Rod Ansell: From Crocodile Dundee inspiration to a violent end and his link to the Hemsworths

Rod Ansell, the Northern Territory bushman whose survival tale helped launch Crocodile Dundee, remains a figure wrapped in both national lore and tragedy. A newly traced profile examines his rise to fame, his unexpected connection to the Hemsworth family, and the violent end that shook Australia.

Ansell first rose to prominence in 1977 after being stranded for almost two months when his boat capsized on the crocodile-infested Fitzmaurice River, about 280 kilometers south of Darwin. Armed with little more than a rifle, two puppies and tins of food, he survived by hunting buffalo, drinking their blood for hydration and sleeping in trees to avoid predators. His resourcefulness and barefoot, larrikin charm captured national attention, spawning books and documentaries and cementing a place in Australian popular culture. In 1981, he appeared in a televised interview with English talk show host Michael Parkinson in Sydney, a moment that helped broaden his reach beyond remote communities. Crocodile Dundee, released five years later, would go on to become the most financially successful Australian film of all time, and its iconic character would be linked to Ansell in the public memory.

Through Joanne van Os—the sister of Ansell’s future sister-in-law, Leonie Hemsworth—Ansell connected with the Hemsworth family. Joanne’s marriage to Ansell in 1977 tied him to Chris Hemsworth’s extended clan, though the brothers were still children at the time. Luke Hemsworth would later describe Ansell as one of the inspirations behind Mick Dundee, a sentiment that underscored the family’s complex ties to a man whose image personified a national myth. The Hemsworth brothers—Chris, Liam and Luke—grew up in a rugged outback milieu that they credit with shaping their athleticism and grounded outlooks, a narrative frequently highlighted in interviews and public appearances.

As Ansell’s fame grew, his life took a markedly darker turn. By the 1990s, a bitter land dispute with the Northern Territory government saw him lose his cattle property, and his personal life frayed as his marriage collapsed in 1992. Friends and relatives later described a downturn into heavy cannabis use and, later, amphetamine use. Those close to him said his paranoia deepened, with outlandish beliefs about Freemasons kidnapping his children and shadowy forces following him. What began as a celebrated survival epic devolved into a cautionary tale about how quickly public adulation can be eclipsed by personal disintegration.

The most jarring chapter arrived in August 1999. Ansell opened fire on a caravan south of Darwin, then ambushed a police roadblock the following morning. Sergeant Glen Huitson, a respected father of two, was killed, and Senior Constable James O’Brien returned fire as Ansell was gunned down after a five-minute exchange. A coronial inquest later determined that Ansell was in a paranoid psychotic state brought on by chronic amphetamine use, with motive for the attack not clearly established. His death, at age 44, stunned Australians who had once celebrated his rugged feats and became a stark counterpoint to the Crocodile Dundee folklore that had helped define an era.

Ansell’s family endured further tragedy in the years that followed. Joanne van Os, Ansell’s former wife, later remarried, and her daughter Ali—Leonie Hemsworth’s niece—died in a boating accident in Phuket in 1999. For the Hemsworth brothers, the Ansell story remains a quiet, private thread in a public tapestry. Chris Hemsworth, in particular, has avoided detailed discussion of his uncle-in-law in public interviews, though he has occasionally acknowledged a family link to the Crocodile Dundee legend. Luke Hemsworth spoke of Ansell in a retrospective comment years after the fact, noting that Ansell’s life had inspired aspects of the Dundee character, while Chris later appeared in a Tourism NSW campaign that played on the Crocodile Dundee legacy with a wink to that shared history.

Taken together, the episodes form a narrative that sits at the intersection of national mythology and family history. The Hemsworth brothers rose to global fame on the back of a public image rooted in the Australian Outback, while Ansell’s arc—survivalist hero to drug-fueled tragedy—serves as a somber reminder of how quickly a legendary tale can darken when personal demons intensify. The family has rarely, if ever, spoken at length about Ansell in public, and researchers emphasize that the new profile aims to document verified events and timelines rather than speculate on private motivations. In the end, Ansell’s life leaves a layered imprint: a near-mythic beginning tied to a beloved cinematic icon, and a cautionary, far less cinematic end that continues to echo in discussions of fame, memory, and Australian cultural identity.