Aacta awards 2025: Robbie Williams’ Better Man and Boy Swallows Universe dominate Australian film and TV prizes
The Netflix adaptation of Trent Dalton’s bestseller Boy Swallows Universe has dominated the annual Aacta (Australian Academy of Cinema, Television and the Arts) awards, winning 12 of its record-breaking 22 nominations.
The Aacta president, Russell Crowe, hosted the awards ceremony at Hota (Home of the Arts) on the Gold Coast on Friday, which featured a live performance by Robbie Williams, whose musical biopic, Better Man, collected nine awards on the night.
Paul Kelly performed his tear-jerker How to Make Gravy, the 1996 ballad that inspired a feature film of the same name released last year, which won just one category – best original song.
Boy Swallows Universe, Dalton’s semi-autobiographical story about a boy sucked into Brisbane’s criminal underbelly, won best miniseries, best screenplay in television (John Collee) and all four acting categories for television drama, including best lead actor for teenager Felix Cameron, who played the main character, Eli Bell.
Boy Swallows Universe also won best lead actress in a drama for Phoebe Tonkin, for her role as Frankie, Eli’s mother, while best supporting actor went to Lee Tiger Halley who played Eli’s older brother Gus, and Deborah Mailman won best supporting actress for her role as Eli’s school guidance counsellor.
Despite a disappointing US box office performance, Better Man, in which Williams’ was portrayed by an anthropomorphic CGI chimpanzee, won a total of nine awards, including best film and best direction in film, for Australian film-maker Michael Gracey.
When Gracey accepted the best director awardhe forgot to thank Williams, who later took to the stage and confessed that his problems of addiction, alcoholism, anxiety, body dysmorphia and a smaller than average penis contributed to the success of his life story on film.
After the ceremony Williams said of Better Man: “When I first watched it, I just didn’t want it to be terrible. And then it wasn’t. And then I thought it was awesome. And then I thought it was one of the best films ever made. And then I remembered I was a narcissist. And then I was like, I should seek counsel on this. So I watched it with other people, and then I cried. It just depends which me wakes up that day.”
Even the chimpanzee won an award: English actor Jonno Davies, who portrayed the Williams’ character through motion capture, won best lead actor in a film. Damon Herriman collected best supporting actor (his fourth AACTA in this category) for his role as Take That’s manager, Nigel Martin-Smith.
In a statement, Aacta’s chair Jack Christian said Better Man was a perfect example of the powerful and original work the Australian screen industry was delivering, “proving that great cinema leaves a lasting impact beyond the box office”.
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Sarah Snook and Jacki Weaver were recognised for their voice acting in the stop-motion animated feature Memoir of a Snail, directed by Harvey Krumpet film-maker Adam Elliott. Snook won best lead actress in a film, while Weaver won best supporting actress which meant that, along with Davies, three main acting awards were for voice-only performances.
Best drama series went to the second season of the Netflix series Heartbreak High, seeing off returning series Total Control and The Twelve, as well as new shows Fake, The Artful Dodger and Thou Shalt Not Steal.
In the comedy categories, Kitty Flanagan won best acting for her role in Fisk, which also won best narrative comedy series, and the enduring ABC show Hard Quiz, hosted by Tom Gleeson, won best comedy entertainment program.
Best children’s program went to global animation hit Bluey for the sixth year in a row. In 2024 the Brisbane-made ABC show topped the streaming charts in the US, with 55.6bn minutes watched on Disney+.
Otto by Otto, Gracie Otto’s poignant tribute to her actor father, Barry Otto, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease six years ago, won best documentary.
In the audience choice awards, Barbie producer and star, Margot Robbie, was proclaimed Australia’s favourite Australian actress, and Thor star Chris Hemsworth won favourite Australian actor. Robert Irwin won the people’s choice award for favourite media personality.
The latest in the Mad Max dystopian saga, Furiosa, won best cinematography, best production design, best costume design and best sound.
The awards night is the highlight of the Aacta festival, which began on Wednesday and continues through to Sunday.
More than 7,000 people are expected to inject almost $4.5m over the five-day period, according to the Queensland tourism minister, Andrew Powell.
