Geoffrey Rush


Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor. He is amongst 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting: an Academy Award for film, a Primetime Emmy Award for television, and a Tony Award for theatre.
In film, he won an Academy Award for Shine, and was nominated for his performances in Shakespeare in Love, Quills, and The King's Speech. He is particularly known for his role as Captain Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, and has appeared in films including Elizabeth, Les Miserables, Frida, Munich, and The Book Thief.
Rush got his start in the Australian stage before making his Broadway debut in Exit the King in 2009, where he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play his performance. He is also known for his work in television playing Peter Sellers in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers on HBO, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award, and as Albert Einstein in Genius on National Geographic.
Over his career he has won an Academy Award, three British Academy Film Awards, 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.

Early life

Rush was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, the son of Merle, 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 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'École Internationale de Théâtre 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.

Career

1980s: Theatre work

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 William Shakespeare's plays The Winter's Tale and Troilus and Cressida. He also appeared in an ongoing production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest as John Worthing .
Rush made his film debut in the Australian film Hoodwink in 1981. His next film was Gillian Armstrong's Starstruck, the following year.

1990s: Film breakthrough, Oscar win

In the 1990s Rush appeared in small roles on television dramas, including a role as a dentist in a 1993 episode of the British television series Lovejoy. Rush also continued his work in theatre. In 1994, 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.
Rush made his film breakthrough with his 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.
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 was used in the opening prologue of the play with the comment that the "Optus Playhouse was opening with a Rush".
In 1998, he appeared in three major films: Les Misérables, Elizabeth, and Shakespeare in Love. He received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the last film. In Les Miserables Rush played Javert opposite Liam Neeson as Jean Valjean. In Elizabeth, Rush portrayed Sir Francis Walsingham alongside fellow Australian Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I. He received a British Academy Film Award nomination for his performance. In Shakespeare in Love, he played Philip Henslowe, a role Academy Award, British Academy Film Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
In 1999, Rush took the lead role as Steven Price in the horror film House on Haunted Hill.

2000s: ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films

In 2000, Rush starred in Philip Kaufman's Quills where he played the Marquis de Sade alongside Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix and Michael Caine. The film was written by Tony Award winning playwright Doug Wright who adapted the film's screenplay from his play. Rush received widespread critical acclaim for his performance with Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers' describing his performance as "volcanic", and "scandalously good". For his performance in the film he received his third Oscar nomination this time for Best Actor.
Rush's career continued at a fast pace, with nine films released from 2001 to 2003. In 2002, Rush played Leon Trotsky to Salma Hayek's Frida Kahlo in Julie Taymor's Frida. In the reaction to the #MeToo Movement, Hayek wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times detailing the harassment Harvey Weinstein perpetrated against her. In the article she wrote about her determination to make the movie and praises Rush for agreeing to act in the film.
In 2003 Rush voiced the role of Nigel the brown pelican in the Disney/Pixar animated film Finding Nemo. That same year starred in the film ', as Captain Hector Barbossa. The film was a massive financial success earning $654.3 million. Rush would continue to reprise the role in its sequels, ', ', ' and
In 2003, Rush played Superintendent Francis Hare in Ned Kelly with Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom and Naomi Watts. That same year he also appeared in the Coen Brothers romantic comedy, Intolerable Cruelty alongside George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
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. He also voiced Nigel the pelican in Finding Nemo.
Rush played actor Peter Sellers in the HBO television film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. For this performance, he won various awards including 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 appeared 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.
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 Eugène 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.
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. He also 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, 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.

2010s: ''The Kings Speech'', continued work

In 2010, Rush returned to the stage, playing Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone on its Australian tour. That same year he also played speech therapist Lionel Logue in Tom Hooper's The King's Speech alongside Colin Firth, and Helena Bonham Carter. The part that earned him a British Academy Film Award win and nominations for the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor.
Rush returned as Captain Hector Barbossa in , 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 played the lead in a theatrical adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's short story The Diary of a Madman at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He won for this role the 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.
In 2011, Rush made a cameo in a commercial, The Potato Peeler, for the Melbourne International Film Festival, playing a Polish farmer. He spoke his lines in Polish for the part. In August 2011, Rush was appointed the foundation president of the newly formed Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. He resigned from the post in December 2017 after Sydney Theatre Company announced they had received an accusation of inappropriate behaviour against him.
, Rush, and Armie Hammer at the premiere of Final Portrait at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival
In 2013, Rush appeared alongside Jim Sturgess in The Best Offer and also appeared in film version of the best-selling novel The Book Thief. Dennis Harvey, critics of Variety Magazine praised his performance writing, that "Rush generously provides the movie's primary warmth and humor".
In 2017, Rush starred in Stanley Tucci's film Final Portrait alongside Armie Hammer. The film had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film received positive reviews from critics earning a 73% from Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus reading, "Final Portrait finds writer-director Stanley Tucci patiently telling a quietly absorbing story, brought to life by a talented ensemble led by Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer.
That same year, Rush starred as Albert Einstein in the first season of National Geographic's limited anthology series Genius. The series was executive produced by Ron Howard and also starred Emily Watson. Rush won widespread acclaim earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination as well as Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
In 2018, upon winning the Screen Actors Guild Award as Winston Churchill for Darkest Hour, Gary Oldman praised Rush as a "giant of acting" along with Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Richard Jenkins, and Denzel Washington.
In 2018, Rush played the character of adult Michael Kingley in Storm Boy released on 17 January 2019.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

