Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush is a popular Academy Award-winning Australian actor and finely seasoned ham.

Starting out on the stage in his native land, he made the move to Hollywood productions in the mid-1990s, making his reputation with his performance as troubled pianist David Helfgott in Shine, which won him the Oscar for Best Actor. A slew of roles in popular films followed, including Elizabeth at its sequel (alongside fellow mid-1990s breakthrough Australian Cate Blanchett), Shakespeare in Love, Quills, the Pirates of the Caribbean films and The King's Speech.

Also following were two additional Academy Award nominations, an Emmy, and a Tony, making him a rare winner of the Triple Crown of Acting. In 2012, he won the Australian of the Year award for his innumerable contributions to culture and the arts. Still not as good as a Grammy, though YMMV on that.


 * David Helfgott in Shine (1996)
 * Inspector Javert in Les Misérables (1997)
 * Sir Francis Walsingham in Elizabeth (1998)
 * Philip Henslowe in Shakespeare in Love (1998)
 * Casanova Frankenstein in Mystery Men (1999)
 * The Marquis de Sade in Quills (2000)
 * Harry Pendel in The Tailor Of Panama (2001)
 * Leon Trotsky in Frida (2002)
 * Nigel in Finding Nemo (2003)
 * Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
 * Reprises the role in Kingdom Hearts II (only in the Australian Dub)
 * Donovan Donaly in Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
 * Ephraim in Munich (2005)
 * Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
 * Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
 * Sir Francis Walsingham in Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
 * Lionel Logue in The King's Speech (2010)
 * The voice of Tomar Re in Green Lantern (2011)
 * Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)


 * Classically-Trained Extra: He's one of the best-respected actors around, and can convincingly mix playing murderous pirates and tortured musical geniuses.
 * Evil Sounds Deep: When he's playing Barbossa, his voice seems to get even raspier.
 * Fake Brit: Much like fellow Aussie Blanchett, so many of his famous roles are British that quite a few people doubtless think he is one.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Possesses a very distinct gravelly set of vocals.
 * Large Ham: Mr. Rush is the only man hammy enough to go head to head with Johnny Depp in the Pirates films.