Guy Pearce Biography

GUY PEARCE

Date of Birth: October 5, 1967

Before landing the coveted role of a cop in the noir-flavoured Oscar nominated film L.A. Confidential, Guy Pearce was best known in North America for, as he describes it, "a loud, over-the-top scene Queen." He's talking about his role in the Australian gem of a film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Born in Cambridgeshire, England, Guy Edward Pearce immigrated to the land down under at the age of three with his family. Three years later, his father, who was a pilot, died in a plane crash. By the time Guy was 11, he had become interested in acting and played roles in local amateur plays. In his teens, he began body building and won the title "Mr. Junior Victor" in a body building competition.

The Australian actor became a bit of a heartthrob in his adopted country when he gained national attention at the tender age of 17 as Mike Young in Neighbours, the acclaimed TV series sold around the world. He followed that up with an equally well-received series called Home and Away.

But it was as the flamboyant drag Queen in Priscilla that Guy first came to Hollywood's attention and he's still not sure that he wants to be swallowed by the film business and all its attendant power games that are played out in Los Angeles. "Los Angeles is a machine that is going at a million miles an hour," he says. "Everyone has an agenda; everyone is struggling to get to the top. Living in Australia means I can step on and step off of it."

In 2002, he won a San Diego Film Critics Society Award as Best Actor for his work in Memento (2001). In 2008, he was nominated for an Australian Film Institute award for Best Lead Actor for his work in Death Defying Acts (2007).

Guy also starred in the 2012 films Lockout, Prometheus and Lawless, then went on to play roles in The Rover (2014), Hateship Loveship (2014), Genius(2016), Ridley Scott's sci-fi thriller Alien: Covenant (2017) and the crime thriller Spinning Man (2018).

More recently, he's appeared in the war drama The Catcher Was a Spy (2018) with Paul Rudd, the historic drama Mary Queen of Scots (2018) starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie, and the action film Bloodshot (2020) starring Vin Diesel.

Guy married his childhood sweetheart, Kate Mestitz, in 1997. They lived together for a short time after marrying, but now live apart, reportedly due to his moodiness. In 2004, he told the Scottish Daily Record, "I want us to move in together again but she's not sure if she wants to. She's got used to seven years of independence. I guess it serves me right."

Still separated from his wife, Guy became involved with actress Carice van Houten in 2015. On August 26, 2016, she gave birth to their son, Monte Pearce, though Guy remains married to Kate.

Filmography:

Bloodshot (2020)
Disturbing the Peace (2020)
Lyrebird (2019)
Domino (2019)
The Last Vermeer (2019)
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
Spinning Man (2018)
The Catcher Was a Spy (2017)
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Brimstone (2016)
Equals (2016)
Genius (2016)
Hateship Loveship (2014)
The Rover (2014)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Lawless (2012)
Escape from MS One (2012)
Lawless (2012)
Lockout (2012)
Mildred Pierce (2012)
Prometheus (2012)
Seeking Justice (2012)
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)
Animal Kingdom (2010)
The Hungry Rabbit Jumps (2010)
The King's Speech (2010)
Death Defying Acts (2009)
Fragments (2009)
The Hurt Locker (2009)
The Road (2009)
Bedtime Stories (2008)
Traitor (2008)
Factory Girl (2007)
First Snow (2007)
The Proposition (2006)
A Slipping Down Life (2004)
Two Brothers (2004)
The Hard Word (2003)
Till Human Voices Wake Us (2003)
The Count Of Monte Cristo (2002)
The Time Machine (2002)
Memento (2001)
Rules Of Engagement (2000)
Ravenous (1999)
Woundings (1998)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Dating the Enemy (1996)
My Forgotten Man (1993)
Hunting (1991)
Friday on My Mind (1990)
Heaven Tonight (1990)