80 Facts About Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Roy Rush was born on 6 July 1951 and is an Australian actor.

Geoffrey Rush began his professional acting career with the Queensland Theatre Company in 1971.

Geoffrey Rush studied for two years at the L'Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq starting in 1975.

Geoffrey Rush starred in international productions of Oleanna, Waiting for Godot, The Winter's Tale and The Importance of Being Earnest.

Geoffrey Rush made his Broadway debut in the absurdist comedy Exit the King in 2009 earning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Geoffrey Rush received a nomination for Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play for Diary of a Madman in 2011.

Geoffrey Rush won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of David Helfgott in the drama Shine.

Geoffrey Rush was Oscar-nominated for playing Philip Henslowe in Shakespeare in Love, the Marquis de Sade in Quills, and Lionel Logue in The King's Speech.

Geoffrey Rush played Captain Hector Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and Francis Walsingham in Elizabeth and its 2007 sequel.

Geoffrey Rush acted in Les Miserables, Frida, Finding Nemo, Intolerable Cruelty, Munich, and The Book Thief.

Geoffrey Rush is known for his performances in television receiving Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie nominations for his portrayals of comedian Peter Sellers in the HBO television film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, and scientist Albert Einstein in National Geographic anthology series Genius, winning for the former.

Geoffrey Rush was born on 6 July 1951 in Toowoomba, Queensland, the son of Merle, a department store sales assistant, and Roy Baden Geoffrey Rush, an accountant for the Royal Australian Air Force.

Geoffrey Rush's father was of English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry, and his mother was of German descent.

Geoffrey Rush's parents divorced when he was five, and his mother subsequently took him to live with her parents in suburban Brisbane.

Geoffrey Rush began his career with QTC in 1971, appearing in 17 productions.

In 1975, Geoffrey Rush went to Paris for two years and studied mime, movement and theatre at L'Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq, before returning to resume his stage career with QTC.

Geoffrey Rush made his theatre debut in the QTC's production of Wrong Side of the Moon.

Geoffrey Rush 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.

Geoffrey Rush made his film debut in the Australian film Hoodwink in 1981.

Geoffrey Rush's acting credits include William Shakespeare's plays The Winter's Tale and Troilus and Cressida.

Geoffrey Rush appeared in an ongoing production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest as John Worthing.

Geoffrey Rush starred opposite Cate Blanchett in a production of David Mamet's two-character play Oleanna at the Sydney Theatre Company.

Geoffrey Rush played a university professor entangled with a student played by Blanchett.

In 1994, Geoffrey Rush played Horatio in a production of Hamlet alongside Richard Roxburgh, Jacqueline McKenzie and David Wenham in the Company B production at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney.

Geoffrey Rush made his film breakthrough with his performance in 1996 with Shine, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Geoffrey Rush had once learned piano up until aged fourteen and retook piano lessons again thirty years later for the role, choosing to perform most of the piano playing himself rather than using a hand double.

In September 1998, Geoffrey Rush played the title role in the Beaumarchais play The Marriage of Figaro for the QTC.

Geoffrey Rush played Javert opposite Liam Neeson as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables.

Geoffrey Rush portrayed Sir Francis Walsingham alongside fellow Australian Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I in the historical drama Elizabeth.

Geoffrey Rush received a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination for his performance.

Finally Geoffrey Rush portrayed Philip Henslowe in the romantic comedy-drama Shakespeare in Love acting opposite Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, and Judi Dench.

In 1999, Geoffrey Rush took the lead role as Steven Price in the horror film House on Haunted Hill, and played the villain in the superhero comedy film Mystery Men.

In 2000, Geoffrey Rush starred in Philip Kaufman's Quills where he played the Marquis de Sade alongside Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix and Michael Caine.

Geoffrey Rush received widespread critical acclaim for his performance with Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers' describing his performance as "volcanic", and "scandalously good".

Geoffrey Rush's career continued at a fast pace, with nine films released from 2001 to 2003.

In 2002, Geoffrey Rush played Leon Trotsky to Salma Hayek's Frida Kahlo in Julie Taymor's Frida.

Geoffrey Rush played Superintendent Francis Hare in Ned Kelly with Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom and Naomi Watts.

Geoffrey Rush starred in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, released in summer 2003, as Captain Hector Barbossa.

