Proteus

Morris West (1916–1999) was born in Australia, but lived for extended periods in Italy, Austria, England and the USA. West started writing novels in the 1950s. He is the author of thirty novels and has sold more than 60 million copies of his books worldwide in over twenty-seven languages. West helped to found the Australian Society of Authors, was chairman of the National Book Council, chairman of the National Library of Australia and a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1997. West also wrote screenplays, radio dramas, plays and was also an artist.

Jim began performing at the age of ten, and has appeared in many theatre, film and television productions. Based in Melbourne, he has worked with La Mama, the Malthouse and the Melbourne Theatre Company. TV appearances include Pirate Islands, Jack Irish, Gallipoli, The Ex-PM, Utopia and Rake. He is also a teacher and a researcher in theatre and performance. Jim has also lent his voice to several Morris West and Adrian d’Hagé novels for Bolinda audio.