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Geoffrey Rush

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Geoffrey Rush



 
 
Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He moved to Melbourne
Melbourne

Melbourne is the more common name for the geographic region and Census in Australia of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area. It is the second List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million and serves as the List of Australian capital cities of Victoria ....
 in the early 1990s via Brisbane
Brisbane

Brisbane is the state List of Australian capital cities of Queensland and its most populous city. It is also the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, behind southern rivals Sydney and Melbourne....
 and Sydney
Sydney

Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
 and currently lives in the suburb of Camberwell, Victoria
Camberwell, Victoria

Camberwell is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria , Australia, 9 km east from Melbourne's Melbourne city centre. Its Local Government Areas of Victoria is the City of Boroondara....
.

was born in Toowoomba
Toowoomba, Queensland

Toowoomba is a city in South East Queensland Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane. With an urban population of 95,265, Toowoomba is one of Australia's largest provincial cities....
, Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, the son of Merle (née
Married and maiden names

A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
 Kiehne), a department store sales clerk, and Roy Baden Rush, an accountant
Accountant

An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy, which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision makers make resource allocation decisions....
 for the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF began in March 1912 as the Australian Flying Corps and became a fully independent Air Force in March 1921....
. His parents divorced when he was five, and his mother subsequently took him to live with her parents in the suburbs.






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Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He moved to Melbourne
Melbourne

Melbourne is the more common name for the geographic region and Census in Australia of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area. It is the second List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million and serves as the List of Australian capital cities of Victoria ....
 in the early 1990s via Brisbane
Brisbane

Brisbane is the state List of Australian capital cities of Queensland and its most populous city. It is also the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, behind southern rivals Sydney and Melbourne....
 and Sydney
Sydney

Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
 and currently lives in the suburb of Camberwell, Victoria
Camberwell, Victoria

Camberwell is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria , Australia, 9 km east from Melbourne's Melbourne city centre. Its Local Government Areas of Victoria is the City of Boroondara....
.

Biography


Early life

Rush was born in Toowoomba
Toowoomba, Queensland

Toowoomba is a city in South East Queensland Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane. With an urban population of 95,265, Toowoomba is one of Australia's largest provincial cities....
, Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, the son of Merle (née
Married and maiden names

A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
 Kiehne), a department store sales clerk, and Roy Baden Rush, an accountant
Accountant

An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy, which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision makers make resource allocation decisions....
 for the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF began in March 1912 as the Australian Flying Corps and became a fully independent Air Force in March 1921....
. His parents divorced when he was five, and his mother subsequently took him to live with her parents in the suburbs. Before he began his acting career, Rush attended Everton Park State High School
Everton Park State High School

Everton Park State High School is a small school consisting of approximately 300 students located in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia....
. He began his acting career with the Queensland Theatre Company
Queensland Theatre Company

Queensland Theatre Company is the state's flagship professional theatre company, headed up by multi-award winning playwright and director Michael Gow....
 in Brisbane
Brisbane

Brisbane is the state List of Australian capital cities of Queensland and its most populous city. It is also the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, behind southern rivals Sydney and Melbourne....
. In 1975, Rush took off for Paris for a couple of years, and studied mime
Mime artist

A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech....
 and pantomime
Pantomime

Pantomime is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in Great Britain, Canada, Jamaica, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Republic of Ireland, Gibraltar and Republic of Malta, and is usually performed during the Christmas and New Year season....
 at the famous L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq
L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq

L'?cole Internationale de Th??tre Jacques Lecoq is an international school of theatre situated in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. Founded in 1956 by Jacques Lecoq, the school is a professional two-year course....
 School of Mime, before returning to Australia to resume his stage career. He also has an Arts Degree from the University of Queensland
University of Queensland

The University of Queensland is one of Australia's premier learning and research institutions. The University is a founding member of the national Group of Eight, an alliance of research-strong, mostly "Sandstone universities" committed to ensuring that Australia has higher education institutions which are genuinely world class....
. In 1979, he shared an apartment with actor Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
 for four months, while they co-starred in a stage production of Waiting for Godot.

Stage career

Rush has appeared on stage for Company B
Company B (theatre)

Company B is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia.Company B was formed in 1984 and, under the artistic leadership of Neil Armfield, the company engages Australia's most prominent and promising playwrights, directors and actors....
, and for the Queensland Theatre Company
Queensland Theatre Company

Queensland Theatre Company is the state's flagship professional theatre company, headed up by multi-award winning playwright and director Michael Gow....
 and the Brisbane Arts Theatre
Brisbane Arts Theatre

The Brisbane Arts Theatre is a theatre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Though an amateur theatre, it has showcased notable Australian performers in the past including Carol Burns, Michael Caton, Barry Otto , Judith McGrath , Bunny Brooke and Jennifer Flowers....
, as well as in many other theatre venues, and has worked as a theatre director.