Geoffrey Rush would continue to reprise the role in its sequels, Dead Man's Chest, At World's End, On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Geoffrey Rush played actor Peter Sellers in the HBO television film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.

In 2006, Geoffrey Rush hosted the Australian Film Institute Awards for the Nine Network.

Geoffrey Rush was the master of ceremonies again at the 2007 AFI Awards.

Geoffrey Rush has appeared on stage for the Brisbane Arts Theatre and in many other theatre venues.

Geoffrey Rush appeared in the musical film Bran Nue Dae as Father Benedictus alongside Rocky McKenzie, Ernie Dingo, Jessica Mauboy, Missy Higgins, Deborah Mailman, Dan Sultan, and Magda Szubanski.

In 2009, Geoffrey 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.

Geoffrey 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, Geoffrey Rush returned to the stage, playing Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone on its Australian tour.

Geoffrey Rush's performance was praised by critics and earned him a British Academy Film Award win and nominations for the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor.

Geoffrey Rush returned as Captain Hector Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, starring Johnny Depp, in 2011.

Geoffrey Rush is preparing for a film version of The Drowsy Chaperone, an award-winning stage musical.

In 2011 Geoffrey Rush portrayed Sir Basil Hunter in the Fred Schepisi directed adaptation of Australian Nobel laureate Patrick White's novel, The Eye of the Storm.

In 2011, Geoffrey 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.

Geoffrey Rush won for this role the Helpmann Award and was nominated for the Drama Desk Award.

From November 2011, Geoffrey Rush played the role of Lady Bracknell in the Melbourne Theatre Company production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

In 2011, Geoffrey Rush made a cameo in a commercial, The Potato Peeler, for the Melbourne International Film Festival, playing a Polish farmer.

Geoffrey Rush spoke his lines in Polish for the part.

From 2011 to 2017, Geoffrey Rush was served as the foundation president of the newly formed Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.

Geoffrey Rush appeared in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel The Book Thief.

Dennis Harvey of Variety Magazine praised his performance writing, that "Geoffrey Rush generously provides the movie's primary warmth and humor".

Geoffrey Rush's performance earned him a nomination for the AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actor.

From 2015 to 2016 Geoffrey Rush returned to the stage portraying the title character in a revival of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Australia.

Geoffrey Rush returned to television, portraying Albert Einstein in the first season of National Geographic's limited anthology series Genius.

Also in 2017, Geoffrey Rush starred in Stanley Tucci's film Final Portrait alongside Armie Hammer.

In 2018, Geoffrey Rush played the character of adult Michael Kingley in the family drama Storm Boy alongside Finn Little, Jai Courtney, and Trevor Jamieson.

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "provide[s] the opportunity for Geoffrey Rush to deliver one of his more subtle, effective performances in recent years".

Geoffrey Rush is set to star opposite Emma Roberts in the action-comedy film Verona Spies.

Geoffrey Rush is one of the few people to have won the "Triple Crown".

Toni Collette has said that she was influenced by Geoffrey Rush to become an actress after seeing him in the stage performance of The Diary of a Madman in 1989.

Geoffrey Rush has won what is known as the Triple Crown of Acting, meaning an Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award, which represent film, theatre and television respectively.

Geoffrey Rush received his Oscar for his performance in Shine.

Geoffrey Rush has received three other nominations for his roles in Shakespeare in Love, Quills, and The King's Speech.

Geoffrey Rush received his Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in the French absurdist comedy Exit the King.

Geoffrey Rush is the founding president of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and was named the 2012 Australian of the Year.

Geoffrey Rush has received various honours over his career including the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards in 1994.

Geoffrey Rush was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Queensland, in Australia in 1998.

Since 1988, Geoffrey Rush has been married to actress Jane Menelaus, with whom he has a daughter and a son.

On 30 November 2017, the Sydney tabloid newspaper The Daily Telegraph published a front-page article alleging that Geoffrey Rush engaged in "inappropriate behaviour" onstage with a co-star during the Sydney Theatre Company's 2015 production of King Lear.

Eryn Jean Norvill, who had starred as Cordelia alongside Geoffrey Rush, alleged that the actor had touched her inappropriately without her consent.

On 11 April 2019, the judge ruled in favour of Geoffrey Rush, awarding him $850,000.

Geoffrey Rush criticised the Telegraph for "recklessly irresponsible pieces of sensationalist journalism of the very worst kind".