Guy Pearce

Guy Pearce

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Biography

Guy Pearce (born 5.10.1967) Guy Pearce is an Australian film actor and musician. He started out his career in Australian soap operas but has made a successful transition to starring in Hollywood films.

Childhood: Guy Pearce was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. His mother is Ann Cocking (born Pickering). She was born in County Durham and was a schoolteacher, specialising in needlework and home economics. His father, Stuart Pearce, was an air force test pilot. He passed away when Guy Pearce was nine years old.

At the age of three, Guy Pearce moved with his family to Geelong, Australia. His mother ran a deer farm there.

Guy Pearce attended The Geelong College and was also a member of the GSODA Junior Players, a non-professional theatre company. He was also an amateur bodybuilder and won the Mr. Natural Victoria title.

In the late 1980s, he lived in Victoria, whilst he worked on the famous Australian soap opera Neighbours.

Acting Career: Guy Pearce appeared in a number of theatre productions as a child. In 1985, he started working in television when he was cast in the role of Mike Young in Neighbours. Other actors to have appeared in the cast of Neighbours include Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Holly Valance and Russell Crowe. Other television appearances include Home and Away, another Australian soap opera and Snowy River: The McGregor Saga, which also starred Hugh Jackman, who went on to star in the X-Men film series.

In 1991, Frank Howson cast Guy Pearce in Hunting and even paid for Guy to attend the premier of the film at the Cannes Film Festival. The publicity campaign that accompanied the film was successful in bringing Pearce to international attention in the film community.

Pearce's big break in the movie world came in 1994 when he was cast as a drag queen in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. The film also starred Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Julia Cortez.

Other notable films that Pearce appeared in around this time include L.A. Confidential, alongside Kim Basinger and Kevin Spacey as well as Ravenous, which co-starred the British actor Robert Carlyle. He then appeared in Rules of Engagement, a military drama starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson.

The next big leap in Guy Pearce's career came when he was cast in the thriller Memento. The film was directed by Christopher Nolan, who would later take on the Batman franchise.

He went on to star in The Count of Monte Cristo with Richard Harris and The Time Machine, which was based on a novel by H.G. Wells and also starred the Irish pop singer Samantha Mumba.

He then played the New York pop art leader Andy Warhol in Factory Girl. The film centered around the character of Edie Sedgewick, played by Sienna Miller. It also starred Hayden Christensen and Mena Suvari.

This was followed by another historical role, playing Harry Houdini in the film Death Defying Acts, opposite the Welsh actress Catherine Zeta Jones.

In 2008, when John Hillcoat directed the film version of Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road, Guy Pearce was cast as the character of a father, wandering with his family. Other actors in the film include Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall and Charlize Theron.

Also in 2008, Guy Pearce was cast in Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories.

Outside of Hollywood, Guy Pearce has continued to work in the Australian film industry. In 2002 he appeared in The Hard Word, with Rachel Griffiths. Three years later, he starred in The Proposition. The film was written by Nick Cave and also starred Ray Winstone, Emily Watson and John Hurt.

Guy Pearce has also appeared in music videos for bands such as Silverchair and Razorlight. His passion for music came through when he helped to record the soundtrack to A Slipping Down Life, playing guitar on songs by Vic Chestnutt, Robyn Hitchcock and Ron Sexsmith.

Personal Life: Guy Pearce married the psychologist Kate Mestitz, in March 1997.



Biography by Contactmusic.com

Guy Pearce Describes Kevin Spacey As "Handsy" When They Worked On 'L.A. Confidential'


Guy Pearce Kevin Spacey

Actor Guy Pearce has hinted that disgraced former colleague Kevin Spacey might have acted inappropriately while they were working on the film L.A. Confidential together.

Speaking to Australian talk show ‘Interview’ earlier this week, Pearce recalled his time on the 1997 noir masterpiece L.A. Confidential and described co-star Spacey – against whom dozens of accusations of sexual misconduct have been levelled over the last nine months – as “handsy”.

“Yeah… yeah. Tough one to talk about at the moment. Amazing actor; incredible actor. Mmm. Slightly difficult time with Kevin, yeah. He’s a handsy guy,” he told host Andrew Denton, before adding “thankfully, I was 29 and not 14.”

Continue reading: Guy Pearce Describes Kevin Spacey As "Handsy" When They Worked On 'L.A. Confidential'

Brimstone Review

Very Good

An unnerving Western with a sharp female perspective, this film is a series of gruesome surprises from Dutch filmmaker Martin Koolhoven. Told in four chapters that unfold out of sequence, the film's brutality is almost balletic as it explores the horrors of this rampantly male-dominated society. It's also gripping, and the characters and themes are seriously haunting.

