Actor Geoffrey Rush was little known outside his native Australia when he soared to international prominence on the wings of his remarkable portrayal of eccentric pianist David Helfgott in Scott Hicks' acclaimed biopic "Shine" (1996), for which he won a slew of awards, including an Oscar for Best Actor. Arguably his country's top stage actor, he had made his mark specializing in madmen, clowns and misfit alcoholics – in his own words "marginalized eccentrics.” Though suited to play the former musical prodigy sidelined by mental illness, it was his own 1992 "down on all fours, barking mad" breakdown which provided the unique insight for his passionate performance. Though Rush's anonymity made Hicks' job of raising money even more difficult, the director stuck by his casting choice and on a budget of $4.5 million made a film that had all the distributors salivating after its showing at the Sundance Film Festival. The overnight sensation knew he was onto something special with his initial reading of the script: "This is me. This is the one I've been waiting for.”
Born on July 6, 1951 in the small town of Toowoomba and raised in Brisbane, the tall, lanky Rush spent two years in Paris studying mime, movement and theater at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq, before returning Down Under to embark on his stage career. In 1979, he and future superstar Mel Gibson acted opposite one another in a Sydney production of Samuel Beckett's classic "Waiting for Godot" and shared an apartment. According to Gibson, "It was pretty desperate. We would sit on the floor and eat dinner and stuff. One of us used to drag in the occasional virgin and sacrifice her on a Friday night." Within ten years, Rush had established himself as a preeminent Australian thespian, receiving numerous awards in the title role of "The Diary of a Madman" in 1989 and subsequently delivering critically-regarded turns in "Uncle Vanya" and David Mamet's "Oleanna.” He also directed frequently and exhibited his talents translating "The Government Inspector" (in which he starred) and adapting Aristophanes' "The Frogs.”
In contrast with his stage success, Rush's feature career moved at a slower pace. He made his debut as Detective 1 in "Hoodwink" (1981), starring Judy Davis, and had another bit role in Gillian Armstrong's gaudy musical comedy "Star Struck" (1982). But his first significant film role was as Sir Andrew Aguecheek in a problematic adaptation of "Twelfth Night" (1986). His first lead came as the oldest son of Leo McKern and Joan Sutherland in "Dad and Dave - On Our Selection" (1995), a comedy about a turn-of-the-century family living in the Australian bush which also featured "Shine" co-star Noah Taylor. Rush also appeared in support of Davis and Sam Neill in Peter Duncan's wild political satire "Children of the Revolution" the same year that he burst into the public's consciousness in "Shine.” To capture Helfgott's clash of chaos and calm, he immersed himself in the pianist's loopy ramblings captured on tape and he resumed piano lessons –suspended when he was 14 – in order to play portions of the classical repertoire. It may have been Helfgott on the soundtrack, but it was Rush's fingers – not a double's – playing on screen.
Although "Shine" was a tough act to follow, Rush chose dark and driven supporting roles that complemented his unconventional looks, turning in three outstanding performances in 1998. In Billie August's retelling of Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables,” he avoided playing the dogged Inspector Javert (to Liam Neeson's Jean Valjean) as an outright villain, stressing instead the self-inflicted torture of a man fighting his own demons. As Sir Francis Walsingham, the mysterious Master of Spies, in "Elizabeth,” starring Cate Blanchett, he kept the audience guessing about his loyalties, and as the Bard's "scabby little theatrical producer," he got to recite some of the catchiest quips of "Shakespeare in Love" and picked up a second Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actor.
After marking time in box-office duds like "Mystery Men" and "The House on Haunted Hill" (both 1999), Rush received some of the best reviews of his career playing the sadistic Marquis de Sade in "Quills" (2000). Preening and prancing about like a decadent 18th-century rock star, Rush turned de Sade into a charming, wickedly humorous but quite intelligent creature. Although some critics questioned the choice of casting, most felt that Rush was superlative in the role and he earned another Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He followed with another literary-based character, playing the title role in "The Tailor of Panama" (2001), adapted from John Le Carre's spy novel. As the Cockney ex-con turned clothing maker, Rush found another role in which he could display his acting prowess and sharp comedic timing.
Stardom had not really affected Rush, though, as he still willingly turns down high-salaried parts in favor of earning $600 a week on the boards back home in Australia, flabbergasting studio executives who cannot fathom that a no-money theater project would take priority over such important offers as theirs. As a result, Rush has enlivened independents like the critically-hailed Australian film "Lantana" (2001), playing the troubled John Knox, and "Frida" (2002) in which he plays the legendary figure Leon Trotsky, one of the lovers of artist Frida Kahlo. But Rush was not afraid of quirky roles in more commercial fare, taking on the role of Henry, the repressed, timorous writer whose life is enlivened by rock groupie Goldie Hawn in "The Banger Sisters," voicing Nigel the pelican in Disney/Pixar's "Finding Nemo" (2003) and a delightfully snarly turn as the vengeful, villainous Barbossa for Disney's film version of its beloved theme park attraction "The Pirates of the Caribbean.” He finished off the year with a brief. but finely measured turn as an outraged Hollywood producer who surprises his wife with the pool man (though they didn't have a pool) and turns to a hot shot divorce lawyer (George Clooney) in the Coen Brothers' screwball romantic comedy "Intolerable Cruelty" (2003).
In “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers” (2004), a made-for-cable biography on the strange life of the enigmatic and egotistical actor, Rush used all his talents to give an accurate and amusing performance. The result of his efforts earned Rush his second Golden Globe Award in 2005, this time for Best Actor in a television miniseries or movie. Rush continued to earn awards for his performance by snaring a 2005 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. He rounded out the successful year with a perfectly measured performance as the Israeli official who "unofficially" assigned a Mossad operative (Eric Bana) to head up a covert team to exact retribution against the terrorists responsible for the slaying of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in director Steven Spielberg's masterful "Munich" (2005). Rush then made a cameo appearance in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006), an energetic and worthy addition to the swashbuckling franchise. His cameo as Captain Barbossa toward the end of “Dead Man’s Chest” set himself up to be a major character for the third installment. Meanwhile, Rush returned to the 16th century for a revival of master spy, Sir Francis Walsingham, in director Shekhar Kapur’s second film about Queen Elizabeth, “The Golden Age” (2007), a look at the Virgin Queen three decades into her reign during a time of continued bloodlust for her throne, the lingering threat of familial betrayal, and her unexpectedly vulnerable and ultimately destructive love affair with Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen).