One of Australia's most respected actors, GEOFFREY RUSH's (Donovan Donaly) career has spanned over 70 theatrical productions and some 20 feature films.
After taking a degree in English at the University of Queensland, Geoffrey traveled to Paris in 1975 to study at the Jaques Lecoq School of Mime, Movement and Theatre. On his return to Australia, he played the Fool opposite Warren Mitchell's King Lear and co-starred with roommate Mel Gibson in Waiting for Godot. He was a principal member of Jim Sharman's pioneering Lighthouse ensemble in the early ‘80s, where he played leading roles in numerous classics.
As a director, he has staged productions for the Queensland Theatre Company, the Adelaide Festival, Company B Belvoir and Magpie Theatre for Young People, for which he served as director for two years. Geoffrey has also staged his own co-adaptation of Aristophanes' Frogs.
In 1989, Geoffrey's lead performance in Neil Armfield's production of The Diary of a Madman earned him the Sydney Critics' Circle Award for Most Outstanding Performance, the Variety Club Award for Best Actor and the 1990 Victorian Green Room Award for Best Actor. This highly acclaimed production toured Moscow and St. Petersburg before a triumphant return season at the Adelaide Festival. For the next three years, Geoffrey received Best Actor nominations in the Sydney Critics' Circle Awards for his starring roles in Gogol's The Government Inspector, the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and Mamet's Oleanna, in which he co-starred with Cate Blanchett. In 1994 Geoffrey received rave reviews for his role as Horatio in the Company B Belvoir production of Hamlet. In the same year, he received the prestigious Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award for his work in theatre.
Geoffrey's Australian film credits include Gillian Armstrong's Starstruck and Oscar and Lucinda; Neil Armfield's Twelfth Night; George Whaley's On Our Selection; Children of the Revolution with Judy Davis and Sam Neill; and A Little Bit of Soul, directed by Peter Duncan. Geoffrey was lauded for his lead role as pianist David Helfgott in Shine, receiving numerous awards, including: AFI, New York and Los Angeles Film Critics' Awards; a Broadcast Film Critics' Award; a Film Critics' Circle of Australia Award; a SAG Award; a Golden Globe Award; a BAFTA Award; and an Oscar for Best Actor. More recently, Geoffrey starred opposite Barbara Hershey in the critically acclaimed Lantana. His upcoming Australian releases include Swimming Upstream.
Geoffrey played Inspector Javert in Les Misérables, directed by Bille August; and Walsingham in Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He played Henslowe in Shakespeare in Love, directed by John Madden, for which he received a BAFTA Award, an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1999, Geoffrey played Casanova in Mystery Men for Universal Pictures; Steven B. Price in House on Haunted Hill, directed by William Malone; and The Marquis de Sade in Quills, directed by Phillip Kaufman. Geoffrey played the role of Harry Pendel in The Tailor of Panama, directed by John Boorman, and will soon appear as Superintendent Hare in Gregor Jordan's Ned Kelly, alongside Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom. Rush's other film projects include The Banger Sisters and Frida, and the recent hits The Pirates of the Caribbean and Finding Nemo. He recently finished production on HBO Films' The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
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