Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush is an Australian TV, film and stage actor that has appeared in movies as Shine and Elizabeth. He portrayed Captain Hector Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise. On stage, he took on roles in Revenger's Tragedy, King Lear, Twelfth Night and Exit the King. He has appeared in TV series such as Lowdown and Mercury. His performances in Shine, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and Quills have garnered him multiple awards.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001691/

Rush won Best Actor at the 1997 Academy Awards for his performance in Shine. He also received the Global Achievement Award from the Australian Film Institute and won Best Supporting Actor at the 1999 BAFTA Film Awards for his role in Elizabeth. Additionally, he won Best Supporting Actor at the 2010 British Independent Film Awards for his work in The King's Speech. His performance in the film also garnered a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001691/awards

Geoffrey Roy Rush was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia on July 6, 1951. He attended Everton Part State High School before he starting his acting career. He went to the acting school at University of Queensland in Brisbane. He later went on to study in France, but quickly returned to Australia to resume acting and directing stage productions. In the 1980s, Rush joined up with the State Theatre Company of South Australia, appearing in productions of Twelfth Night and King Lear.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001691/bio

Parallel to his stage career, Rush found his film debut in 1981 with the movie, Hoodwink. That same year, the actor made his TV debut in the series, Menotti. Six years later, Rush portrayed Sir Andrew Aguecheek in a film adaptation of Twelfth Night. He returned to stage acting for a time and then, in 1992, he suffered a nervous breakdown. After recovering, he gradually went back to stage acting. In 1996, Rush was cast as Robert Helfgott in the bipopic drama, Shine. The film won Rush his first Academy Award. The same year, Rush joined the cast of the TV show, Mercury.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001691/

1998 saw Rush take turns in the film verison of the musical Les Miserables and the historical drama, Elizabeth, which starred Cate Blanchett. He also appeared in Shakespeare in Love, which featured Joseph Finnes and Gwyneth Paltrow. In 2000, Rush starred as the Marquis de Sade in the historical drama, Quills. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the BAFTA Film Awards for his performance. In 2003, the actor played the sea captain, Barbossa, in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

The following year, he made an award-winning portrayal of Peter Sellers in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. He went on to appear in Steven Spielberg's Munich in 2005 and continued on with the Pirates of the Caribbean series, appearing in Dead Man's Chest and At World's End in 2006 and 2007 respectively. In 2010, Rush returned to TV with a recurring role on the comedy series, Lowdown. He also appeared as Lionel Logue in the drama film, The King's Speech.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001691/

July 6, 1951 Born

1997: Wins Academy Award for Shine

1998: Elizabeth

1999: Academy Award Nomination for Shakespeare in Love

2001: Academy Award Nomination for Quills

2001: The Tailor of Panama

2003: Finding Nemo

2003: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

2005: Wins Emmy Award for The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

2006: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

2007: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

2007: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

2008: $9.99

2010: Lowdown (TV)

2010: The King's Speech

2010: The Warrior's Wayhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001691/

"You look for certain resonances, but I don't think it's necessary to try and play it so that the audiences goes — oh, get it? Hopefully they bring their own understanding of that and maybe become intrigued by the fact that these kinds of things are 400 or 500 years old." - Geoffrey Rush, interview with MoviesOnline.cahttp://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_13081.html

"...there is a scary side to acting for me, because I have always wanted to develop rather than plateau out. When people come to me and tell me I was terrific in this or that, I do not want to fall flat on my face the next time. But, tough, I have fallen flat before. You just get up and dust yourself off." - Geoffrey Rush, interview with Shadows on the Wallhttp://shadows.wall.net/features/sw-ps1.htm