Recently, Brandon – who played Nullah, the Aboriginal boy who Nicole’s character adopts, in the 2008 epic – plead guilty to threatening his ex-girlfriend after breaking into her home in Broome, Western Australia.
It came just two weeks after he was fined $1,650 for using a rock to smash her car window.
As he had violated an existing restraining order, Brandon, 24, was taken to Broome Police Station, according to The West Australian newspaper, where he was found with 0.1g of methamphetamine.
He was also recently pulled over by police and he blew a 0.114 blood alcohol reading. He’s set to face court on December 22.
While making Australia, Nicole took Brandon under her wing. At the age of 13, he had not yet left the state of Western Australia before joining the movie.
“I feel very protective of him,” she said. “If the film does really well he is going to need a lot of protection.”
It was also rumoured that Nicole and director Baz Luhrmann had set up an education fund for Brandon, who confirmed she wanted him to move to Sydney to attend acting school.
He declined as, “I was too young. I didn’t want to be alone.”
Luhrmann picked Brandon for the role out of more than 1,000 Aboriginal boys who auditioned, crediting his natural talent and charisma for his success.
At the time, there were widespread fears among the industry that he would feel exploited or displaced by the instant fame.
“We know what that journey can mean,” Luhrmann, who has two children with his wife and creative partner Catherine Martin, said.
“Part of the deciding factor (for choosing Brandon) was that it was such a strong family unit.”
After the film was released, Brandon was tipped to be “Australia’s new young star.” He was even chosen to feature in a $40 million tourism campaign that was linked to the blockbuster, telling prospective visitors to the country: “Sometimes we gotta go walkabout.”
Since then, it appears Brandon, Nicole and Baz have lost touch. Brandon also revealed he has limited contact with co-star Hugh Jackman.
Nicole, 53, has two adopted children, Isabella, 27, and Connor, 25, who she shared with her ex-husband and fellow Hollywood heavyweight Tom Cruise.
The actress, who is currently shooting an adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s best-selling book Nine Perfect Strangers in Byron Bay, also has two daughters with musician Keith Urban; Sunday, 12, and Faith, 9.