His credits include William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
's plays, The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale

The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, first published in the First Folio in 1623. Although it was listed as a comedy when it first appeared, some modern editors have relabeled the play a Romance ....
 (with the South Australia Theatre Company
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 in 1987 at The Playhouse in Adelaide
Adelaide

Adelaide is the List of Australian capital cities and most populous city of the Australian States and territories of Australia of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia, with a population of more than 1.1 million....
), and Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida

Troilus and Cressida is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602. The play is not a conventional tragedy, since its protagonist does not die....
 (at the Old Museum Building
Old Museum Building, Brisbane

The Old Museum building is in Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills, Queensland, Queensland, Australia.The Old Museum was originally called the Exhibition Building and Concert Hall....
 in 1989). He also appeared in an on-going production of The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde. It premiered on 14 February 1895 at the St. James's Theatre in London.Set in England during the late Victorian era, the play's humour derives in part from characters maintaining pseudonym to escape unwelcome social obligations....
 as John Worthing.

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

Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K?chel-Verzeichnis, is an opera buffa composed in 1786_in_music#Opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro ....
 for the Queensland Theatre Company
Queensland Theatre Company

Queensland Theatre Company is the state's flagship professional theatre company, headed up by multi-award winning playwright and director Michael Gow....
. This was the opening production of the Optus Playhouse, at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Queensland Performing Arts Centre

The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is a performing arts centre located amidst the picturesque surroundings of South Bank, Queensland, on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street, in Queensland, Australia, near the Brisbane central business district ....
 at South Bank
South Bank, Queensland

South Bank is part of the Brisbane suburb of South Brisbane, Queensland and is located on the south bank area of the Brisbane River.South Bank is possibly best known for South Bank Parklands, Brisbane which were established on the former site of Expo '88, as well as the location of the Queensland Cultural Centre ....
 in Brisbane
Brisbane

Brisbane is the state List of Australian capital cities of Queensland and its most populous city. It is also the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, behind southern rivals Sydney and Melbourne....
. A pun
Pun

A pun, or paronomasia, is a form of word play that deliberately exploits ambiguity between similar-sounding words for humour or rhetorical effect....
 on Geoffrey 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".

In 2007, he starred as King Berenger in a production of Eugene Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco

Eug?ne Ionesco, born Eugen Ionescu , was a Romanian and France playwright and dramatist, one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd....
's Exit the King at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne and Company B
Company B

Company B may refer to:*Company B - a dance-pop trio.**Company B , Company B's 1987 debut album.*Company B - a theatre company.Company B - A marketing and Public Relations firm in Milwaukee, WI...
 in Sydney, directed by Neil Armfield
Neil Armfield

Neil Geoffrey Armfield Order of Australia is an Australian director of theatre, film and opera.Born in Sydney, Armfield was the second of three boys....
.

Film career

Rush's film debut was in the Australian film Hoodwink
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
 in 1981. His next film was Gillian Armstrong
Gillian Armstrong

Gillian Armstrong is an award-winning Australian film director and documentaries....
's Starstruck
Starstruck (1982 film)

Starstruck is a 1982 in film Australian comedy-drama musical film starring Jo Kennedy, Ross O'Donovan and Margo Lee about two teenagers trying to make their break into the music industry....
, the following year. In 1996, he starred in Shine
Shine (film)

Shine is a 1996 Australian film based on the life of piano David Helfgott, who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions. It stars Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Noah Taylor, John Gielgud, Googie Withers, Justin Braine, Sonia Todd, Chris Haywood, and Alex Rafalowicz....
, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
, becoming the first Australian-born actor to win an Oscar. From that point on, his film 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
Francis Walsingham

Sir Francis Walsingham is usually remembered as the "spymaster" of Queen regnant Elizabeth I of England. Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence both for espionage and for domestic security....
; and Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love

Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 in film romantic comedy/drama film. The film was directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....
 in which he played Philip Henslowe, the acting company manager who remained calm in the midst of chaos (and received an Academy Award
Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
 nomination for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
). In 1999, Rush departured from his usual dramatic stint and took the lead role as Steven Price in the horror flick House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill

House on Haunted Hill is a horror film B movies directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren....
. In 2000, he received his third Academy Award nomination, for Quills
Quills

Quills is a 2000 in film Period piece directed by Philip Kaufman and adapted from the Obie Award-winning play by Doug Wright, who also wrote the original screenplay....
, in which he played the Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade

Donatien Alphonse Fran?ois de Sade, Marquis de Sade was a France aristocrat, revolutionary and novelist. His novels were philosophical novel and sadomasochistic, exploring such controversial subjects as rape, bestiality and necrophilia....
.

