Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. Known for often playing eccentric roles on both stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award, making him the only Australian to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, in addition to three BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. Rush is the founding president of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and was named the 2012 Australian of the Year.

Rush began his professional acting career with the Queensland Theatre Company in 1971. He studied for two years at the L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq starting in 1975. Rush starred in international productions of Oleanna, Waiting for Godot, The Winter's Tale and The Importance of Being Earnest. He made his Broadway debut in the absurdist comedy Exit the King in 2009 earning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He received a nomination for Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play for Diary of a Madman in 2011.

Rush won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of David Helfgott in the drama Shine (1996). He was Oscar-nominated for playing Philip Henslowe in Shakespeare in Love (1998), the Marquis de Sade in Quills (2000), and Lionel Logue in The King's Speech (2010). He played Captain Hector Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (2003–2017), and Francis Walsingham in Elizabeth (1998) and its 2007 sequel. He also acted in Les Misérables (1998), Frida (2002), Finding Nemo (2003), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Munich (2005), and The Book Thief (2013).

On television, Rush portrayed Peter Sellers in the HBO television film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004) which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award, the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series. He later was Emmy-nominated for his portrayal of scientist Albert Einstein in National Geographic anthology series Genius (2017).