iOTA

Actor, musician, and Australian icon iOTA was born Sean Hape. The son of a Maori father and an English mother, he grew up in the town of Pinjarra in Western Australia, and formed his first band at age 16. By 17, he'd left home and was touring Australia with the hard rock band Loose Goose. Though he worked as a mechanic's apprentice until his music career took off, he became increasingly serious about his identity as a performer, officially changing his name at age 26. He would later describe the decision as an expression of his newly formed identity as a musician, a recovering alcoholic, and an openly gay man. In 1999, he released his first album, the rootsy "The Hip Bone Connection." Another album, "Big Grandfather," came in 2001, which began to explore a more theatrical sound. iOTA moved his career to the stage in 2005, playing the lead in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" at the Newtown RSL in 2005. He performed in the Sydney Dance Company's production of Graeme Murphy's "Berlin" in 2007, before co-creating and starring in the cabaret show "Smoke and Mirrors" for the Sydney Festival. In 2013, iOTA made his film debut, playing Trimalchio the Orchestra Leader in Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" (2013). He made another iconic movie turn in 2015, playing the memorable guitar-wielding Doof Warrior in "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015).