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Overview

Geoffrey Roy Rush AC (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor and film producer. Rush is the youngest amongst the few people who have won the “Triple Crown of Acting“: the Academy Award, the Primetime Emmy Award, and the Tony Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting (from four nominations), three British Academy Film Awards (from five nominations), two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. Rush is the founding President of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and was named the 2012 Australian of the Year. He is also the first actor to win the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics’ Choice Movie Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for a single performance in film for his performance in Shine (1996).

 

Early life

Rush was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, the son of Merle (Bischof), a department store sales assistant, and Roy Baden Rush, an accountant for the Royal Australian Air Force. His father was of English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry, and his mother was of German descent. His parents divorced when he was five, and his mother subsequently took him to live with her parents in suburban Brisbane. Before he began his acting career, Rush attended Everton Park State High School, and graduated from the University of Queensland with a bachelor’s degree in Arts. While at university, he was talent-spotted by Queensland Theatre Company (QTC) in Brisbane. Rush began his career with QTC in 1971, appearing in 17 productions.

In 1975, Rush went to Paris for two years and studied mime, movement and theatre at L’cole Internationale de Thtre Jacques Lecoq, before returning to resume his stage career with QTC. In 1979, he shared an apartment with actor Mel Gibson for four months while they co-starred in a stage production of Waiting for Godot.

Stage career

Rush made his theatre debut in the QTC’s production of Wrong Side of the Moon. He worked with the QTC for four years, appearing in roles ranging across classical plays and pantomime, from Juno and the Paycock to Hamlet on Ice. Following these, Rush left for Paris where he studied further.

Rush’s acting credits include Shakespeare‘s plays, The Winter’s Tale (with the State Theatre Company of South Australia in 1987 at The Playhouse in Adelaide) and Troilus and Cressida (at the Old Museum Building in 1989). He also appeared in an ongoing production of Oscar Wilde‘s The Importance of Being Earnest as John Worthing (Ernest) (in which his wife, Jane Menelaus, appeared as Gwendolen).

In September 1998, Rush played the title role in the Beaumarchais play The Marriage of Figaro for the QTC. This was the opening production of the Optus Playhouse at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre at South Bank in Brisbane. A pun on Rush’s name (and the circumstances) was used in the opening prologue of the play with the comment that the “Optus Playhouse was opening with a Rush”.

Rush has appeared on stage for the Brisbane Arts Theatre and in many other theatre venues. He has also worked as a theatre director. In 2007, he starred as King Berenger in a production of Eugne Ionesco‘s Exit the King at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne and Company B in Sydney, directed by Neil Armfield. For this performance, he received a Helpmann Award nomination for best male actor in a play.

Rush made his Broadway debut in a re-staging of Exit the King under Malthouse Theatre’s touring moniker Malthouse Melbourne and Company B Belvoir. This re-staging featured a new American cast including Susan Sarandon. The show opened on 26 March 2009 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Rush won the Outer Critics Circle Award, Theatre World Award, Drama Desk Award, the Distinguished Performance Award from the Drama League Award and the 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.

In 2010, Rush played Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone on its Australian tour.

In 2011, Rush played the lead in a theatrical adaptation of Nikolai Gogol‘s short story The Diary of a Madman at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Rush won for this role Helpmann Award and was nominated for the Drama Desk Award.

From November 2011, Rush played the role of Lady Bracknell in the Melbourne Theatre Company production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Other actors from the 1988 production include Jane Menelaus, this time as Miss Prism, and Bob Hornery, who had played Canon Chasuble, as the two butlers.

Film career

Rush made his film debut in the Australian film Hoodwink in 1981. His next film was Gillian Armstrong‘s Starstruck, the following year. In the coming years he appeared in small roles on television dramas, including a role as a dentist in a 1993 episode of the British television series Lovejoy. He made his breakthrough performance in 1996 with Shine, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. That same year, James L. Brooks flew him to Los Angeles to audition for the part of Simon Bishop in As Good as It Gets, and offered him the role, but Rush declined it (it went to Greg Kinnear).

In 1998, he appeared in three major films: Les Misrables, Elizabeth, and Shakespeare in Love for which he received his second Academy Award nomination as Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In 1999, Rush took the lead role as Steven Price in the horror film House on Haunted Hill. In 2000, he received his third Academy Award nomination, for Quills, in which he played the Marquis de Sade and he voiced the role of Bunyip Bluegum in The Magic Pudding.

