Bob Morley


Robert Alfred Morley is an Australian-Filipino actor and television director. After appearing in various theatre productions and short films, Morley was cast as Drew Curtis in Home and Away in 2006. For the role, he received a nomination for the Most Popular New Male Talent Logie Award. Morley appeared on It Takes Two in 2007 and following his departure from Home and Away, he joined the cast of The Strip. Morley was cast as Aidan Foster in Neighbours, in 2011 and he starred in the feature film Blinder in 2013. As of 2014, Morley stars as Bellamy Blake on The 100.

Early life

Morley is the son of a Filipina mother and an Australian Irish father, who died when he was young. Morley has two older sisters and one older brother. He grew up on a farm in Kyneton, a small country town in Victoria, and studied drama at school all the way through to Year 11, until he was asked not to continue. Morley told The Age that he was a naughty student and did not take things seriously. After he completed year 13, Morley moved to Melbourne and began an engineering degree. A year later, he decided to enroll in Creative Arts at the La Trobe University and he got himself an agent.

Career

Morley began his career by acting in various university theatre productions, short films and plays including Falling to Perfect and Tale From Vienna Woods. Morley appeared in the 2005 low-budget horror film Dead Harvest directed by Damian Scott and as an extra in the soap opera Neighbours. That same year he got a part in Angels with Dirty Faces and his performance brought him to the attention of the Home and Away casting directors. Morley joined the cast of Home and Away as Drew Curtis in 2006. For his role as Drew, Morley was nominated for the Most Popular New Male Talent Logie Award. Morley appeared in the second series of the Australian celebrity singing competition series It Takes Two from May 2007. On 12 June 2007, he was voted off after six weeks on the show – even though he received his highest score that night. In 2008, Morley departed Home and Away and he was cast as Tony Moretti in the Nine Network's 2008 action drama series The Strip. The series was cancelled due to low ratings and did not return for a second series. He went on to appear in the 2008 Nine Network's Scorched. Morley was nominated for Cleo magazine's "Bachelor of the Year" award.
In 2009, he starred as Lorca in the play Palindrome for a Dead Poet. The following year, Morley featured in season four of Sea Patrol in the 5th episode titled "Paradise Lost". In 2011, he starred in the Australian thriller Road Train directed by Dean Francis. The picture was released in North America as Road Kill. In June 2011, it was announced that Morley had joined the cast of Neighbours as Aidan Foster, a love interest for Chris Pappas. Morley and Mason's characters formed the show's first gay couple. Morley took a ten-week break from the soap to appear in Blinder, a feature film about Australian rules football. He returned to the set of Neighbours in early June 2012.
Morley joined the cast of drama film Lost in The White City in 2013. That same year, he was cast as Bellamy Blake in The CW's The 100, which is filmed in Canada. The seventh and final season of The 100 began airing in May 2020.
In 2018, Morley completed the Warner Bros. Television Directors’ Workshop.

Philanthropy

On 21 September 2016, he tweeted fans a link to purchase a shirt that he designed to raise funds for beyondblue, an Australian organisation that provides information and support for Australians' mental health. He designed another shirt in 2017, in which the campaign proceeds were donated to the JED Foundation, a non-profit for the protection of emotional health and the prevention of suicide.
In September 2017, he joined fellow The 100 cast mates to participate in the BC Children's Hospital Benefit Soccer match in Vancouver, Canada. During the match Whitecaps Alumni and other Hollywood Stars took to the pitch at BC Place in support of the charity.
Fans have set up a charity project in his name, the Bob Morley Fans Charity Project on YouCaring, in which they auction off signed merchandise they get at conventions and donate the proceeds through the organisation to other organisations such as the ACLU, the JED Foundation, and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.
In January 2020, Morley and his wife Eliza Taylor put together a t-shirt campaign to raise funds for the Country Fire Authority, the Rural Fire Service, and the Australian Red Cross during the 2019–2020 Australian brushfire crisis. The campaign raised over $30,000 dollars.

Personal life

On 5 May 2019, Morley and his The 100 co-star Eliza Taylor were married. They announced the marriage on 7 June 2019.
On 3 July 2020, Morley's former romantic partner Arryn Zech came forward with allegations that Morley had been emotionally and verbally abusive throughout their relationship. Zech posted a statement across her social media accounts following an initial discussion on her Twitch stream. Morley has not responded to the allegations.

Filmography

Film

Television

As director

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryWork / nomineeResult
2007Logie AwardsMost Popular New Male TalentHome and Away
2015Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV Actor: Fantasy/Sci-FiThe 100
2016Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV: Chemistry The 100
2017Teen Choice AwardsChoice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV ActorThe 100
2018Teen Choice AwardsChoice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV ActorThe 100
2019Teen Choice AwardsChoice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV ActorThe 100