Geoffrey Rush is one a select few actors who have earned the "Triple Crown of Acting" -- an Oscar, a Tony and an Emmy.
The Australian actor earned his fourth Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Lionel Logue, the King's speech therapist in "The King's Speech." Rush not only stars, but also served as an executive producer of the film, which is nominated for Best Picture of the Year.
Rush's talents were discovered long before his currently acclaimed role. He is a theater actor with experience in Shakespeare -- and even mime!
Get to know Geoffrey Rush!
Geoffrey Rush: Oscar Nominee Trivia File
Geoffrey Rush was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. His mother, a department store sales assistant, and father, an accountant, divorced when Rush was five years old. His mother then moved him to live with her parents in Brisbane.
Before acting, Rush attended Everton Park State High School and obtained an Arts degree from the University of Queensland.
While at University of Queensland, Geoffrey was discovered by the Queensland Theatre Company (QTC). At the age of 20 (1971), he began his career in the play "Wrong Side of the Moon." While at QTC, he appeared in 17 productions over the course of four years.
At the Queensland Theatre Company, Geoffrey played roles ranging from Shakespeare to modern.
Other production credits include: "The Winter's Tale," "The Marriage of Figaro," "June and the Paycock," and "The Importance of Being Earnest." After four years at QTC, Rush went to Paris to continue studying at the Jacques Lecoq School of Mime.
Geoffrey's first role was playing a detective in the 1981 Australian film "Hoodwink."
Rush played a floor manager in the 1982 Australian comedy-drama musical film "Starstruck," starring Jo Kennedy, Ross O'Donovan and Margo Lee.
For his critically acclaimed role as pianist David Helfgott in "Shine," Rush won the Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe for Best Actor, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, along with many other critics awards.
After playing Sir Francis Walsingham in the 1998 biographical film "Elizabeth" (for which he won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role), he was intrigued to play him again in the 2007 sequel "Elizabeth: The Golden Age."
Here Geoffrey discusses his interest in the sequel.
Rush played Inspector Javert in the 1998 film adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel "Les Misérables." Also starring in the movie: Uma Thurman, Claire Danes and Liam Neeson.
Playing theater owner Philip Henslowe in the 1998 romantic comedy earned Geoffrey his second Academy Award nomination. He was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award.
Playing the flamboyantly outrageous Marquis de Sade alongside Kate Winslet in the 2000 play adaptation "Quills" earned him his third Academy Award nomination. He won the Florida, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for Best Actor.
Rush played Harold Fingleton, a demanding and abusive father in the 2003 Australian film "Swimming Upstream," and was nominated for the Australian Film Institute Awards, Film Critics Circle of Australia Award and Inside Film Award.
"Hi there. Sorry if I ever took a snap at you. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta eat," says Nigel, the friendly brown pelican voiced by Geoffrey Rush in the 2003 Pixar film, "Finding Nemo."
Geoffrey Rush has played the vengeful Captain Hector Barbossa in all three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and will be part of the fourth film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" — set for release on May 20, 2011.
Playing a middle-aged, neurotic author in the 2002 FOX Searchlight comedy "The Banger Sisters," Rush played opposite Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon.
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
In this 2004 HBO biopic, Geoffrey Rush plays the character of Peter Sellers, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie.
Rush made his Broadway debut on March 26, 2009 starring in a restaging of the absurdist comedy "Exit the King" (at the Ether Barrymore Theatre), where he played alongside Susan Sarandon. For his role, Rush won the Outer Critics Circle Award, Theatre World Award, Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award and the 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.
Watch the NewYorker's John Lahr interview Rush on his role ...
Rush is nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, among nominees Christian Bale ("The Fighter"), Jeremy Renner ("The Town"), Mark Ruffalo ("The Kids Are All Right") and John Hawkes ("Winter's Bone").
Geoffrey discusses his role in 'The King's Speech' with Tribute Movies...
Geoffrey married actress Jane Menelaus in 1988, with whom he has one daughter, Angelica (born 1992), and one son, James (born 1995).
His Favorite Five Films of All Time
While it's hard to narrow it down to only five, Rush's favorite movies of all-time are: "City Lights" (1931), "Amarcord" (1973), "Persona" (1966), 'Zelig" (1983) and "War and Peace" (1967) — according to RottenTomatos.com.
He is currently promoting "The King's Men" with a shaved head, as it's for his current role, playing the civil servant Poprishchin in the play "The Diary of a Madman." It is currently running at the BAM Harvey Theater in New York until March 12.
Rush currently has two films in which he stars in post-production — "The Eye of the Storm" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."
