50 Fun Facts About Crocodile Dundee

Who plays Mick "Crocodile" Dundee?

Paul Hogan plays Mick and co-wrote the story; the idea came to him on a visit to New York, wondering how a Northern Territory bushman would cope with the city.

Which actress plays reporter Sue Charlton?

Linda Kozlowski, an American stage actress who had appeared in Death of a Salesman with Dustin Hoffman, plays Sue Charlton; she and Hogan later married.

In what year was the original Crocodile Dundee released?

Crocodile Dundee opened in Australia on 30 April 1986 and in the United States on 26 September 1986, where it finished as the year's second-highest-grossing film behind Top Gun.

Who directed the first film?

Peter Faiman, a television director who had worked on Hogan's sketch show, made his feature debut with the first film; he later directed the John Hughes-written comedy Dutch (1991).

Whose real-life survival exploits inspired the character?

Rod Ansell survived 56 days stranded in the Northern Territory in 1977 after his boat capsized, an ordeal told in the book and documentary To Fight the Wild; he died in a police shootout in 1999.

What is the name of the fictional Northern Territory township Sue travels to?

Walkabout Creek is the fictional Northern Territory town where Sue meets Mick; its pub was a real outback hotel in Queensland, later renamed the Walkabout Creek Hotel.

Sue writes for which newspaper, owned by her father?

Newsday is the paper Sue Charlton writes for, owned by her father Sam Charlton; her editor and boyfriend Richard Mason works there too.

What does Mick call the scar he shows Sue, despite the legend of a lost leg?

'A love bite' is how Mick shrugs off the scar; the tale of a lost leg and a long crawl to safety turns out to be a well-polished exaggeration.

Who is Mick's business partner back in the Territory?

Wally Reilly, played by John Meillon, runs Never Never Safari Tours with Mick and scoffs at the New York trip until he hears the newspaper will pay.

Mick says a previous girlfriend left him after he went on walkabout for how long?

Eighteen months on walkabout was too long for Mick's girlfriend, he tells Sue; the line is one of the first hints that he belongs to the bush more than to any town.

How does Mick scare off the drunken roo hunters?

Makes them think a kangaroo is shooting back: Mick props up a dead roo and fires from behind it, and the hunters flee; earlier in the trip he calms a water buffalo with a stare.

Which actor plays Neville Bell, the friend who takes Mick to a corroboree?

David Gulpilil, the Yolngu actor who had starred in Walkabout (1971) and Storm Boy, plays Neville Bell, who tells Sue she can't photograph him because she has left the lens cap on.

Where is Sue attacked by a crocodile before Mick rescues her?

At a billabong while filling her canteen, Sue is seized by a crocodile, and Mick kills it with his knife before she is dragged under.

What was the name of the real saltwater crocodile who appeared in the attack scene?

Burt, a saltwater crocodile, appeared in the attack scene; he later lived at Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin, where he died in December 2024, believed to be more than 90 years old.

Which national park was the main Outback filming location?

Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory was the main location; Gunlom Falls, then called UDP Falls, appears in the film, and the crew shot there during the 1985 dry season.

Which writer shares the first film's screenplay credit with Hogan and the film's producer?

Ken Shadie shares the screenplay credit with Hogan and the film's producer; the story itself is credited to Hogan alone.

In New York, Mick tells Irving the doorman he is going to do what?

Sue chases him barefoot to the subway, where the crowd relays her message that she loves him.

How does Mick reach Sue across the packed subway platform in the final scene?

The crowd applauds as the two embrace, ending the film.

Roughly how much did the first film gross worldwide?

$328M worldwide, against a budget under $10 million, made Crocodile Dundee the highest-grossing Australian film at the global box office on its release.

Which studio paid US$6 million for the North American rights after Fox and Warner passed?

Paramount paid US$6 million for the North American rights after Fox and Warner passed, and the film became the studio's second-biggest hit of its year behind Top Gun.

Which film did Crocodile Dundee overtake to become the highest-grossing film ever in Australia?

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial held the Australian record until Crocodile Dundee passed it within weeks of release; the film finished on A$47.7 million at the Australian box office.

Which UK channel drew 21.8 million viewers with the film's Christmas Day debut in 1989?

BBC One screened the film on Christmas Day 1989 to 21.8 million viewers, a record audience for a film on British television.

Why do two versions of the first film exist?

Australian slang was swapped for plainer terms abroad, with some lines re-recorded for the international cut, which also runs about a minute shorter than the Australian release.

Which Golden Globe did the film's star win for the role in 1987?

Best Actor – Musical or Comedy went to Hogan at the Golden Globes in January 1987 for playing Mick Dundee, a role he had written for himself.

For which Academy Award was the film nominated?

Best Original Screenplay was the film's only Oscar nomination, at the 59th Academy Awards; it lost to Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters.

Which two stars co-hosted the 59th Academy Awards with Hogan in 1987?

Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn shared hosting duties with Hogan at the 59th Academy Awards on 30 March 1987, the night Platoon won Best Picture.

Before acting, Hogan worked as a rigger on which structure?

Sydney Harbour Bridge rigger was Hogan's day job when he appeared on the talent show New Faces in 1971 billed as a tap-dancing knife-thrower, the stunt that launched his TV career.