The main setting is a small desert town, where the mute Liz (Dakota Fanning) is the local midwife. She lives with her gentle husband Eli (William Houston), their daughter (Ivy George) and his son (Jack Hollington) from a previous marriage. Then a new Reverend (Guy Pearce) arrives in town, and immediately takes exception to Liz. As their feud escalates, the Reverend preaches hellfire and damnation messages specifically about Liz. He's also secretly stalking her and making threats that escalate into serious nastiness. But all of this is connected to Liz's past as a young girl (Emilia Jones) living in a brothel, and earlier with her mother (Carice van Houton) as she encounters a desperate fugitive (Kit Harington).

The further back we go, the more interconnected everything becomes, with unexpected revelations that link the characters. There are also huge plot twists and earth-shattering events that don't always ring true. All of this is anchored by Fanning in a remarkably alert performance that requires her to convey (or attempt to conceal) her thoughts and feelings with her expressive eyes. Opposite her, Pearce is practically twirling his moustache as the sadistic villain, a terrifying psycho without any other sides to him. Thankfully, he's surrounded by characters who are layered and fascinating, providing both a blast of earthy realism and some very deep emotions.

Continue reading: Brimstone Review

Alien: Covenant Review

Very Good

Master filmmaker Ridley Scott is back to continue the story 10 years after the events of 2012's Prometheus. And while this film carries on with the bigger themes about creation and identity, at its heart it actually has much more in common with the film in which he kicked off the franchise, 1979's Alien. Yes, this is a horror movie. It's slickly made and packed with engaging characters, and it gets gruesomely scary too.

The setting is somewhere in space in 2104, as the colonising ship Covenant carries a few thousand sleeping earthlings to a new world, tended to by the android Walter (Michael Fassbender). Then a space flare awakens the 15-person crew, and they hear a rogue radio transmission from a nearby planet that's eerily perfect for colonisation. Captain Oran (Billy Crudup) thinks it's worth checking out, potentially shaving seven years off their journey. First officer Daniels (Katherine Waterston) isn't so sure. But off they go, exploring the spectacular mountainous terrain, where they find a crashed ship and a city populated only by the Prometheus' android David (also Fassbender) and some creepy, acid-salivating creatures that he has something to do with.

The plot plays out like a slasher movie, as the crew members are picked off one by one, starting with the ones we don't know and building up to the starrier cast members. Each main actor gets to invest some back-story into his or her role, establishing relationships and personality quirks that hold the interest. Waterston is clearly the protagonist from the start, grieving over the death of her husband (James Franco in video clips) and showing natural leadership skills. Crudup is the impulsive captain who mellows into someone much more intriguing as the story progresses. And McBride has the other standout role as a tenacious pilot. But of course it's Fassbender who walks off with the film, excelling in scenes in which Walter and David engage in a kind of twisted bromance with nasty sibling-rivalry undertones.

Continue reading: Alien: Covenant Review

Alien: Covenant Trailer


Ten years after the disastrous expedition that was Prometheus, another group of space explorers band together on the ship Covenant, hoping to uncover a previously untrodden paradise. Among them are Daniels, an expert in terraforming, and Walter, a synthetic android who looks like a replica of David though much more advanced. Unfortunately, the paradise they hoped for doesn't exist and instead they bump into David himself who is 'living' in a world full of terrifying creatures. The face huggers are back, the xenomorph is definitely back, and there is a sickness that threatens to engulf them all. 

Perhaps a dark prophecy of what's to come lies in the 'Last Supper' clip, where one of the crew members, Faris, starts apparently choking on her food as the pilot jokes, 'The food's not that bad'. The scene and the words themselves hearken back to the famous chestburster scene from the original 1979 film, where Kane suffers a grisly alien attack during the final meal before cryostasis. Thankfully, this time was just a minor choking incident, and Walter was on hand to save his team member.

'Alien: Covenant' is the second part in the new prequel series for the franchise, and the sequel to 2012's 'Prometheus'. Directed by the Oscar nominated Ridley Scott ('Blade Runner', 'The Martian') with a screenplay by John Logan ('Penny Dreadful', 'Spectre'), it has already made 7th place in the Most Anticipated Films of 2017 in the Indiewire Critics' Poll. The trailer features a sensationally eerie cover of Nat King Cole's 'Nature Boy' by Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora, and the film is set to be released on May 19th 2017.

