# Guy Pearce

Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. He has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, AACTA Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards.
Pearce started his career portraying Mike Young in the Australian television series Neighbours (1986–1989). Pearce received international attention for his break-out roles in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), Ed Exley in Curtis Hanson's crime noir L.A. Confidential (1997) and a man suffering short-term memory loss in Christopher Nolan's psychological thriller Memento (2000).
His subsequent roles were in The Time Machine (2002), The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), Bedtime Stories (2008), The Road (2009), The Hurt Locker (2009), The King's Speech (2010), Lawless (2012), and Mary Queen of Scots (2018). He portrayed Peter Weyland in Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), and acted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe playing Aldrich Killian in the film Iron Man 3 (2013). In Australian cinema he has acted in The Proposition (2005), Animal Kingdom (2010), The Rover (2014), and Swinging Safari (2018). For his performance as a wealthy industrialist in The Brutalist (2024), he received a nomination for the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
On television, he has played the title role in the series of films Jack Irish (2012–2021). Pearce starred in the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce (2011) and Mare of Easttown (2021). The former won him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor.

## Early life

Pearce was born on 5 October 1967 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. His father, Stuart Pearce, was a Royal New Zealand Air Force pilot and RAF test pilot, and his mother, Anne Cocking (née Pickering), was an English schoolteacher. He has an elder sister, Tracy. When Pearce was three years old, the family relocated to Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When he was eight years old, Pearce's father died in an aircraft accident.
Pearce attended Geelong College, and was a member of the Geelong Society of Operatic and Dramatic Arts (GSODA) Junior Players. At the age of 16, he was a competitive amateur bodybuilder, leading to the title of Junior Mr. Victoria. He lived in Box Hill North, Victoria in the late 1980s while working on the Australian drama series Neighbours. His first film appearance, while still at Geelong College, was in a Victorian Vice-Chancellors-funded film Life and Study at University, produced and directed by Peter Lane of Deakin University.

## Career
### Film and television

Pearce transitioned to television when he was cast in the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 1986, playing the role of Mike Young for three years, a role which he reprised in 2022 for the show's final episode. Pearce also found roles in other television series such as Home and Away (1988) and Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (1993).
The director/producer/writer Frank Howson cast Pearce in his first three films, Heaven Tonight, Hunting, and Flynn, and paid for him to go to the Cannes Film Festival in 1991 for the premiere of the Howson-directed Hunting. The accompanying Howson-funded publicity campaign brought Pearce to the attention of the international film industry. He made his first major film breakthrough shortly after, with his role as a drag queen in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994. Since then, he has appeared in several US productions including L.A. Confidential, Ravenous, Rules of Engagement, Memento, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Time Machine.
Pearce portrayed pop artist Andy Warhol in Factory Girl and Harry Houdini in Death Defying Acts. He also appeared in The Road and in Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. Pearce continued to perform in Australian films, such as The Hard Word (2002) and The Proposition (2005), written by fellow Australian Nick Cave.
In January 2009, Pearce returned to the stage after a seven-year absence. He performed in the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of Poor Boy, a play with music, co-written by Matt Cameron and Tim Finn. In 2009, he portrayed Staff Sergeant Matthew Thompson in The Hurt Locker. In 2010, he appeared as David, Prince of Wales, who became Edward VIII, in The King's Speech. Both films won the Academy Award for Best Picture, making Pearce the first actor to appear in back-to-back Best Picture winners since Michael Peña (who appeared in Million Dollar Baby and Crash).
Pearce starred as the eponymous lead in the Australian TV miniseries Jack Irish, an adaptation of the detective novels of author Peter Temple broadcast on the ABC network in 2012. In May 2012, Pearce was cast to star in David Michôd's The Rover. In 2013, Pearce played the villain character Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3. Pearce appeared in a documentary special celebrating Neighbours' 30th anniversary, Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the UK in 2015. Pearce had a supporting role in Neil Armfield's 2015 romantic-drama film Holding the Man. For his role in the 2024 film The Brutalist, he received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination.