Which cigarette brand's ads made Hogan famous in Australia in the 1970s?

Each ad ended with 'Anyhow, have a Winfield'; his 1984 tourism spot gave the world 'shrimp on the barbie'.

Which town did Hogan falsely claim as his birthplace early in his career, to sound more interesting?

Lightning Ridge, the New South Wales opal-mining town, was the birthplace Hogan claimed early on; he was actually born in Parramatta in Sydney's west in 1939.

In what year did Hogan marry his leading lady from the film?

In 1990 Hogan married his co-star; they had a son, Chance, born in 1998, and she filed for divorce in 2013.

Which criminals do Mick and Sue face in Crocodile Dundee II?

A Colombian drug cartel led by Luis Rico is the enemy: Sue's ex-husband photographs Rico committing a murder and mails her the pictures before he is killed, so the cartel comes after her.

Who directed Crocodile Dundee II?

John Cornell, Hogan's long-time manager and producing partner who played 'Strop' on his sketch show, made his directing debut with the 1988 sequel.

In the sequel, Mick takes a job offered by a mild-mannered friend with what tough-guy name?

Leroy Brown, played by Charles S. Dutton, is a mild-mannered New Yorker whose tough-guy reputation is an act; his supposed street clout helps Mick recruit a gang leader called Rat.

In Crocodile Dundee II, what is the name of the large plot of land the hero legally owns?

Belonga Mick is what the sign on Mick's land reads; the property has a small gold mine that he treats as his retirement fund.

Which 1988 film's opening did Crocodile Dundee II beat in its first six US days?

Rambo III opened on the same Memorial Day Wednesday in May 1988, and Crocodile Dundee II outgrossed it over the six-day holiday frame while opening on a then-record 2,837 screens.

What are Sue's final words in Crocodile Dundee II when Mick asks if she is ready to head back?

Sue answers "I am home." when Mick asks if she is ready to go back, choosing to stay with him in the Northern Territory; it is the sequel's closing line.

Where is the third film, released in 2001, set?

Los Angeles is where Sue fills in as bureau chief of her father's newspaper, and Mick turns amateur detective inside a suspicious film studio; the 2001 film's title names the city.

What is the name of Mick and Sue's young son in the third film?

Mikey, played by Serge Cockburn, is Mick and Sue's young son, who impresses the classmates at his new school with outback survival skills while his parents investigate a film studio.

Who directed the third Dundee film, released in 2001?

Simon Wincer, the Australian director of Phar Lap and Free Willy, directed the third Dundee film, released in 2001, thirteen years after the second.

Which film beat the third Dundee movie to the Razzie for Worst Remake or Sequel?

Planet of the Apes, Tim Burton's 2001 remake, took the Razzie for Worst Remake or Sequel at the 22nd Golden Raspberry Awards, beating the third Dundee film, Jurassic Park III and Pearl Harbor.

Which actor's fake 2018 'Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home' trailers were a Tourism Australia campaign?

Danny McBride played Mick's long-lost American son opposite Chris Hemsworth in the fake trailers, revealed as a Tourism Australia ad during the 2018 Super Bowl; Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Margot Robbie and Ruby Rose also cameoed.

Which 2020 film has Hogan playing himself as an ageing actor whose famous character has been monetised by others?

The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee (2020), directed by Dean Murphy, has Hogan play a version of himself dogged by misadventures as he waits to be knighted; it followed the 2018 Tourism Australia campaign that revived interest in the character.

Which Japanese car did Hogan advertise in the United States as Mick Dundee?

Subaru Outback ads in the United States in the mid-1990s featured Hogan in character; the model took its name from the Australian Outback to suggest ruggedness.

In Mick's backstory, what did an Aboriginal elder say when he asked when he was born?

Mick, raised by an Aboriginal community in the bush, says the elder he asked about his birth told him only "In the summertime", so he does not know his own age.

Which actor plays Richard Mason, Sue's editor and boyfriend in the first film?

Mark Blum played Richard Mason, Sue's editor and boyfriend, whose proposal sends Mick off toward the subway finale; Blum died in 2020.

Who composed the score for the first Crocodile Dundee film?

Peter Best composed the score for the first two Dundee films; he later scored Muriel's Wedding (1994).

Who plays Gus, the limousine driver who shows Mick around New York?

Reginald VelJohnson plays Gus, the limo driver who becomes Mick's guide to New York; he went on to play Sergeant Al Powell in Die Hard and Carl Winslow on Family Matters.

Under which tax scheme was the film's budget raised?

The 10BA concessions, the 1981 income-tax write-off for investors in Australian films, raised the budget from private investors; the film cost under A$10 million.

The first scenes of Crocodile Dundee were shot in which small Queensland town, using its hotel?

McKinlay, a tiny town in north-west Queensland, supplied its Federal Hotel for the pub scenes shot at the start of production in July 1985; the pub was later renamed after the film's fictional town.

Which body objected to importing an American actress to play the reporter before relenting?

Actors' Equity Australia, the performers' union, objected to an American actress being imported for the role of Sue Charlton, a New York reporter, before relenting.