He played a terrifying serial killer in Wolf Creek but Australian actor John Jarratt is now focused on making the public aware of something even more deadly.
The veteran actor on Monday was revealed as the face of 2017's national asbestos awareness campaign, at a time when experts say asbestos fibres are linked to the deaths of 13 Australians every week.
"Most Australians believe that asbestos-related diseases are a thing of the past but they couldn't be more wrong," Jarratt said in a statement on Monday.
"There is no cure and the average survival time is just 10 to 12 months after diagnosis."
In a video made for the November campaign, Jarratt urges homeowners, renovators and tradies not to play "renovation roulette" and instead educate themselves on the hidden dangers in homes.
"Because Australia was among the largest consumers of asbestos-containing materials in the world, many products remain lurking in homes including brick, weatherboard, fibro or clad homes."
Jarratt's close friend and fellow actor, Harold Hopkins, died in 2011 from mesothelioma caused by inhaling asbestos fibres when he was younger.
National Asbestos Awareness Day in on November 24.
Share