Kristen Stewart Discusses Her First Kiss & Robert Pattinson Heartbreak


Kristen Stewart Nicholas Hoult Guy Pearce Robert Pattinson Jennifer Lawrence X-Men Rupert Sanders

Kristen Stewart’s first kiss was “horrible”, the 25-year-old actor revealed during a recent interview in which she discussed her latest film, Equals. Stewart’s character in Equals shares her first kiss with Nicholas Hoult’s character. During the interview, Stewart shared details of her own first kiss and it doesn’t sound like it was a very pleasant experience!

Kristen StewartKristen Stewart at the premiere of Equals at the TIFF in September 2015.

Read More: Jesse Eisenberg And Kristen Stewart Reunite For American Ultra.

Continue reading: Kristen Stewart Discusses Her First Kiss & Robert Pattinson Heartbreak

Guy Pearce Was Almost Too Hot To Get Hired


Guy Pearce Stephan Elliott Russell Crowe Kevin Spacey Cobie Smulders

Of all the possible reasons why an actor might receive a "no" when auditioning for a part in the cut-throat world of movies, being "too handsome" must rank among the best of them. But that's exactly the fate that almost befell Guy Pearce before he won the part of Adam Whitely/Felicia Jollygoodfellow in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Guy Pearce at the premiere of The RoverGuy Pearce: too pretty for Priscilla

Director Stephan Elliott recently told The Herald Sun that he had reservations about Pearce starring in the 1994 comedy-drama, which follows the adventures of three drag queens, because the young Guy was just so darn good looking:

Continue reading: Guy Pearce Was Almost Too Hot To Get Hired

Results Review


OK

There's a loose charm to this comedy that disarms the audience, raising smiles instead of laughter as three nutty characters swirl around each other. But writer-director Andrew Bujalski (Computer Chess) seems happy to just let things meander without much sense of momentum and no real underlying point. So the characters become less endearing the more we get to know them.

It's set in a gym in Austin, Texas, where the dim owner Trevor (Guy Pearce) has a dream to create the ultimate holistic fitness centre, a goal constantly belittled by his sharp-tongued employee Kat (Coby Smulders), a fitness-obsessed personal trainer with whom he once had a brief fling. Their newest client is the recently wealthy Danny (Kevin Corrigan), who is just looking for ways to spend money and kill time. But Kat once again blurs professional boundaries, and Danny sacks her. Trevor steps in, offering Danny some whole-life training, which inadvertently convinces Danny to invest in his super-gym, working through a quirky lawyer (Giovanni Ribisi) and an estate agent (Constance Zimmer) who happens to be Trevor's current squeeze. What could possibly go wrong?

Bujalski reveals details about each character slowly, with back-stories and flashbacks thrown randomly into the unfocussed narrative. The film has a brisk pace, but is fairly aimless until more details are revealed about these people. Pearce is very funny as the too-serious Trevor, and his earnestness is the perfect foil for the cynical Kat, who is played with stinging cynicism by the up-for-it Smulders. The problem is that while their mutual physical attraction is believable, the underlying romance isn't. And while Corrigan completes the triangle nicely, he's so disinterested in everything and everyone that it's difficult to imagine him ever developing a proper friendship. Thankfully, the interaction is packed with barbed wit and some intriguingly dark emotion.

Continue reading: Results Review

Johnny Depp Terrifies As Whitey Bulger In The Trailer For 'Black Mass'


Johnny Depp Benedict Cumberbatch Sienna Miller Joel Edgerton Guy Pearce Kevin Bacon Rory Cochrane Jesse Plemons Dakota Johnson

Johnny Depp is almost unrecognisable in the trailer for Black Mass. The 51-year actor plays the notorious American gangster, Whitey Bulger, in the upcoming film. The first official trailer was released on Thursday (23rd April). It shows Depp, with a receding hairline and incredibly piercing blue eyes, intimidating a colleague over dinner. Depp's intimidating voice becomes a voice over as other scenes from the movie, including Depp wielding a gun and dumping a dead body, cut in.

Johnny Depp and Amber HeardJohnny Depp and his wife, Amber Heard.

Read More: Johnny Depp To Star As Notorious Boston Gangster In Black Mass.

Continue reading: Johnny Depp Terrifies As Whitey Bulger In The Trailer For 'Black Mass'

Results Trailer


Many people would love to be rich and still have plenty of free time, but for Danny (Kevin Corrigan), it is a living hell. He may be newly rich, but he's also recently divorced, and his bank account does little to help him in the dating game. When he decides to attend a fitness class, he meets Trevor (Guy Pearce) - the lively and energetic personal trainer. He also meets Kat, (Cobie Smulders), and finds himself immediately attracted to her. But when the three of them are forced into a professional relationship with one another, it is their personal feelings which begin to clash.

