From Orange to Opportunity: Knox Gibson’s Two Dreams

Green and gold lights strobed across the giant LED screen as music echoed through the arena. When New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) Para Unit supported athlete Knox Gibson emerged onto the pool deck at the Australian Swimming Trials, cameras followed his every move.

Swap the set designers for coaches, the production crew for officials, and the script for a race plan – the pressure isn’t all that different.

Long before arriving at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC), with dreams of one day wearing the green and gold, Gibson had already built a life that stretched far beyond the pool deck, including advocacy and a breakthrough acting role in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

“You can imagine what it’s like for anyone coming to SOPAC for their first big meet,” he recalled, looking over the balcony facing the 50m competition pool used during Sydney 2000.

“You could almost compare [being on a film set] to something like swimming at Trials. There’s a lot of pressure, which doesn’t go unnoticed in acting.”

“There’s an expectation on everyone coming into set. You’ve got to know your lines; you’ve got to be able to perform.”

“But the good thing about being in a situation like that is you know you’ve been picked. The director trusts your ability, which is a similar situation to the pool. You can relate it back a lot.”

After finishing Year 12, Gibson dedicated more time to his swimming and arrived at Trials in career-best form, recording personal bests in almost every race against Paralympians and world champions.

In many ways, Gibson had been breaking barriers long before stepping onto a movie set. After losing his arm in a lawn mower accident as a young child, he appeared in a television advertisement at age nine promoting inclusion and representation for people with disability – a message that would later shape his outlook as an athlete, actor, and advocate.

“I started swimming when that ad was filmed, so the plan originally was to try and build up a bit of a profile so I could maybe be a little well-known,” he explained.

“I understood that it was important and that there was a really good message behind the commercial.”

“The main idea that I had in my head was that when we were all getting painted with the different colours, we were all the same.”

“Looking back now, it seems fitting that the commercial was where I started because it fits into the path I’ve gone down in advocacy and with swimming – that everyone is the same.”

After years of short films and smaller productions, The Hunger Games marked Gibson’s first feature film experience. Portraying Bobbin, a supporting character not explicitly written with a limb difference in the original novel, Gibson said the film “accurately represented disability.”

“We were working in a World Heritage building [in Europe], and the set designers had made the whole arena. Just walking into something like that was just crazy to me,” he said.

“[The experience] just solidified [my potential as an actor.] Working in an environment where all the other actors and the director are so supportive, being reassured by them and being told that you actually are talented.”

“It’s the same in the pool. There’s always someone that you’re going to look up to, and when you’re being told by that person that you’ve done well, it just shows that the work that you put in has worked, but then it pushes you to go ‘Right, I’ve got it now, let’s take it further.’”

Growing up in regional NSW has also shaped the way he approaches opportunity.

“Being out there, you’ve got to work harder to achieve things and succeed with the limited resources that you have.”

“I’ve kind of taken that approach into every opportunity that I get and just have a go no matter what.”

Through the collaboration between the NSWIS Para Unit and the Regional Academies of Sport, Gibson has been able to access expertise and support that can be difficult to find outside of metropolitan areas.

“To be able to have someone that can guide you through what’s going to be best for your sport and for your performance is a really good opportunity, especially for young athletes in the sport.”

With plans to potentially relocate to Sydney and dreams of one day representing Australia internationally, Gibson is excited to see where the next chapter leads.

“I’m just someone who likes new experiences, and there’s always more to see and learn,” he said.

“Trying new things and having new experiences can not only help you grow in a sport but help you grow a lot as a person.”