Rush’s career continued at a fast pace, with nine films released from 2001 to 2003. He starred in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, as Captain Hector Barbossa, also appearing in its sequels, Dead Man’s Chest, At World’s End, On Stranger Tides, and Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Rush reprised his character’s voice for the enhancements at the Pirates of the Caribbean attractions at the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom theme parks, which involved an Audio-Animatronic with Rush’s likeness being installed (including one at Tokyo Disneyland). He also voiced Nigel the pelican in Finding Nemo.

Rush at the Sydney premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in May 2011

Rush played actor Peter Sellers in the television film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. For this performance, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie,Golden Globe Award for Best Actor Miniseries or Television Film, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie. In 2005, he starred in Steven Spielberg‘s Munich as Ephraim, a Mossad agent.

In 2006, Rush hosted the Australian Film Institute Awards for the Nine Network. He was the Master of ceremonies again at the 2007 AFI Awards.

In the beginning of 2009, Rush appeared in a series of special edition postage stamps featuring some of Australia’s internationally recognised actors. He, Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, and Nicole Kidman each appear twice in the series. Rush’s image is taken from Shine.

In 2010, Rush played speech therapist Lionel Logue in The King’s Speech, a part that earned him a BAFTA and nominations for the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor.

Rush returned as Captain Hector Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, starring Johnny Depp, in 2011. Rush is also preparing for a film version of The Drowsy Chaperone, an award-winning stage musical. In addition, he voiced the alien Tomar-Re in the film adaptation of the Green Lantern comic book series.

In 2011, Rush made a cameo in a commercial, The Potato Peeler, for the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), playing a Polish farmer. He spoke his lines in Polish for the part.

In August 2011 he was appointed the foundation President of the newly formed Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.

In 2013, Rush starred alongside Jim Sturgess in The Best Offer and the film version of the best-selling novel The Book Thief.

Personal life

Since 1988, Rush has been married to actress Jane Menelaus, with whom he has a daughter, Angelica (born 1992), and a son, James (born 1995). Rush lives in Melbourne.

