Geoffrey Rush was a star of the Australian stage for two decades before his Oscar-winning performance in Shine (1996) made him an international movie star. Since then the classically trained actor has appeared in dozens of films and earned two more Oscar nominations, for Shakespeare in Love (1998, with Gwyneth Paltrow) and Quills (2000). Not movie-star handsome, with a lumpy face that shows passion, humor and guile, Rush is known for his many appearances in period pieces, including Elizabeth (1998, starring Cate Blanchett) and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003, with Johnny Depp) and the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007). Rush has also appeared in modern comedies and dramas, from Mystery Men (1999, starring Ben Stiller) to Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005, with Eric Bana). His other films include Frida (2002, starring Salma Hayek), Finding Nemo (2003, with Ellen Degeneres) and The Banger Sisters (2002, with Susan Sarandon).
Rush won an Emmy in 2005 for his starring role in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004).
One of Australia's most popular and distinguished actors, Geoffrey Rush came to the attention of the international community in 1996 with his performance as pianist David Helfgott in Shine (1996). Rush won an Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe, and Australian Film Institute Award for his work, and he subsequently began appearing in films that would further make him known to audiences all over the world.
A Queensland native, Rush was born in Toowoomba on July 6, 1951. After taking an arts degree from the University of Queensland, he began his theater career at Brisbane's Queensland Theatre Company. In addition to honing his skills with the classics, Rush lived in Paris for two years, where he studied pantomime at the Jacques Lecoq School of Mime. After returning to Australia, the actor resumed his stage work, at one point co-starring in Waiting for Godot with former roommate Mel Gibson. He spent much of the early '80s as part of director Jim Sharman's Lighthouse troupe and he also began working in film; his debut came in the 1981 Hoodwink, which also featured a young Judy Davis. Rush continued to appear in Australian films and on the stage, directing a number of theatrical productions in addition to acting in them. His big international break came in the form of the aforementioned Shine; following the adulation surrounding his performance as the unbalanced piano prodigy, Rush began to garner substantial roles in a number of high-profile projects. First was Gillian Armstrong's Oscar and Lucinda (1997), in which he played Oscar's great-grandson. The following year the actor drew raves for his work in Elizabeth, which featured him as the Queen's casually sinister confidant, and Shakespeare in Love, for which he again donned tights, this time to play a debt-ridden theater owner. His work in that film scored him his second Oscar nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actor. The same year, he could also be seen as the dastardly Inspector Javert in Bille August's adaptation of Les Miserables.
At this point audiences in the know were indeed well aware of Rush's versitility, and any actor able to move from the campy, big budget B-horror to the Oscar nominated art-house antics of Phil Kaufman's Quills had little need to prove himself to either critics or audiences. Though he may not have taken home the trophy at the 2001 Academy Awards, his performance as the Marquis de Sade in the Kaufman film drew praise from nearly every corner of the critical spectrum and Rush was now recognized as one of the premier talents of his generation. Whether appearing in such deadly serious independent drama as Frida or wide release cotton candy as The Banger Sisters, Rush was never anything less than fascinating to watch and his enthusiasm for his craft always managed to shine through into his performances. Though the film wasn't seen by the majority of stateside audiences, 2003's Swimming Upstream offered Rush in a meorable turn as the distant father of Australian swimmer Tony Figleton. After taking on one of Austrailia's most notorious outlaws in the 2003 drama Ned Kelley and offering vocal work for the popular Pixar family adventure Finding Nemo, Rush remained on this high seas - this time mostly above water - as the leader of an undead crew of pirates in the 2003 swashbuckler Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Though his menacing performance may have been slightly overshadowed by the flamboyant antics of co-star Johnny Depp, Rush nevertheless managed to craft one of the most complex and rousing villians in recent screen history. Next turning up as the hapless victim of a gold-digging maneater in the Coen Brothers' Intolerable Cruelty, Rush soon began preparation for his role as none other than the immortal Inspector Clouseau in the made-for-television biography The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. Rush played the Mossad representative who acts as the contact for the group of avenging agents in Steven Spielberg's outstanding Munich. Then he returned to the biggest hit of his career, reprising his part as a pirate in the next two Pirates of the Carribean films. He also agreed to reteam with director Shekhar Kapur and co-star Cate Blanchett for the sequel to Elizabeth reprising his role as Sir Francis Walsingham.
