Jack Charles' life story didn't need dramatisation to become worthy of a one-man stage play.
Separated from his family and abused at the children's home he was raised in, Charles grew up unfamiliar with his Aboriginal heritage.
From this difficult start, he became a successful actor and one of the founding fathers of Indigenous theatre in Australia.
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Despite his success, demons waited in the wings. Acting roles came between stints in jail as heroin addiction, homelessness and petty crime played leading roles in his life.
The actor is now reliving his past in an autobiographical play, Jack Charles v The Crown, at Sydney's Belvoir Street Theatre. It's hoped his story will educate audiences.
"He offers this incredible opportunity for Australians to be able to understand the impact that government policies have had on Indigenous people in this country," says director Rachael Maza-Long.
Now off heroin and living in Melbourne, Charles says he is on a new path.
"I'm not going to let anything stand in my way of becoming you know a person that can help save lives doing the good I want to do, the good I know I can do, and the good I need to do," he says.