, May 2007]] Rush's career continued at a fast pace, with nine films released from 2001 through 2003. He starred in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 in film adventure film, based on the Pirates of the Caribbean at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts....
, as Captain Hector Barbossa
Hector Barbossa

Hector Barbossa is a fictional character in the popular Disney film trilogy Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Barbossa was first introduced in the series as the primary antagonist in the trilogy's first installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl....
, also appearing in its sequels,
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 in film adventure film of the Pirates of the Caribbean , the sequel to the 2003 in film film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and the first film from Walt Disney Pictures to feature the current logo....
and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Rush reprised his character's voice for the enhancements at the Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar The Walt Disney Company franchise encompassing a theme park ride, a series of Pirates of the Caribbean and spinoff novels as well as numerous video games and other publications....
 attractions at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. The first park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1971. The park saw an estimated 17 million visitors in 2007, making it the most visited theme park in the world....
 theme parks, which involved an Audio-Animatronic with Rush's likeness being installed (including one at Tokyo Disneyland). He also voiced Nigel
Nigel

Nigel is an English language male given name of Anglo-Norman origin and is another form of N?el and Neil.The origin of the name is unusual, as it comes from the form medieval scribes writing in Latin used to "translate" the Norman name N?el and later the English one Neil, and the "g" in the name comes from wrongly associati...
 the pelican in
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo is a 2002 in film CGI animation film. It was written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures....
.

Rush played actor Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers

'Richard Henry Sellers', Order of British Empire, commonly known as 'Peter Sellers' was a United Kingdom comedian and actor best known for his roles in Dr....
 in the television film
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers is a 2004 in film about the life of British comic actor Peter Sellers, based on Roger Lewis's The Life and Death of Peter Sellers ....
. For this performance, he won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 for Best Actor in a Mini-series or Movie. In 2005, he starred in Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. Forbes magazine places Spielberg's net worth at $3.1 billion....
's film
Munich
Munich (film)

Munich is a 2005 in film fictional film about the Israeli government's secret retaliation after the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes by Black September gunmen....
as Ephraim, a cold Mossad officer.

In 2006, Rush hosted the Australian Film Institute Awards
Australian Film Institute Awards

The Australian Film Institute Awards are awards of merit presented annually by the Australian Film Institute. The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors, actors and writers....
 for the Nine Network
Nine Network

The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian Television broadcasting in Australia based in Willoughby, New South Wales, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney....
. He was the master of ceremonies
Master of Ceremonies

A Master or Mistress of Ceremonies or MC , sometimes called a comp?re or an MJ for "microphone jockey," is the Host of an official public or private staged event or other performance....
 again at the 2007 AFI Awards.

Rush is interested to return in Pirates of the Caribbean 4 as Captain Hector Barbossa starring Johnny Depp who has signed on as of September 2008. If he does a probable story will be them going to find the fountain of youth, a prospect raised in World's End.

In the beginning of 2009, Rush appeared in a series of special edition postage stamps featuring some of Australia's great actors. He, Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett

Catherine ?lise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian Actor and theatre director. She has won multiple acting awards, most notably two Screen Actors Guild Awardss, two Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTAs, an Academy Award, as well as the Volpi Cup at 64th Venice International Film Festival....
, Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe

Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealand-born Australian actor and musician. His acting career began in the early 1990s with roles in Australian TV series such as Police Rescue and films such as Romper Stomper....
, and Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman

Nicole Mary Kidman, Order of Australia is an Academy Award-winning Hawaiian-born Australian actress, fashion model, singer, United Nations Citizen of the World award-winning humanitarian, and a UNIFEM and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador....
 each appear twice in the series: once as themselves and once as their Academy Award-winning character.

Personal life

Rush lives in Camberwell
Camberwell, Victoria

Camberwell is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria , Australia, 9 km east from Melbourne's Melbourne city centre. Its Local Government Areas of Victoria is the City of Boroondara....
, a suburb of Melbourne
Melbourne

Melbourne is the more common name for the geographic region and Census in Australia of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area. It is the second List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million and serves as the List of Australian capital cities of Victoria ....
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)

File:Map Victoria Aboriginal tribes .jpgVictoria is a States and territories of Australia located in the southeastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but the most Population density and urbanised....
, 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
Camberwell railway station, Melbourne

Camberwell is a railway station which serves the Belgrave railway line, Melbourne, Lilydale railway line, Melbourne and Alamein railway line, Melbourne lines in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Camberwell, Victoria, Victoria , Australia....
 from demolition by developers and championing a National Trust of Australia
National Trust of Australia

The Australian Council of National Trusts is a community-based, non-government organisation, committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage by assisting the work of the State Trusts....
 (Victoria) poll for the Victorian Heritage Icons Awards
Australian Film Institute Awards

The Australian Film Institute Awards are awards of merit presented annually by the Australian Film Institute. The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors, actors and writers....
.

Since 1988, Rush has been married to actress Jane Menelaus
Jane Menelaus

Jane Menelaus is an Australian actress who trained at the prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England....
, with whom he has a daughter, Angelica (born 1992) and a son, James (born 1995).

Australian stamp honour

Geoffrey Rush is among the people who are featured on the series of "Australian Legends" 55 cent stamps.

Awards won

Awards Rush has won include:
  • Golden Globe
  • BAFTA
  • Emmy
  • AFI
    Australian Film Institute Awards

    The Australian Film Institute Awards are awards of merit presented annually by the Australian Film Institute. The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors, actors and writers....
  • Academy Award
    Academy Award for Best Actor

    Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....


Filmography and awards


External links

  • Australian Film Commission
    Australian Film Commission

    The Australian Film Commission was an Australian government agency with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history....
  • - Stage acting credits
  • - The Cinematic Hats of Geoffrey Rush