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.
YearAwardCategoryProjectResultRef.
1996Academy AwardsBest ActorShine
1998Academy AwardsBest Supporting ActorShakespeare in Love
2000Academy AwardsBest ActorQuills
2010Academy AwardsBest Supporting ActorThe King's Speech
2009Tony AwardBest Actor in a PlayExit the King
2005Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or MovieThe Life and Death of Peter Sellers
2017Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or MovieGenius
1997Golden Globe AwardsBest Actor – Motion Picture DramaShine
1999Golden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Motion PictureShakespeare in Love
2001Golden Globe AwardsBest Actor – Motion Picture DramaQuills
2005Golden Globe AwardsBest Actor – Miniseries or Television FilmThe Life and Death of Peter Sellers
2011Golden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Motion PictureThe King's Speech
2018Golden Globe AwardsBest Actor – Miniseries or Television FilmGenius
1996Screen Actors Guild AwardBest ActorShine
1996Screen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding CastShine
1998Screen Actors Guild AwardBest Supporting Actor ActorShakespeare in Love
1998Screen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding CastShakespeare in Love
2000Screen Actors Guild AwardBest ActorQuills
2004Screen Actors Guild AwardBest Actor in a Miniseries of TV MovieThe Life and Death of Peter Sellers
2010Screen Actors Guild AwardBest Supporting ActorThe King's Speech
2010Screen Actors Guild AwardBest CastThe King's Speech
2017Screen Actors Guild AwardBest Actor in a Miniseries of TV MovieGenius
1997British Academy Film AwardBest Actor in a Leading RoleShine
1999British Academy Film AwardBest Actor in a Supporting RoleElizabeth
1999British Academy Film AwardBest Actor in a Supporting RoleShakespeare in Love
2001British Academy Film AwardBest Actor in a Leading RoleQuills
2011British Academy Film AwardBest Actor in a Supporting RoleThe King's Speech
2009Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Actor in a PlayExit the King
2011Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Actor in a PlayDiary of a Madman
2009Outer Critics Circle AwardOutstanding Actor in a PlayExit the King
1996Australian Academy Film AwardsBest Actor in a Leading RoleShine
1998Australian Academy Film AwardsBest Actor in a Supporting RoleA Little Bit of Soul
2002Australian Academy Film AwardsBest Actor in a Leading RoleSwimming Upstream
2006Australian Academy Film AwardsBest Actor in a Supporting RoleCandy
2011Australian Academy Film AwardsBest Actor in a Leading RoleThe Eye of the Storm
2001Helpmann AwardBest Male Actor in a PlayThe Small Poppies
2008Helpmann AwardBest Male Actor in a PlayExit the King
2010Helpmann AwardBest Male Actor in a MusicalThe Drowsy Chaperone
2011Helpmann AwardBest Male Actor in a PlayDiary of a Madman
2013Helpmann AwardBest Male Actor in a MusicalA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Honours

Since 1988, Rush has been married to actress Jane Menelaus, with whom he has a daughter, Angelica, and a son, James. Rush lives in Melbourne, and spent several years in Castlemaine, Victoria.

Defamation case

On 30 November 2017, the Sydney tabloid newspaper The Daily Telegraph published a front-page article alleging that Rush engaged in "inappropriate behaviour" onstage with a co-star during the Sydney Theatre Company's 2015 production of King Lear. The story contained no corroboration for the allegations, though the STC divulged to the Telegraph that they had received a complaint about alleged sexual harassment by Rush. Eryn Jean Norvill, who had starred as Cordelia alongside Rush, alleged that the actor had touched her inappropriately without her consent and that he had followed her into a toilet during an after-party. The Telegraph's story was picked up various newspapers in Australia but not by the Melbourne Herald Sun, because of concerns that the Telegraph was "running with a yarn which is highly libellous". Rush denied the allegations and, on 8 December 2017, announced that he had filed a defamation suit with the Federal Court of Australia, charging that the Telegraph "made false, pejorative and demeaning claims, splattering them with unrelenting bombast on its front pages". In an affidavit, Rush stated that as a result of the allegations, he had been suffering from anxiety, insomnia and loss of appetite, and felt that "his worth to the theatre and film industry is now irreparably damaged".
During the opening week of the trial, director Neil Armfield spoke in support of Rush. When testifying over a text sent by Rush to Norvill about him "thinking of you more than is socially appropriate", Rush said that he was only using mentoring talk and that a drooling emoji sent to her was the closest to one he wanted to send. In closing arguments, Rush's attorneys claimed that Telegraph journalist Jonathan Moran was looking for "a Weinstein story" and was "motivated by malice". The trial was concluded on 9 November 2018. On 11 April 2019, the judge ruled in favour of Rush, awarding him $850,000. In his written statement defending his ruling, Justice Wigney said that none of Norvill's claims were proven, due to her evidence being "not credible or reliable and contradicted by other members of the cast", and that Rush's evidence was overwhelming. He also criticised the Telegraph for "recklessly irresponsible pieces of sensationalist journalism of the very worst kind".

Further allegations

On 16 December 2018, The New York Times published an interview with Australian actress Yael Stone, who accused Rush of sexual misconduct during the production of a theatre adaptation of Diary of a Madman in 2010 and 2011. She alleged that he had sent her sexually inappropriate texts, had touched her back at an awards show, and had danced naked in front of her while they were in the dressing room. Rush responded in a statement to the Times through his attorneys, saying that Stone's allegations were "incorrect and in some instances have been taken completely out of context. However, clearly Yael has been upset on occasion by the spirited enthusiasm I generally bring to my work. I sincerely and deeply regret if I have caused her any distress. This, most certainly, has never been my intention."