Geoffrey Rush was born on the 6th July 1951 in Toowoomba, Australia, and was raised in Brisbane following the split of his parents. He attended the University of Queensland from which he acquired an Arts degree, and thereafter joined the Queensland Theatre Company. This led to his stage debut in 1971, where he starred in "Wrong Side of the Moon". Several years later. he moved to France, and there attended the Jacques Lecoq School of Mime, Movement & Theatre for a short period of time. He then returned to Australia and continued to act and direct in the Queensland Theatre company.
Geoffrey's film career began with the 1981 movie Hoodwink, though it was not until 1987's Twelfth Night that he secured himself a leading role. Despite this, his impact as an actor remained at its most potent on-stage, where he continued to star in various productions.
Geoffrey unfortunately suffered from a nervous breakdown in 1992, which was relieved by a period of rest, and he then finally achieved notice as a film-actor via his part in the zany comedy, Children of the Revolution. He soon after secured the role in which many protest he made his greatest performance, that of David Helfgott in the multi-award-winning film Shine, which was based on a true story. He earned several best actor awards for his part in the picture, including the 1996 Oscar, and as a result, the doors into the world of film were held wide-open for him. He went on to plant parts in many big film projects, including Les Misérables, alongside Liam Neeson, Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett, and Quills, which comprised of the impressive supporting cast of Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix and Michael Caine.
Geoffrey's consummate skill as an actor earned him another Oscar nomination in 1998 for his supporting role in Shakespeare in Love, and another one followed shortly in 2000 for his powerful turn as the Marquis de Sade in the aforementioned Quills, though he won neither of the awards on these occasions. His big-name status hasn't prevented him from dabbling in all manner of films, however, and he can be found quite happily residing in "less-demanding" movie genres, including horror, comedy and children's entertainment. Examples include his parts in the likes of Finding Nemo, The House on Haunted Hill and Intolerable Cruelty.
If one word might be used to describe Geoffrey Rush as an actor, then it should be "flexible". He can turn his hand to anything, and has been fortunate enough never to fall into that fatal trap of type-casting, his every role being thoroughly individual through his ability to transform himself into any character.
Geoffrey Rush is married to the esteemed Australian actress Jane Menelaus, and they have two children, Angelica and James. They currently reside in Melbourne, Australia, where Geoffrey has been involved in community moves to protect historic sites from being developed upon. He has recently starred in Steven Spielberg's Munich, and has a role in the soon-to-be-released Candy. He will reprise his role as Captain Barbossa in the third Pirates of the Caribbean film following his cameo at the end of the second movie, Dead Man's Chest, and will also resume the mantle of Sir Francis Walsingham in the sequel to Elizabeth which is currently in pre-production.
--with thanks to the IMDb, where the helpful mini-biography was compiled by Gary Brumburgh