Ian Roberts (born 31 July 1965) is an Australian actor and former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. Late in his football career he announced he was gay, the first person to do so in the game's history; gaining him much attention in Australia and worldwide. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative forward, he played his club football with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and North Queensland Cowboys.

Club career

A Souths junior, Roberts made his first grade debut with the Rabbitohs in the 1986 Winfield Cup season. By the age of 21, Jack Gibson had described him as "the best front rower in the game," [1] and in 1988 made the first of 5 appearances for City Origin.[2]

Despite not having yet played for either New South Wales or Australia, Roberts signed a huge contract with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in 1990.

After moving from the Rabbitohs to Manly he quickly justified his value with State of Origin selection and a Test debut against New Zealand. Roberts finally made a Kangaroo tour, leading the way up front in Australia's Ashes winning 23-4 Third Test victory at Elland Road. Not long after, Roberts signed with Super League despite his club and coach Bob Fulton remaining loyal to the Australian Rugby League. He played in Manly's loss to the Bulldogs in the 1995 ARL season's Grand Final.

Roberts sat out the 1996 season due to injuries & a contract dispute related to the Super League war. In 1997, Roberts signed with the North Queensland Cowboys moving to Townsville to captain the side. His career wound down in 1998 under the increasing weight of injuries.[citation needed]

State of Origin

Roberts made 9 appearances for the New South Wales State of Origin team between 1990 and 1994. He was an intimidating enforcer in the NSW forward pack and is regarded as one of the toughest to grace the Origin stage. An amazingly fit athlete, he famously collapsed from exhaustion after a typically tireless effort in Game I of 1993. The Blues won six of the nine matches in which Roberts played.

Recognition

In 2000, Roberts was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league. He served on the National Rugby League Judiciary in 2001 and in 2004 was named by Souths in their South Sydney Dream Team,[3] which consists of 17 players and a coach representing the club from 1908 through to 2004. In 2005, he was named one of the 25 greatest ever New South Wales players.[4]

Life outside football

Roberts came out publicly in 1995, discussing his sexuality in magazines and on television over the following year. The rugby league world was generally very supportive, with other players commenting that it was important to be "true to yourself", while The NRL Footy Show principals Paul Vautin, Peter Sterling and Steve Roach appeared in a poster campaign against homophobia conducted by the Lesbian and Gay Anti-Violence Project. He has been praised for helping to question prevailing myths about gays and sport. Paul Freeman wrote a controversial book on Roberts, Ian Roberts - Finding Out, which was published in 1997.

In 1999 Roberts was taken to court by Garry Jack over an on-field brawl that occurred in 1991.[5] Jack was, in his view, taking a stand against a cowardly, yet devastating beating he received by several Manly players. He attempted to sue Roberts for $100,000 in damages, alleging he suffered shock, traumatic injuries to his face and eyes, cuts, headaches and numbness and was embarrassed by scarring to his face. Jack and Roberts eventually settled the dispute out of court with Roberts handing over more than $50,000.

Roberts gave evidence to the State Coroner of New South Wales in regard to the murder of Arron Light, a street prostitute who was set to give evidence against a paedophile syndicate. He disappeared in 1997, and his remains were recovered in 2002. This story was the subject of an episode of the Australian TV program Australian Story, entitled "The Lost Boy", which first aired on 26 September 2005.

Early in 2005, he appeared in the second series of the Australian television series Dancing With The Stars, dancing with Natalie Lowe. He became the runner up in the competition, losing out to Tom Williams.

On 1 July 2006, Roberts was charged over an incident involving his former partner, Ben Prideaux; the 30-year-old male was alleged to have suffered cuts and bruises on his forearms in the incident.[6] On 25 May 2007, Roberts was cleared of these charges by a court in Sydney.[7]

Roberts appeared on the 17 April 2007 cover of The Advocate magazine in an exclusive interview with Canadian author and journalist Michael Rowe, along with a photo layout by celebrity photographer Eric Schwabel.

Acting career

Roberts finished playing professional rugby league in 1998, and began studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney.

In 2005, Roberts had a brief cameo in the Australian film Little Fish, starring Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, playing an ex-rugby league star. He also appeared in the 2006 motion picture Superman Returns as Riley, a henchman of Lex Luthor.

In 2009, Roberts appeared in the Australian television mini-series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, which retells the real events of the drug trade in the New South Wales town of Griffith between 1976-1987. The mini-series is a prequel to the 2008 mini-series Underbelly, which was about the Melbourne gangland killings. Roberts has a minor acting role, as a body guard for George Freeman (played by Peter O'Brien). The series began airing in NSW on 9 February 2009. Also in 2009, he starred in The Cut on ABC1 and had a small role in the film Cedar Boys.

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