Profile Text
Kurzel in 2015, photo by Denis Makarenko /Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Justin Dallas Kurzel
Place of Birth: Gawler, South Australia, Australia
Date of Birth: 3 August, 1974
Ethnicity: Polish, Maltese
Justin Kurzel is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He has directed the films Snowtown , Macbeth (2015), Assassin’s Creed , True History of the Kelly Gang , Nitram , and The Order (2024); and episodes of the shows The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Black Rabbit .
His brother is musician and film director Jed Kurzel. Justin’s father, Zdzislaw Kurzel, was originally from Poland, and moved to Australia in 1960. Justin’s mother was born in Malta. Justin is married to actress Essie Davis, with whom he has two children.
About his ethnicity, he has stated :
I suppose it’s true that those of us who aren’t indigenous have a problem relating to the past. My father’s family migrated from Poland after the war. They could pick a boat to get them out of Europe, and by chance the one they chose was headed to Australia, which is where my dad met my mum, whose family came from Malta.
I suppose it’s true that those of us who aren’t indigenous have a problem relating to the past. My father’s family migrated from Poland after the war. They could pick a boat to get them out of Europe, and by chance the one they chose was headed to Australia, which is where my dad met my mum, whose family came from Malta.