As anticipated, the 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opened to spectacular box office and solid (if not exemplary) reviews, though few of the critics who praised the film actually singled out Rush's fine performance in it as Barbossa (doubtless blinded by the impressive torrent of special effects and the squishy villainry of Bill Nighy that took center stage). Rush also joined the cast of that same year's Candy. Not to be mistaken for the awful Christian Marquand picture of the same title (or a remake thereof), the film actually constitutes a finely-tuned gut-wrencher about the heroin addictions of a poet and art student who become romantically entwined and decide to wed. Rush plays the ultra-liberal professor who first encourages the heroin use as experimentation, but later acknowledges the couple's inseparable, volatile bond to one another other via shared use of the substance. The picture stars Abbie Cornish and Heath Ledger as the marrieds.
THINKFilm scheduled Candy for release in October 2006 as Shekhar Kapur directed Rush in The Golden Age - the Elizabeth sequel for Universal and Working Title - which the studios slated for an October 2007 premiere. Meanwhile, the actor also lent a great deal of his time to shooting the third Pirates installment, also debuting in 2007.
Rush married Shakespearean stage actress Jane Menelaus in 1988, with whom he has two children - Angelica and James. The couple resides in Melbourne. He is actively involved with environmental causes.
Rush was born in Toowoomba, Queensland,
Australia, the son of Merle (née Kiehne), a
department store sales clerk, and Roy Baden Rush, an accountant for the Australian Air Force.[1][2] His parents divorced when he
was five, and his mother subsequently took him to live with her parents in the suburbs.[3] Before he began his acting career, he attended Everton Park State High School. He began his acting career with the Queensland Theatre Company in Brisbane. In 1975, Rush took
off for Paris for a couple of years, and studied mime and pantomime at the famous Jacques Le Coq School Of Mime, then returned to
Australia to resume his stage career. He also has an Arts Degree from the University
of Queensland. While at university, he roomed with fellow Australian actor Mel
Gibson.
Rush's film debut was in the Australian film Hoodwink in 1981. His next film was in
Gillian Armstrong's Starstruck,
the following year. In 1996, he starred in Shine, for
which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, becoming the first
Australian actor to win an Oscar. From that point on, his career skyrocketed.
In 1998, he appeared in three major films: Les Misérables, in which
he played Inspector Javert; Elizabeth, in which he played the suspicious Sir
Francis Walsingham; and Shakespeare in
Love in which he played the acting company manager who remained calm in the midst of chaos (and received an
Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor). In 1999, Rush departured from his usual dramatic stint
and took the lead role as Stephen Price in the horror flick House on Haunted Hill.
Many fans praised Rush for his dead on portrayal of the late Vincent Price. In 2000, he received his third Academy Award
nomination, for Quills, in which he played the Marquis
de Sade.
Rush lives in Camberwell, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He has become involved in the
preservation of heritage and architecture, becoming a figurehead for a campaign for the preservation of Camberwell Railway Station from demolition by developers and championing a
National Trust of Australia (Victoria) poll for the Victorian Heritage Icons Awards.
Since 1988, Rush has been married to Jane Menelaus, with whom he has a daughter,
Angelica (b. 1992) and a son, James (b. 1995).
1996 - Best Actor in a Leading Role at the BAFTA Awards,
for his role in Shine
1997 - Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards, for his role in
Shine
1997 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama at the Golden
Globes, for his role in Shine
1999 - Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the BAFTA Awards, for his role in Elizabeth
(film)
2003 - Global Achievement Award at the AFI Awards
2005 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television at the Golden Globes for his
role in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
2005 - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie at the Emmy Awards for his role
in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
Awards nominated
1998 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role at the AFI Awards, for his role in A
Little Bit of Soul
1999 - Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the Academy Awards, for his role in Shakespeare in Love
1999 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture at the Golden Globes, for his role in
Shakespeare in Love
1999 - Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the BAFTA Awards, for his role in Shakespeare in Love (He won for his
supporting role in Elizabeth)
2000 - Best Actor in a Leading Role at the BAFTA Awards, for his role in Quills
2001 - Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards, for his role in Quills
2001 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama at the Golden Globes, for his role in Quills
2002 - Best Actor in a Leading Role at the AFI Awards, for his role in Swimming
Upstream
2006 - Best Supporting Actor at the AFI Awards, for his role in Candy
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