However, after being called up for the British Army, he returned to Australia and found acting work in Melbourne, including a role in Blood Wedding at the Union Theatre in 1958.
[4] In 1960 he returned to the UK, enjoying some success as a mime,[2] as part of clowning duo with English actor Julian Chagrin[4] in Chaganog at the Edinburgh Festival, and the Vaudeville and St Martin's Theatres in London in 1964.
[4] In 1965, he returned to Australia to take up the position of associate director with the Melbourne Theatre Company, where he stayed for six years[5] and directed around 20 plays.
[4] In 1972 he was appointed inaugural artistic director at the State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA),[2] a position he held for four years.
[5] While at STCSA, he had many successes, including productions of Jugglers Three, Major Barbara, A Flea in Her Ear, Equus, The Winslow Boy, As You Like It, Journey's End, and Coriolanus.
Ogilvie produced, directed, and commissioned several Australian plays, including David Williamson's The Department, written especially for the company and later enjoying national success.
[citation needed] His film credits include Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985),[2] which he directed together with George Miller,[5] Short Changed (1985), the much-awarded The Place at the Coast (1987), and The Crossing (1990), where Russell Crowe was first seen on the screen.
[4] Artists who paid tribute to him included Russell Crowe, Noni Hazelhurst, Kate Mulvany, Patrick Frost, and Bruce Spence.