Jai Courtney

Early work (2005–2013)

Courtney's first role was in a 2005 short film titled Boys Grammar, which also starred Daniel Feuerriegel and Adam J. Yeend. In 2008, he played a role in the Australian series Packed to the Rafters, then a guest lead in the popular All Saints, the comedy feature To Hell & Bourke and several short films. In 2010, he played Varro in Spartacus: Blood and Sand for 10 episodes, before starring in Jack Reacher in 2012 with Tom Cruise and in A Good Day to Die Hard with Bruce Willis as John McClane's son, Jack.^[7][8][9] In 2014, he appeared in the films I, Frankenstein and Felony.^[10]

2014–2020

Courtney played Eric, one of the leaders of the faction Dauntless, in the science fiction film Divergent (2014). Later that year, he starred in Unbroken, playing Hugh "Cup" Cuppernell, and The Water Diviner, playing Lt. Col. Hughes.^[11] Courtney reprised the role of Eric in Insurgent, a sequel to Divergent, which was released in March 2015.^[12] That same year, he played one of the leads, Kyle Reese, in the science fiction action film Terminator Genisys. He worked on Insurgent and Terminator Genisys simultaneously.^[13] Terminator Genisys garnered unfavourable reviews and performed poorly at the box office.^[14] In his review, Dan Jolin of Empire described Courtney as "too buff and bland" for the role of Reese.^[15]

In March 2015, Courtney signed on to play Captain Boomerang in the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Suicide Squad.^[16] Critics lambasted the film, with The Washington Post's Michael O'Sullivan writing Courtney "barely registers" in his role.^[17][18][19] Despite this, it had a commercially successful box office run.^[20] In 2017, Courtney starred as the titular character in Melbourne Theatre Company's production of Macbeth.^[21] Reviewing the play, Cameron Woodhead of The Sydney Morning Herald highlighted his "imperfect command of the verse".^[22] In 2019, Courtney played Wizz, a corrupt debt collector, in the independent crime comedy drama film Buffaloed, co-starring Zoey Deutch and Judy Greer. Released to generally positive reviews from critics, Courtney's performance also garnered praise, with Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com saying he plays the character "with gorgeous sinister sleaze".^[23]

Courtney next played a corrupt FBI agent in the thriller film Honest Thief, which was released in October 2020.^[24] Alonso Duralde of TheWrap praised his effectiveness in the villainous role.^[25] Courtney reprised the role of Captain Boomerang in The Suicide Squad, a standalone sequel to Suicide Squad.^[26] The film was released in August 2021 to a positive critical reception.^[27]

2022–present

Courtney stars in the 2022 action thriller film Black Site as well as the thriller series The Terminal List and Kaleidoscope (under the working title Jigsaw).^{[28][29][30][31]}

He stars in the debut feature film directed by Australian filmmaker Dario Russo, The Fox, which premiered at the 2025 Adelaide Film Festival. It also stars Emily Browning, Damon Herriman, and the voices of Sam Neill and Olivia Colman.^[32]

Film

Television

Theatre