Guy Pearce Biography

Guy Pierce}}

Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is a British-Australian actor and musician. He is well known for having starred in the role of Mike Young in the Australian television series Neighbours and in films such as The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), L.A. Confidential (1997), Memento (2000), The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), The Road (2009), The King's Speech (2010), Prometheus (2012), and Iron Man 3 (2013). In Australian cinema, he has appeared in The Proposition (2005), Animal Kingdom (2010), The Rover (2014), Holding the Man (2015) and The Wizards of Aus (2016). He has won an Emmy Award and received nominations for Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and AACTA Awards. Since 2012 he has played the title role in the TV adaptations of the Jack Irish stories by Australian crime writer Peter Temple.

Early life

Pearce was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. His mother, Anne Cocking (born as Pickering), was from County Durham, England; she was a schoolteacher specialising in needlework and home economics. His father, Stuart Pearce, was a New Zealand-born RAAF test pilot who died flying a GAF Nomad when Pearce was eight. 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 took part 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. At 17 years of age, whilst still at school at Geelong College, he auditioned for his first film role; a part in "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.

Career

Pearce transitioned 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, "Heaven Tonight", "Hunting" and "Flynn", 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.

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. He performed in the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of Poor Boy, a play with music, co-written by Matt Cameron and Tim Finn.

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 May 2012, Pearce was cast to star in David Michd's The Rover. In 2013, Pearce portrayed the villain character Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3.

Pearce had a supporting role in the Neil Armfield's romantic-drama film Holding the Man, as Dick Conigrave. The 2015 film stars Ryan Corr and Craig Stott, with supporting performances from Pearce, Anthony LaPaglia and Geoffrey Rush. Holding the Man was adapted from Timothy Conigrave's 1995 memoir of the same name.

Next to acting, Guy has a lifelong passion for music and songwriting. He released his first album, Broken Bones, in November 2014. Pearce appeared in a documentary special celebrating Neighbours 30th anniversary titled Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015.

Videos and awards

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 married his childhood sweetheart, psychologist Kate Mestitz, in March 1997. In October 2015, Pearce confirmed he had split from Mestitz after 18 years of marriage.

He supports a number of charitable organisations for many causes such as animal rights, animal welfare and protecting ecology.

On 19 March 2016 Pearce and his girlfriend Carice van Houten announced that they were expecting a child, the first for both parents. On the 29th of August 2016 the couple announced the birth of their son on Twitter.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Heaven Tonight	Paul Dysart
1991	Hunting	Sharp
1994	'	Adam Whitely/Felicia Jollygoodfellow
1996	Dating the Enemy	Brett
1997	Flynn	Errol Flynn
1997	L.A. Confidential	Ed Exley	Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1998	Brand New World aka Woundings	Jimmy Compton	New York International Independent Film Award for Best Actor
1999	Ravenous	Capt. John Boyd
1999	'	Drumstrings Casey
2000	Rules of Engagement	Maj. Mark Biggs
2000	Memento	Leonard Shelby	Won - San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Saturn Award for Best Actor
2002	'	Dale	Nominated - Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor
2002	'	Alexander Hartdegen
2002	'	Fernand Mondego
2002	Till Human Voices Wake Us	Dr. Sam Franks
2004	Two Brothers	Aidan McRory
2005	'	Charlie Burns	Nominated - Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor Inside Film Award for Best Actor
2006	First Snow	Jimmy Starks
2006	Factory Girl	Andy Warhol
2008	Death Defying Acts	Harry Houdini	Nominated - Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
2008	Winged Creatures	Dr. Bruce Laraby
2008	Traitor	Roy Clayton
2008	Bedtime Stories	Kendall
2009	In Her Skin	Mr. Barber	aka I Am You
2009	'	The Veteran
2009	'	Staff Sergeant. Matt Thompson	Won - Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2010	'	King Edward VIII	Won - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated - British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
2010	Animal Kingdom	Det. Nathan Leckie	Nominated - Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
2011	33 Postcards	Dean Randall	Nominated - AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
2011	Don't Be Afraid of the Dark	Alex Hirst
2011	Seeking Justice	Simon
2012	Lockout	Marion Snow
2012	TED 2023	Peter Weyland
2012	Prometheus
2012	Lawless	Charley Rakes
2013	Breathe In	Keith Reynolds
2013	Iron Man 3	Aldrich Killian
2013	Hateship, Loveship	Ken Gaudette
2014	The Rover	Eric	Nominated - AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
2015	Results	Trevor
2015	Holding the Man	Dick Conigrave
2015	Lorne	Lorne	Short film
2015	Equals	Jonas
2016	Genius	F. Scott Fitzgerald
2016	Brimstone	The Reverend
2016	Holding the Man	Dick Conigrave

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986-89	Neighbours	Mike Young	496 episodes
1991	Home and Away	David Croft	12 episodes
1994-96	Snowy River: The McGregor Saga	Rob McGregor	65 episodes Nominated - Logie Award for Most Popular Actor (1996)
1997	'	Michael	Movie
1997	Halifax f.p: Deja Vu	Daniel & Richard Viney	Movie
2011	Mildred Pierce	Monty Beragon	HBO miniseries Won - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2012	Jack Irish: Bad Debts	Jack Irish	Movie
2012	Jack Irish: Black Tide	Jack Irish	Movie
2014	Jack Irish: Dead Point	Jack Irish	Movie
2015	Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite	Himself	Documentary
2015	Between a Frock and a Hard Place	Himself	Documentary
2016	Jack Irish	Jack Irish	Six-part series
2016	'	Morgan Wright	TV series/Web series
2017	When We Rise	Cleve Jones	Miniseries