### Music

In 1989, Pearce released the single "Call of the Wild" from the soundtrack Heaven Tonight. The song peaked at number 156 on the ARIA Charts. He appeared in Australian band Silverchair's music video for "Across the Night" and in Razorlight's video for "Before I Fall to Pieces." Pearce recorded the soundtrack for A Slipping-Down Life, singing and playing guitar on cover versions of songs by Ron Sexsmith, Vic Chesnutt and Robyn Hitchcock. Pearce released his first album, Broken Bones, in November 2014. Pearce released his second studio album, The Nomad, in 2018.

## Personal life

Pearce married his childhood sweetheart, psychologist Kate Mestitz, in March 1997. In October 2015, Pearce announced their divorce. Pearce was in a relationship with Dutch actress Carice van Houten; they had a son in August 2016. In January 2025, Van Houten stated that she and Pearce have split, and have "...not been a couple for years".
Pearce has supported charitable organisations related to animal conservation and habitat preservation, as well as publicly expressing his solidarity with Palestine amid the Gaza war.
In February 2025, Pearce accused his L.A. Confidential co-star Kevin Spacey of sexually harassing him while filming the movie. Spacey responded to the accusation by posting a video on the social media platform X, where he told Pearce to "grow up" and that he was "not a victim."

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Heaven Tonight | Paul Dysart | |
| 1991 | Hunting | Sharp | |
| 1994 | The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Adam Whitely / Felicia Jollygoodfellow | |
| 1996 | Dating the Enemy | Brett/Tash | |
| 1997 | Flynn | Errol Flynn | |
| 1997 | L.A. Confidential | Detective Lieutenant Ed Exley | |
| 1998 | Brand New World | Jimmy Compton | aka Woundings |
| 1999 | Ravenous | Captain John Boyd | |
| 1999 | A Slipping-Down Life | "Drumstrings" Casey | |
| 2000 | Rules of Engagement | Major Mark Biggs | |
| 2000 | Memento | Leonard Shelby | |
| 2002 | The Hard Word | Dale | |
| 2002 | The Time Machine | Alexander Hartdegen | |
| 2002 | The Count of Monte Cristo | Fernand Mondego | |
| 2002 | Till Human Voices Wake Us | Dr. Sam Franks | |
| 2004 | Two Brothers | Aidan McRory | |
| 2005 | The Proposition | Charlie Burns | |
| 2006 | First Snow | Jimmy Starks | |
| 2006 | Factory Girl | Andy Warhol | |
| 2008 | Death Defying Acts | Harry Houdini | |
| 2008 | Winged Creatures | Dr. Bruce Laraby | |
| 2008 | Traitor | FBI Agent Roy Clayton | |
| 2008 | Bedtime Stories | Kendall | |
| 2009 | In Her Skin | Mr. Barber | aka I Am You |
| 2009 | The Road | The Veteran | |
| 2009 | The Hurt Locker | Staff Sergeant Matt Thompson | |
| 2010 | The King's Speech | King Edward VIII | |
| 2010 | Animal Kingdom | Detective Nathan Leckie | |
| 2011 | 33 Postcards | Dean Randall | |
| 2011 | Don't Be Afraid of the Dark | Alex Hirst | |
| 2011 | Seeking Justice | Simon | |
| 2012 | Lockout | Marion Snow | |
| 2012 | TED 2023 | Peter Weyland | Short film |
| 2012 | Prometheus | Peter Weyland | |
| 2012 | Lawless | Special Deputy Charley Rakes | |
| 2013 | Breathe In | Keith Reynolds | |
| 2013 | Iron Man 3 | Aldrich Killian | |
| 2013 | Hateship, Loveship | Ken Gaudette | |
| 2014 | The Rover | Eric | |
| 2015 | Results | Trevor | |
| 2015 | Holding the Man | Dick Conigrave | |
| 2015 | Lorne | Lorne | Short film |
| 2015 | Equals | Jonas | |
| 2016 | Genius | F. Scott Fitzgerald | |
| 2016 | Brimstone | Reverend | |
| 2017 | Alien: Covenant | Peter Weyland | Uncredited |
