Guy Pearce

Pearce in January 2011

Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an English-born Australian^[1] actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A. Confidential, a drag queen in the The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Mike Young in the Australian television series Neighbours and King Edward VIII ("David") in The King's Speech. Pearce has won an Emmy Award, and received nominations for Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Saturn Awards.

• 1 Early life
• 2 Career
• 3 Personal life
• 4 Filmography
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Early life

Pearce was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. 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.^[2][3][4] When he was three years old, Pearce moved to Geelong, Australia, 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.

Career

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 Pearce's 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 already present as he had mastered the technique of 'talking to the camera'. Pearce then 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).

Pearce at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

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 U.S. 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.^[5]

Pearce continues to perform in Australian theatre productions as well as Australian films, such as The Hard Word (2002) and the critically lauded The Proposition (2005). In January 2009, Pearce returned to the stage after a seven year absence.^[6] He performed in the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of Poor Boy, a play with music, co-written by Matt Cameron and Tim Finn.^[6]

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.

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.

In May 2012, Pearce was cast to star in David Michod's The Rover. In 2013, he will star as Dr. Aldrich Killian in the movie, Iron Man 3.^[7]

Personal life

He has been married to Kate Mestitz, a psychologist, since March 1997.^[8] He is a long-standing supporter of the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (Aussie Rules).^[9] Pearce does not believe in God but believes "we're all connected."^[10]

Filmography

References

External links

• Guy Pearce at the Internet Movie Database