), and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. Directed by Rob Sitch, the screenwriting team comprised Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog Productions.

The Castle was filmed mostly in Melbourne with external shots of the Kerrigan household shot in Strathmore, airport footage at Essendon and Melbourne Airports. Location shots including Brunswick Town Hall. Melbourne's 200 Queen Street and the Supreme Court of Victoria plus the Kerrigans holiday home in Bonnie Doon on the banks of Eildon Weir.

Cast

-:- Michael Caton as Darryl Kerrigan, the patriarch of the family
-:- Anne Tenney as Sal Kerrigan, his loving wife
-:- Stephen Curry as Dale Kerrigan, the youngest son, digger of holes, and narrator of the film
-:- Sophie Lee as Tracey Petropoulous (nee Kerrigan), the family's only daughter, a newlywed hair dresser
-:- Eric Bana as Con Petropoulous, Tracey's husband, an accountant and amateur kickboxer
-:- Anthony Simcoe as Steve Kerrigan, the middle son, an amateur inventor and "ideas man"
-:- Wayne Hope as Wayne Kerrigan, the black sheep, who is serving time for armed robbery but is loved by his family regardless
-:- Tiriel Mora as Dennis Denuto, a bumbling small-time lawyer who previously failed to defend Wayne on his charge
-:- Costas Kilias as Farouk, the Kerrigans' neighbour
-:- Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as Lawrence Hammill QC, a retired lawyer who comes to the Kerrigans' aid by defending them pro bono
-:- John Flaus as Sgt. Kennedy, a local police officer
-:- Tony Martin as Adam Hammill, Lawrence's son (brief, mostly non-speaking cameo)
-:- Ian Ross appears as himself, a Channel Nine newsreader
-:- Larry Emdur appears as himself, the host of The Price is Right
-:- Brian Dawe as a lawyer for AirLink

Tell 'em they're dreamin'