by FilmInk Staff
As demonstrated most recently by Karl Stefanovic, Australian performers have increasingly found second acts in politics. Some became candidates or campaigners, others culture-war personalities, while others simply became much more outspoken about issues such as immigration, national identity and political correctness.
We thought it was time to assemble a list of our top ten.
Holly Valance
Best known for: Neighbours, Prison Break, Taken, DOA: Dead or Alive
The former Neighbours star and FHM cover model has become a prominent supporter of Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and Britain’s populist right, helping raise money for Trump and becoming increasingly involved in political campaigning. Once married to billionaire British property developer Nick Candy, Valance has also become increasingly explicit about her own politics. In 2026 she declared: “I’m absolutely right-wing.”
Mel Gibson
Best known for: Mad Max, Lethal Weapon, Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ
The Australian-born Hollywood star has become an increasingly open supporter of Donald Trump. During the 2024 election campaign, Gibson said of his vote: “I think that’s a pretty good guess” — before describing Kamala Harris as having “the IQ of a fence post.”
Damien Richardson
Best known for: Neighbours, City Homicide, Blue Heelers, Jack Irish
Another Neighbours alumni, Richardson went further than most of the people on this list, leaving acting and entering organised politics as a Freedom Party candidate. At a political rally, he spoke of a “real war on … white working-class men”, adding: “God forbid you talk about it because they call you a racist. Well, call me it. I’m beyond caring.”
Angry Anderson
Best known for: Rose Tattoo, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
The Rose Tattoo frontman and actor became a conservative campaigner and ultimately a Nationals candidate. At an anti-carbon-tax rally during the Gillard government, Anderson mocked the prime minister with a reference to “Bob Brown’s female dog.”
Nicola Charles
Best known for: Neighbours, Muggers
The third Neighbours cast member (and second FHM cover model) on this list. Charles went from soap-opera actor to online culture-war campaigner, becoming prominent during the pandemic and subsequently campaigning against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. During the Voice campaign she described the referendum as “an invasion by the one world government, the UN.”
Dean Geyer
Best known for: Australian Idol, Neighbours, Glee, Terra Nova
A fourth former Neighbours actor. Geyer has never become a professional political campaigner, but the actor has been unusually direct about conservative positions. Appearing on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2016, he said of Donald Trump: “I like him.” On guns, he argued that “the bad boys are never going to give up guns.”
Sonia Kruger
Best known for: Big Brother, The Today Show, Dancing with the Stars, Strictly Ballroom
Kruger’s political reputation was transformed in 2016 when she called for a halt to Muslim immigration during a Today discussion. “I would like to see it stop now for Australia,” she said, adding that she wanted Australia to return to a predominantly Christian community.
Kerri-Anne Kennerley
Best known for: Good Morning Australia, Kerri-Anne, Studio 10, The Restless Years
After decades as one of Australian television’s best-known presenters, Kennerley became increasingly outspoken on Indigenous affairs and political correctness. During a 2019 Studio 10 controversy, she argued that Indigenous Australians needed to confront violence in their own communities, saying: “I’d like Indigenous people to step up and start condemning the perpetrators we all know exist.”
Karl Stefanovic
Best known for: Today, A Current Affair, The Karl Stefanovic Show
Stefanovic is best known as a television presenter, although he has appeared in cameos in various features, as well as starring in the memorable short film “Michael Clarke’s girlfriend tears him a new one at Noosa”.
Stefanovic’s transformation to the right has accelerated since launching his podcast. Asked whether he was right-wing, he offered the memorable line: “I’m not right-wing … I’m right!”
The podcast guest list has made the political direction of the show difficult to miss: a striking proportion of its most controversial guests have come from the right, including Pauline Hanson, anti-immigration figures and British far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Stefanovic’s Robinson interview was subsequently removed from the podcast’s platforms.
Dave Hughes
Best known for: Rove, The Project, Hughesy We Have a Problem, The Cheap Seats, Scumbus
Hughes is one of the more unexpected political turns. The comedian, who has described himself as a former Labor voter, has become increasingly critical of Labor and appeared at Liberal Party events. In a television attack on the government’s economic record, he called it “an absolute disgrace” and accused ministers of misleading Australians. Hughes also once appeared on Neighbours clearly making that show a breeding ground for right-wing activism.