Continue: Results Trailer

The Rover Review


Good

While this atmospheric Australian Outback thriller has plenty of edgy action, it's also meandering and arty, refusing to fill in the details until filmmaker David Michod is good and ready. This makes it feel rather slow and uneven, although it's at least consistently fascinating. And as a story of tenacity and survival, it's also a gripping drama.

The story is set 10 years after "the collapse", so there's little sense of law and order in the Outback. When his car is stolen by three outlaws (Scoot McNairy, Tawanda Manyimo and David Field), the strong-silent Eric (Guy Pearce) goes in pursuit. Along the way, he picks up the injured Rey (Robert Pattinson), brother of one of the thugs, who knows where they're headed. As they hit the road, Eric and Rey have a series of encounters with people who are alternatively helpful and menacing, from an inquisitive brothel madam (Gillian Jones) to a nervous doctor (Susan Prior) to an in-over-his-head soldier (Anthony Hayes). There are also plenty of marauding thieves and trigger-happy commandoes who don't hesitate before blowing away anyone who looks odd. But as Eric and Rey begin to bond, they still find it impossible to trust each other.

While the overarching plot is fairly simple, the film plays out in a series of set-pieces as Eric responds a variety of tense situations. The big question hovering above everything is of course why he's so determined to get his car back (the odd answer comes at the very end). Michod's style of filmmaking is more interested in provoking thought than fully satisfying the audience, so scenes are packed with inconclusive twists and turns, vaguely undefined characters and situations, and elements that clearly have some sort of meaning but feel rather impenetrable. Pearce's performance fits this style perfectly; Eric is a man who says very little, letting a steely glare convey more than any number of words would. In jarring contrast, Pattinson's Rey is a hyperactive mess, a simple-minded guy who never stops moving and talking.

Continue reading: The Rover Review

Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce and Emmy Awards - Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce Los Angeles, California - The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theater LA LIVE - Press Room Sunday 18th September 2011

Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce and Emmy Awards

Guy Pearce, Kate Winslet and Todd Haynes - Guy Pearce, Kate Winslet and Todd Haynes New York City, USA - The New York Premiere of 'Mildred Pierce' - Arrivals Monday 21st March 2011

Guy Pearce, Kate Winslet and Todd Haynes

Guy Pearce and Walt Disney - Thursday 18th December 2008 at Disney Hollywood, California

Guy Pearce and Walt Disney

Guy Pearce and Kate Pearce - Guy Pearce and Kate Pearce Sydney, Australia - Premiere of 'Death Defying Acts' at the State Theatre Monday 10th March 2008

Guy Pearce and Kate Pearce

Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-Jones - Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Saoirse Ronan Monday 10th March 2008 at Sydney Opera House Sydney, Australia

Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-jones
Guy Pearce

Guy Pearce Quick Links

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Guy Pearce

Date of birth

5th October, 1967

Occupation

Actor

Sex

Male

Height

1.80


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Guy Pearce Movies

Brimstone Movie Review

Brimstone Movie Review

An unnerving Western with a sharp female perspective, this film is a series of gruesome...

Alien: Covenant Movie Review

Alien: Covenant Movie Review

Master filmmaker Ridley Scott is back to continue the story 10 years after the events...

Alien: Covenant Trailer

Alien: Covenant Trailer

Ten years after the disastrous expedition that was Prometheus, another group of space explorers band...

Genius Trailer

Genius Trailer

Thomas Wolfe was a writer who was used to rejection. His constantly lengthy novels didn't...

Results Movie Review

Results Movie Review

There's a loose charm to this comedy that disarms the audience, raising smiles instead of...

Results Trailer

Results Trailer

Many people would love to be rich and still have plenty of free time, but...

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The Rover Movie Review

The Rover Movie Review

While this atmospheric Australian Outback thriller has plenty of edgy action, it's also meandering and...

Rover Trailer

Rover Trailer

'The Rover', directed by award winning director David Michôd (Animal Kingdom), is a dystopian crime...

Iron Man 3 Movie Review

Iron Man 3 Movie Review

Changing the writer and director for this third Iron Man movie turns out to be...

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Tony Stark may have the woman of his dreams, the technological skills of a genius...

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Tony Stark may be Iron Man, but he's feeling less than unbreakable these days. Plagued...

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Tony Stark may be Iron Man, but he's feeling less than unbreakable these days. Plagued...

Lawless Movie Review

Lawless Movie Review

Director Hillcoat and musician-turned-screenwriter Cave previously worked together back home in Australia on the dark...

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