Ian Bliss, born on June 30, 1966, is an Australian actor who has been in movies, TV shows, and stage plays for 30 years. You might have seen him in Australian TV dramas like Heartbreak High, Wentworth, and Underbelly.
In 1996, he was in an episode of Halifax f.p. But what he’s really known for is playing Bane and Agent Smith in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions in 2003. The Wachowskis picked him because he could impersonate Hugo Weaving (who played Agent Smith) really well.
After The Matrix movies, Bliss had small roles in Stealth and Superman Returns. He also played Drillic in an episode of Farscape called “Losing Time” and appeared in The Pacific and The Reef.
He’s been in lots of Australian TV dramas like Heartbreak High, Underbelly, Blue Murder, and Canal Road. He even played Commissioner Simon Overland in the Underbelly adaptation Informer 3838.
In 2018, Bliss was in season 6 of Wentworth, playing Senior Detective Collins. He came back for the final series and was in a total of 6 episodes.
Bliss is also a voice-over artist and has lent his voice to animated series like Big Words, Small Stories, Kuu Kuu Harajuku, Get Ace, and SheZow. He’s supported campaigns for Bowel Cancer Australia, and he’s done voice-overs for audiobooks like Dinner with the Schnabels and Final Act.
In 2022, Bliss joined the cast of the SBS drama Safe Home as Detective O’Connor. In 2023, he appeared in the horror movie Late Night With The Devil as Carmichael Hunt and in the theater play My Sister Jill.
Personally, Bliss graduated from Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art and even got a Bachelor of Education while studying acting at NIDA. He’s been married to actress Jacquie Brennan since 2001. They met on the set of a play called Silhouette and have a son and a daughter together.