About Professor Higgins

John Higgins is world renowned for his work as a Dialogue Director, Acting Teacher, Speech & Drama Tutor,
Accent Coach and Theatre Director. In Australia, John is in high demand as an American accent and dialect coach
for Australian actors appearing in films, television, plays and musicals.

Professor Higgins has assisted some
of the world’s most talented actors
like Shirley MacLaine, Denzel Washington
and Burt Reynolds. He has also taught Australian stars who have broken into the US film industry,
like Chris Hemmsworth (Star Trek, Thor), Rose Byrne (Troy – opposite Brad Pitt, Damages),
Luke Ford (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor), David Wenham (Public Enemies with Johnny Depp),
Yvonne Strahovski (Chunk) and Xavier Samuel (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse).

career history

As a Dialogue Director and Accent Coach, he has worked for Company B, with the Artistic Director, Neil Armfield, on Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams, My Zinc Bed, by David Hare, and Stuff Happens also by David Hare, which won the 2006 Helpmann Award for Best Play, Best Actor – Greg Stone, and Best Supporting Actor, Russell Dykstra.

Also for Company B, John has worked with Kate Gaul on The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman, with Gale Edwards on Buried Child by Sam Shepard, and with Marion Potts on The Goat, or Who is Silvia? by Edward Albee. This play won the 2006 Helpmann Award for Best Director.

At the Stables Theatre, John was the Accent Coach on Hurlyburly by David Rabe and The United States of Nothing, written and directed by Stephen Sewell. John was the Dialogue Director on Pugilist Specialist, directed by Michael Pigott at the Darlinghurst Theatre Company.

Over the past decade, John’s work as a Dialogue Director in movies shot in Australia includes: Superman Returns, directed by Bryan Singer, The Condemned dir. by Scott Wiper, The Quiet American, dir. by Phil Noyce, Redhead: The Lucille Ball Story, dir. Glenn Jordan, and Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure at Fox Studios, dir. Matthew Miller.

John was also the Dialogue Director for the movies, Gabriel, directed by Shane Abbess, and The Gates of Hell directed by Kel Dolan.  Both of these films required all of the actors to speak with American accents. All of the actors were Australian.

John worked as an English Accent Coach and Guest Judge on the hit TV series, Australian Princess. John was also the Dialect Coach on the Australian Stage Musical Productions of Grease and Saturday Night Fever.

John has worked as an acting teacher at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the Actor’s Centre (London), and in Australia at On Camera Connections, The Ensemble Studios, the Actor’s Centre Australia and for the NIDA Open Program. In Australia, John specializes in teaching General American as well as specific American dialects. John is also qualified to teach standard and regional British dialects and various European accents. As an acting teacher he has taught everything from The Method in New York to Shakespeare in London.

 

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