Filmography

Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
1979-1981 Consumer Capers Jim Boy TV series
1981 Hoodwink Detective 1
1981 Menotti TV series
1982 Starstruck Floor Manager
1987 Twelfth Night Sir Andrew Aguecheek
1995 Dad and Dave: On Our Selection Dave Rudd
1996 Shine David Helfgott (adult) Academy Award for Best Actor
Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor Male
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor Motion Picture Drama
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Satellite Award for Best Actor Motion Picture Drama
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Actor
NominatedChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
NominatedChicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor
NominatedNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
NominatedScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
NominatedSoutheastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
1996 Mercury Bill Wyatt TV series
1996 Children of the Revolution Zachary Welch
1997 Frontier Soldier Administrator David Collins TV miniseries
1997 Oscar and Lucinda Narrator (voice)
1998 A Little Bit of Soul Godfrey Usher NominatedAustralian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1998 Elizabeth Sir Francis Walsingham BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1998 Les Misrables Inspector Javert
1998 Shakespeare in Love Philip Henslowe Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
NominatedAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
NominatedBlockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor Comedy/Romance
NominatedGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture
NominatedSatellite Award for Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture
NominatedScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
1999 Mystery Men Casanova Frankenstein
1999 House on Haunted Hill Stephen H. Price
2000 Quills Marquis de Sade Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Satellite Award for Best Actor Motion Picture Drama
NominatedAcademy Award for Best Actor
NominatedBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
NominatedBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
NominatedChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
NominatedDallasFort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
NominatedGolden Globe Award for Best Actor Motion Picture Drama
NominatedOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
NominatedScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
NominatedSoutheastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
2000 Magic Pudding, TheThe Magic Pudding Bunyip Bluegum (voice)
2001 The Tailor of Panama Harold “Harry” Pendel
2001 Lantana John Knox
2002 Frida Leon Trotsky
2002 Banger Sisters, TheThe Banger Sisters Harry Plummer
2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Captain Hector Barbossa NominatedMTV Movie Award for Best Villain
NominatedSatellite Award for Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture
NominatedSaturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
2003 Swimming Upstream Harold Fingleton NominatedAustralian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
NominatedFilm Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor Male
NominatedInside Film Award for Best Actor
2003 Ned Kelly Superintendent Francis Hare
2003 Finding Nemo Nigel (voice)
2003 Intolerable Cruelty Donovan Donaly
2003 Harvie Krumpet Narrator (voice)
2004 Life and Death of Peter Sellers, TheThe Life and Death of Peter Sellers Peter Sellers Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
NominatedBritish Independent Film Award for Best Actor
NominatedLondon Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
NominatedSatellite Award for Best Actor Miniseries or Television Film
2005 Munich Mossad case officer Ephraim NominatedWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Captain Hector Barbossa Cameo (uncredited)
2006 Candy Casper Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
NominatedAustralian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Captain Hector Barbossa
2007 Elizabeth: The Golden Age Sir Francis Walsingham
2008 $9.99 Angel (voice)
2009 Bran Nue Dae Father Benedictus
2010 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole Ezylryb & Lyze of Kiel (voice only) (voice)
NominatedAnnie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
2010 King’s Speech, TheThe King’s Speech Lionel Logue Also Producer
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
Santa Barbara International Film Festival for Best Ensemble Cast
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble
NominatedBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedDallasFort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedDenver Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedDetroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture
NominatedHouston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedLas Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedNational Movie Award for Best Performance of the Year
NominatedNorth Texas Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
NominatedPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedSan Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedSatellite Award for Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture
NominatedScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
NominatedSt. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedToronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedUtah Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedVancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
NominatedWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
2010 Lowdown Narrator (voice)
2010 Warrior’s Way, TheThe Warrior’s Way Ron
2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Captain Hector Barbossa NominatedPeople’s Choice Award for Favorite Ensemble Movie Cast
2011 Green Lantern Tomar-Re (voice)
2011 Eye of the Storm, TheThe Eye of the Storm Basil Hunter NominatedAACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
NominatedFilm Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor Male
NominatedInside Film Award for Best Actor
2013 The Best Offer Virgil Oldman
2013 The Book Thief Hans Hubermann NominatedAACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actor
2014 Unity Narrator Documentary
2015 The Daughter Henry Neilson
2015 Minions The Narrator (voice)
2015 Holding the Man Barry
2015 Who Do You Think You Are? Himself TV series
Episode: “Geoffrey Rush”
2016 Gods of Egypt Ra
2017 Final Portrait Alberto Giacometti
2017 Genius Albert Einstein NominatedPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
2017 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Captain Hector Barbossa
2019 Land Down Under Narrator (UK and Australasian version) (voice)
TBA Storm Boy Mike “Storm Boy” Kingley Pre-production, Main Role

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Year Category Film Result
1996 Best Actor Shine Won
1998 Best Supporting Actor Shakespeare in Love Nominated
2000 Best Actor Quills Nominated
2010 Best Supporting Actor The King’s Speech Nominated

AACTA / AFI Awards

Year Category Film Result
1996 Best Actor in a Leading Role Shine Won
1998 Best Actor in a Supporting Role A Little Bit of Soul Nominated
2002 Best Actor in a Leading Role Swimming Upstream Nominated
2006 Best Actor in a Supporting Role Candy Nominated
2011 Best Actor in a Leading Role The Eye of the Storm Nominated

BAFTA Awards

Year Category Film Result
1996 Best Actor in a Leading Role Shine Won
1998 Best Actor in a Supporting Role Elizabeth Won
1998 Best Actor in a Supporting Role Shakespeare in Love Nominated
2002 Best Actor in a Leading Role Quills Nominated
2010 Best Actor in a Supporting Role The King’s Speech Won

Golden Globe Awards

Year Category Film Result
1996 Best Actor Motion Picture Drama Shine Won
1998 Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture Shakespeare in Love Nominated
2002 Best Actor Motion Picture Drama Quills Nominated
2004 Best Actor Miniseries or Television Film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers Won
2010 Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture The King’s Speech Nominated

Helpmann Awards

Year Category Production Result
2001 Best Male Actor in a Play The Small Poppies Nominated
2008 Best Male Actor in a Play Exit the King Nominated
2010 Best Male Actor in a Musical The Drowsy Chaperone Nominated
2011 Best Male Actor in a Play The Diary of a Madman Won
2013 Best Male Actor in a Musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Won

Other awards