Early career

Wood began his acting career in 1966, attending National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and doing a play called Eh? directed by Max Gillies and co-starring Tony Taylor. In 1970 he became a professional actor and worked for the Old Tote Theatre Company in a production of Death of a Salesman.

Career-Television

His first professional TV role was in Minus Five with Ken James and Rowena Wallace which went to air with the title Barrier Reef.

A common misconception is that his first role was a guest role in Bellbird, an Australian television series. He then appeared in several Australian drama series and mini-series in minor roles. He played the co-lead role of Stokey in the ABC drama series The Truckies in 1978, writing an episode. John also wrote eleven episodes of the series Prisoner, and several episodes of Cop Shop. It wasn't until 1987 that John Wood became a well-known actor, taking the lead in Rafferty's Rules, as magistrate Michael Rafferty. Wood twice won a Logie for "Most Outstanding Actor" for his role in the show during its four seasons.

In 1993 Wood landed a leading role in Blue Heelers as Tom Croydon. This show became a big hit in Australia. As well as starring in the show, he also wrote several episodes. The show was cancelled in 2006, and Wood is one of only two actors (the other being Julie Nihill) to star in Blue Heelers from its beginning in 1993 to its end in 2006, although Wood's character is the only one to be seen in every single episode. Wood also wrote three episodes for the series.

In 2005 he hosted the mini-documentary series Made in Melbourne about 50 years of HSV7.

Wood was a contestant in the 2004 edition of the Australian Dancing with the Stars. In 2007, Wood appeared on Channel Ten's tele-movie, Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback, where he played barrister Grant Algie. He currently hosts Channel Nine's travel series Wine Me, Dine Me.

In 2009, Wood appeared in the drama The Cut on ABC1, in the historical dramatised documentary Rogue Nation, also on ABC1, and in Channel Nine's drama-series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities playing Murray Farquhar.

In 2010, Wood had a recurring role in Offspring. In June 2011, it was announced that Wood had joined the cast of Neighbours for a six-month guest role as Martin Chambers.^[1] He made his first on screen appearance in September.^[1]

In 2012, he appeared in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, and had a recurring role in The Doctor Blake Mysteries. In 2013, Wood had a guest role on It's a Date (TV series).

Memoirs

In August 2020 his memoir, How I Clawed My Way Back to the Middle, was published by Viking.^[2]

Television

Film/Shorts