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Geoffrey Rush
Height
6' (1.83 m)
Mini biography
Raised in Brisbane, Australia after his parents' split,
actor Geoffrey Rush's early interest in theatre led to
his 1971 stage debut in "Wrong Side of the Moon" with
the Queensland Theatre Company. Known for his classical
work over the years, he scored an unexpected hit with
his role as Snoopy in the musical "You're a Good Man,
Charlie Brown" the following year. A few years later he
moved to France for studying but returned to his
homeland within a short time and continued work as both
actor and director with the Queensland stage group. He
made an inauspicious debut in films with the 1981
feature Hoodwink (1981) and didn't have his first major
role until playing Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night
(1987), but remained a durable presence for the most
part on stage with acclaimed productions in "The Diary
of a Madman" in 1989 and "The Government Inspector" in
1991. Geoffrey suffered a temporary nervous breakdown in
1992 due to overwork and rested for a time. Filmgoers
finally took notice with his performance in Children of
the Revolution (1996), which led to THE role of a
lifetime as the alarmingly dysfunctional piano prodigy
David Helfgott in Shine (1996). Rush's astonishing
tour-de-force performance won him every conceivable
award imaginable, including the Oscar, Golden Globe,
British Film Award and Australian Film Institute Award.
The role not only put him on the international map, but
on the "A" list in Hollywood. His homely mug yet
completely charming and captivating demeanor allowed him
to dissolve into a number of fascinating historical
portrayals over the years, notably as Javert in
Misérables, Les (1998), Walsingham in Elizabeth (1998),
and as the Marquis de Sade in Quills (2000). On the
other hand, he's allowed himself to have a bit of hammy
fun in such box office escapism as Mystery Men (1999),
House on Haunted Hill (1999), The Banger Sisters (2002),
Finding Nemo (2003) and Pirates of the Caribbean: The
Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). More than validating
his early film success, two more Oscar nominations came
his way in the same year for Quills (2000) (best actor)
and Shakespeare in Love (1998) (support actor) in 2000.
Geoffrey's amazing versatility continues to impress,
most recently as the manic, comedic genius Peter Sellers
in a 2004 biopic The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
(2004).

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