Guy Pearce
Guy Pearce | |
|---|---|
 Pearce promoting Lawless at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival | |
| Born | Guy Edward Pearce 5 October 1967 Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, UK |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, musician |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse | Kate Mestitz (1997–present) |
Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an English-born Australian[1] actor and musician, known for his roles in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), L.A. Confidential (1997), Memento (2000), The King's Speech (2010), Prometheus (2012), and Iron Man 3 (2013). He also played Mike Young in the Australian television series Neighbours, and has won an Emmy Award and received nominations for Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Saturn Awards.
Early life
Pearce was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire.[2] His mother, Anne Cocking (née Pickering), was a County Durham-born schoolteacher specialising in needlework and home economics, and his father, Stuart Pearce, was a New Zealand-born air force test pilot who died when Pearce was nine.[3][4][5] When he was three years old, Pearce moved to Geelong, Victoria, where his mother ran a deer farm. He attended the Geelong College, a local private school, and was a member of the GSODA Junior Players. From the age of 15 to 22, he was a competitive amateur bodybuilder, leading to the title of Junior Mr. Victoria. He also partook in fencing. He lived in Box Hill North, Victoria in the late 1980s while working on the Australian drama series Neighbours.
Pearce starred in several theatre productions when he was young and at 17 years of age auditioned for his first film role "Life and Study at University" a promotion for University study, produced and directed by Peter Lane of Deakin University. The lead part called for a 23-year old University student and at first he was turned down due to his young age, but his mother insisted that her son could play the part. After repeated assurances that he could handle the role, he was auditioned and accepted. His maturity as an actor was already present as he had mastered the technique of "talking to the camera".
Career
Pearce graduated to television when he was cast in the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 1985, playing the role of Mike Young for several years. Pearce also found roles in other television series such as Home and Away (1988) and Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (1993).
The director/producer/writer Frank Howson cast Pearce in his first three films, and paid for him to go to the Cannes Film Festival in 1991 for the premiere of the Howson-directed Hunting. The accompanying Howson-funded publicity campaign brought Pearce to the attention of the international film industry. He made his first major film breakthrough shortly after, with his role as a drag queen in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994. Since then, he has appeared in several US productions including L.A. Confidential, Ravenous, Rules of Engagement, Memento, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Time Machine.
Pearce portrayed pop artist Andy Warhol in Factory Girl and Harry Houdini in Death Defying Acts. He also appeared in The Road and in Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler.[6]
Pearce continues to perform in Australian films, such as The Hard Word (2002) and the critically lauded The Proposition (2005), written by fellow Australian Nick Cave.
In January 2009, Pearce returned to the stage after a seven-year absence.[7] He performed in the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of Poor Boy, a play with music, co-written by Matt Cameron and Tim Finn.[7]
In 2010, he appeared as playboy David, the Prince of Wales, who became King Edward VIII, in the award-winning film The King's Speech. He is the eponymous lead in the Australian TV miniseries Jack Irish, an adaptation of the detective novels of author Peter Temple broadcast on the ABC network in 2012. In 2013, he played Dr. Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3.[8]
In May 2012, Pearce was cast to star in David Michôd's The Rover.
Videos and awards
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Pearce appeared in Australian band Silverchair's music video for "Across the Night" and in Razorlight's video for "Before I Fall to Pieces." He recorded the soundtrack for A Slipping-Down Life, singing and playing guitar on cover versions of songs by Ron Sexsmith, Vic Chesnutt and Robyn Hitchcock.
On 18 September 2011, Pearce won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries for his work in Mildred Pierce as Monty Beragon opposite Kate Winslet.
Personal life
Pearce has been married to Kate Mestitz, a psychologist, since March 1997.[9] He is a long-standing fan of Australian rules football, and supports the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League.[10] Pearce does not believe in a god but believes "we're all connected."[11]
Filmography
References
- ^ Gary Dretzka (1 June 2003). "An Interview With Guy Pearce". Movie City News. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
- ^ "In profile: Iron Man actor Guy Pearce". Ely-News.co.uk. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ Iley, Chrissy (4 March 2007). "Portrait of the artist". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ "Guy Pearce biography". Tiscali.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
- ^ "Guy Pearce Biography (1967–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
- ^ "It's Bedtime for Keri Russell". Justjared.buzznet.com. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
- ^ a b Tracee Hutchison (27 January 2009). "Guy Pearce returns to the stage". The 7.30 Report. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
- ^ Robert Pattinson Cast In ‘The Rover’ – Will Play Lead In David Michod Action Movie. Deadline.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-21.
- ^ The Adventures of Guy Pearce. MovieMaker Magazine.
- ^ Collingwood Football Club[dead link]
- ^ Lytal, Cristy (27 August 2008). "Actor Guy Pearce is all about the details". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
| Warning | Local parameters are deprecated. |
- Use dmy dates from May 2013
- 1967 births
- Living people
- Actors from Cambridgeshire
- Australian atheists
- Australian film actors
- Australian people of English descent
- Australian people of New Zealand descent
- Australian soap opera actors
- Australian stage actors
- Australian television actors
- English atheists
- English film actors
- English stage actors
- English television actors
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People educated at The Geelong College
- People from Ely, Cambridgeshire
- People from Geelong
- 20th-century English actors
- 21st-century English actors