| 2018 | Swinging Safari | Keith Hall | |
| 2018 | The Catcher Was a Spy | Robert Furman | |
| 2018 | Spinning Man | Evan Birch | |
| 2018 | Mary Queen of Scots | William Cecil | |
| 2019 | Domino | Joe Martin | |
| 2019 | The Last Vermeer | Han van Meegeren | |
| 2020 | Disturbing the Peace | Jim Dillon | |
| 2020 | Bloodshot | Dr. Emil Harting | |
| 2021 | The Seventh Day | Peter Costello | |
| 2021 | Without Remorse | Secretary Thomas Clay | |
| 2021 | Zone 414 | David Carmichael | |
| 2021 | Back to the Outback | Frank (voice) | |
| 2022 | Memory | Vincent Serra | |
| 2022 | The Infernal Machine | Bruce Cogburn | |
| 2023 | The Convert | Thomas Munro | |
| 2024 | Sunrise | Reynolds | |
| 2024 | The Shrouds | Maury | |
| 2024 | Inside | Warren Murfett | |
| 2024 | The Brutalist | Harrison Lee Van Buren | |
| TBA | Killing Faith | Dr. Bender | Post-production |
| TBA | The Woman in Cabin 10 | Richard Bullmer | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986–89, 2022–24 | Neighbours | Mike Young | |
| 1991 | Home and Away | David Croft | 12 episodes |
| 1994–96 | Snowy River: The McGregor Saga | Rob McGregor | 65 episodes |
| 1997 | The Devil Game | Michael | Movie |
| 1997 | Halifax f.p. | Daniel & Richard Viney | Episode: "Déjà Vu" |
| 2009–18 | Spicks and Specks | Himself | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Mildred Pierce | Monty Beragon | Miniseries |
| 2012 | Jack Irish: Bad Debts | Jack Irish | Movie |
| 2012 | Jack Irish: Black Tide | Jack Irish | Movie |
| 2014 | Sean Saves the World | Liam Stone | Episode: "The Dark Sean Rises" |
| 2014 | Jack Irish: Dead Point | Jack Irish | Movie |
| 2015 | Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite | Himself | Documentary |
| 2015 | Between a Frock and a Hard Place | Himself | Documentary |
| 2016–21 | Jack Irish | Jack Irish | 3 series |
| 2016 | The Wizards of Aus | Morgan Wright | Episode: "Honk" |
| 2017 | When We Rise | Cleve Jones | Miniseries |
| 2018 | The Innocents | Halvorson | 8 episodes |
| 2019 | A Christmas Carol | Ebenezer Scrooge | Miniseries |
| 2021 | Advancing Australia | Himself | Documentary series |
| 2021 | Mare of Easttown | Richard Ryan | Miniseries |
| 2022 | A Spy Among Friends | Kim Philby | 6 episodes |
| 2023 | The Clearing | Bryce Latham | 8 episodes |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Company |
| 1980 | Sinbad | Chorus Member | Gsoda Junior Players |
| 1981 | Aladdin | Chorus Member | Gsoda Junior Players |
| 1982 | Hans Christian Andersen | Professor Pfeiffer | Gsoda Junior Players |
| 1983 | The Wizard of Oz | The Tin Man | Gsoda Junior Players |
| 1984 | Queen of Hearts | The Racing Demon Snap | Gsoda Junior Players |
| 2023 | And Thus Began the Tale | Himself | Gsoda Junior Players |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Role | Artist |
| 2002 | "Across the Night" | Man | Silverchair |
| 2021 | "Follow Me Around" | The Man | Radiohead |

## Discography

* Broken Bones (2014)
* The Nomad (2018)

## Awards and nominations

On 18 September 2011, Pearce won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his work in Todd Haynes' limited series Mildred Pierce as Monty Beragon. Pearce received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance. Pearce has been nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards winning for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture along with the cast of The King's Speech (2010). Pearce was nominated with the cast of L.A. Confidential (1997) and Mildred Pierce (2011).