Hugh Keays-Byrne was a British-Australian actor born on May 18, 1947, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, British India. He began his career on stage in England, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company between 1968 and 1972.

After emigrating to Australia in 1973, he established himself as a supporting actor in action and thriller films like Stone and The Man from Hong Kong. His breakthrough film role was as the antagonist Toecutter in the original Mad Max. Decades later, he played another villain in the series, Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Over the course of his career, he was nominated for an AACTA Award and won a Logie Award for his performance in the television drama Rush. The 2024 prequel to Fury Road, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, is dedicated to his memory.

Hugh Keays-Byrne and his wife Christina were long-time residents of Lisarow. They were also part of the Macau Light Company, an artist collective based in Centennial Park. His hobbies included painting, poetry, and gardening. Off-screen, he was a homebody, for whom a lovely day involved painting, writing poems, or tooling around in his garden. He loved sitting around talking, having coffee, and chatting about politics and rubbish.

Hugh Keays-Byrne made his first television appearance in 1967 on the British television programme Boy Meets Girl. He was part of Peter Brook's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Royal Shakespeare Company, which toured Australia in 1973. He decided to remain in Australia after the tour ended. In 1974, he acted in the TV film Essington, then made his first film appearance in the motorcycle picture Stone.

This was followed by supporting roles in films such as The Man from Hong Kong, Mad Dog Morgan, The Trespassers, and Snapshot. After his first starring role in the TV film Death Train, he was cast as the violent gang leader Toecutter in Mad Max. Director George Miller had Keays-Byrne and the other actors for the gang travel from Sydney to Melbourne in a group on motorcycles, as there was no money for airplane tickets.

In an early international print of the film, he was dubbed with a bad American accent, which Miller later regretted.

Hugh Keays-Byrne continued to act in post-apocalyptic and science fiction films such as The Chain Reaction, Strikebound, Starship, and The Blood of Heroes. He also appeared in the 1974 biker movie Stone and the 1986 drama For Love Alone.

His performance as Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road was highly praised, and the film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning six. He was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for his role in Fury Road.

Throughout his career, he was known for his gruff-sounding voice and long hair and beard. He was a well-respected theater, film, and TV actor in Australia. He became noticed after roles in Stone, Mad Dog Morgan, and The Trespassers.

He landed his first leading role in the TV film The Death Train and became internationally well-known for his role as Toecutter in the highly praised apocalyptic SF film Mad Max. He continued to work on TV, usually in smaller parts, and he was known for his performance as Mr. Stubb in the mini-TV series Moby Dick and the TV series Farscape.

Hugh Keays-Byrne passed away on December 2, 2020, in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia.