ARTS LEGEND TERRITORY TOM’S AMAZINGMAZING LIFE

...and get a glimpse into the amazing life of an extraordinary Territorian

That’s the only place I like to weep, is outside the theatre before I go and do the show.”

Tom E Lewis talks in riddles. Each sentence weaves a story of its own as he meanders through tales from his life with bursts of laughter and a cheeky grin.

Lewis, 58, a Murrungun man born in Ngukurr on the Roper River, is revered for his long career in the arts. He is a veteran actor on stage and screen, a musician and visual artist.

Lewis pioneered the didgeridoo in contemporary music, particularly in jazz, as half of Lewis & Young, and discovered a love for guitar while on tour in Germany.

“A Down syndrome girl came to me and said ‘Tom, play guitar’,” he said. “I’ve been playing guitar ever since. I’ve been learning guitar ever since.”

But it was a twist of fate that initially led him down the creative path, away from studying mechanics.

“I didn’t think I’d be doing anything but motor mechanics, but my life switched,” he said.

“If people believe in fate, it was one of those moments.”

It was 1978 and Lewis was plucked from Melbourne Airport by Fred and Rhonda Schepisi to perform the lead role in their film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, based on the true story of Jimmy Governor.

Lewis played the lead role of Jimmie, a half-Aboriginal, half-white man who struggled to adapt to white culture, and eventually snapped in the most brutal manner.

“I didn’t know Jimmie or anything — they didn’t teach us that at Roper, can you imagine? Blackfella cut up old people. Now it’s in the national film archives,” he