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Geoffrey Rush
Instead of having a midlife crisis, I suddenly got into the movies.
— Geoffrey Rush
IF you watched the Oscars in 1997, you may have been asking yourself who that Australian actor was accepting the award for Best Actor, and you wouldn’t be alone. Before his award-winning turn as the psychologically disturbed pianist David Helfgott turned him into an international star, few people outside of Australia had heard of Rush. That doesn’t mean he was a complete stranger to the Hollywood elite. In fact, back in the late seventies, Rush shared an apartment in Australia with a struggling actor by the name of Mel Gibson. The then co-stars in a local production of Waiting for Godot were too poor to furnish the place, so they slept on the floor. We can only hope their surroundings have improved — after all, they need somewhere to display those Oscars.
Shine’s producers originally had trouble securing financing for the film. The investors wanted a “name” actor, and Rush, what with his paltry handful of film credits, certainly didn’t fit the bill. In accepting his Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, he got a bit of revenge on those who doubted him. He ended his speech by saying, “To all those people who were happy to bankroll the film as long as I wasn’t in it, . . . ,” punctuating his screw-you implication by waving his statue in the air. After signing with C.A.A., Rush inked a deal to portray the obsessed inspector Javert in Bille August’s 1998 big-screen adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, in which he co-starred alongside Liam Neeson, Claire Danes, and Uma Thurman. The year also delivered roles in the period films Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love, the latter of which brought him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. The year 1999 marked a more whimsical career arc for the Academy darling — he played a demented disco dictator named Casanova Frankenstein in Mystery Men; and a macabre amusement-park designer in the self-knowingly cheesy horror remake House on Haunted Hill.
Occupation: Actor, Director, Musician, Playwright
Date of Birth: July 6, 1951
Place of Birth: Toowoomba, ,Australia
Sign: Sun in Cancer, Moon in Leo
Relations: Father: Roy Rush (accountant); mother: Merle Rush (sales clerk); wife: Jane Menelaus (actress); kids: Angelica, James
Education: Attended University of Queensland in Queensland, Australia (majored in English); Jacques Lecoq School of Mime, Movement, and Theater in Paris, France
Geoffrey Rush: Credits
MOVIES
Actor
House on Haunted Hill — 1999
Mystery Men — 1999
Shakespeare in Love — 1998
Les Miserables — 1998
Elizabeth — 1998
Children of the Revolution — 1997
Call Me Sal — 1996
Shine — 1996
Dad and Dave — On Our Selection — 1995
Twelfth Night — 1987
Hoodwink — 1981
Other Movie Credits
Oscar and Lucinda — 1997 (Narrator)
TV
Frontline — 1997 (Series; episode)
Mercury — 1996 (Series)
Rush, Geoffrey Web sites
Geoffrey Rush: A Javert’s Javert
Fan site with images, commentary and interviews.
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/2480/geoff…
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Academy Awards: Geoffrey Rush
The actor talks about winning the Academy Award for his role in “Shine.” QuickTime is required.
http://www.tribtv.com/oscars/multimedia/rush96.htm
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Alluring Geoffrey Rush
Page includes complete filmography, biography, awards and links.
http://www.resoftlinks.com/cinema/geoffreyrush.sht…
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Film Scouts: Geoffrey Rush
Movie magazine provides an audio file of an interview with the actor. QuickTime is required.
http://www.filmscouts.com/people/geo-rus.asp
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Geoffrey Rush Corner
Site dedicated to the Australian actor includes streaming video of him saying ‘hello,’ signed photo, bio and awards.
http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/diaz/1020
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Geoffrey Rush Interviews Joseph Fiennes
Actor Geoffrey Rush talks with his “Shakespeare in Love” co-star Joseph Fiennes in this 1999 interview.
http://www.findarticles.com/m1285/8_29/55343551/p1…
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Geoffrey Rush Online
Updates, stage and screen info, interview, guestbook, and links.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Screen/9944/
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
Hollywood.com: Geoffrey Rush
Interview focuses on the actor’s role in “Shine,” and discusses his take on the Academy Awards and his feelings about the film’s emotional impact.
http://www.hollywood.com/pressroom/interviews/grus…
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Interview Magazine: Shine
In “Playing for their Lives,” actors Noah Taylor and Geoffrey Rush discuss their roles in the critically acclaimed film.
http://www.findarticles.com/m1285/n12_v26/19121799…
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Mr. Showbiz Celebrities: Geoffrey Rush
Profile, biography, news and credits.
http://mrshowbiz.go.com/people/geoffreyrush/
Last reviewed by DottieHinkle
Rough Cut Q&A with Geoffrey Rush
Actor known for his stunning portrayal of David Helfgott discusses his own career, as well as his experience with the film.
http://www.roughcut.com/main/drive1_97may4.html#TO…
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Time: Geoffrey Rush
‘Overnight Sensation’ takes a look at Geoffrey Rush’s career before and after “Shine.”
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970331/…
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Photo Gallery-
Topics: Actor, Celebrities, Musician
Tags: Director, Elizabeth, Frontline, Hoodwink, Mercury, Musician, Mystery Men, Playwright, Shine
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