He is one of 9 actors to have won the Triple Crown of Acting (an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony); the others, in chronological order, are Thomas Mitchell, Melvyn Douglas, Paul Scofield, Jack Albertson, Jason Robards, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer.
He is an accomplished pianist who did not need any stand-in for Shine (1996) and played nearly all of the pieces in the film himself.
He once lived with Mel Gibson while at university.
He won the Oscar for his role as David Helfgott in Shine (1996) and became one of 12 actors to win an Oscar for portraying a real person who was still alive on the night of the ceremony (as of 2007).
He became the 19th actor to win the Triple Crown of Acting: in 2009 he won the Oscar for Shine (1996) and the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for Exit the King, following his Emmy-winning role in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004).
With Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), he became the fourth actor to appear in 2 films that each grossed $1 billion. He was the first actor from the Southern Hemisphere to achieve this.
His favorite film is City Lights (1931), and at parties he often shows it to people who have never seen it before. Other favorites include Zelig (1983), War and Peace (1965), Persona (1966) and Amarcord (1973).
He holds a Diploma of Arts from the University of Queensland.
As of 2014, he had appeared in five films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Shine (1996), Elizabeth (1998), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Munich (2005) and The King's Speech (2010). Shakespeare in Love (1998) and The King's Speech (2010) are winners in that category.
He began his acting career at the Queensland Theatre Company in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
He is one of 14 actors to have won the Oscar, the BAFTA Award, the Critics' Choice Award, the Golden Globe Award and the SAG Award for the same performance. In chronological order, the others are Jamie Foxx for Ray (2004), Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote (2005), Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland (2006), Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men (2007), Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood (2007), Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008) and Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009), Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010), Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010), J. K. Simmons for Whiplash (2014), Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant (2015), Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour (2017).
He has appeared in two films that won the Best Picture Oscar: Shakespeare in Love (1998) and The King's Speech (2010). Colin Firth appeared in both films as well.
He currently lives in Melbourne, Australia.
He is actively involved with Melbourne community groups in protecting historic landscapes from adverse development; in particular, regarding Camberwell railway station, he organized a protest march (2004) that was also attended by Barry Humphries, among other public figures.
In 1998 he was named Alumnus of the Year by the University of Queensland (Australia).
Children: Angelica (1992) and James (1995).
His father was of English, Irish and Scottish descent, and his mother was of German descent.
He was awarded the Centenary Medal in the 2001 Queen's New Year Honours for service to the arts, particularly through his distinguished acting career.
In September 1998, he adapted Beaumarchais's play "The Marriage of Figaro" with Neil Armfield for the opening production of the new Optus Playhouse at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He also played the lead role of Figaro in the same production.
He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Queensland in Australia.
He was appointed AC (Companion of the Order of Australia) in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours for service and contribution to the performing arts as an actor and producer.
Rush was named Australian of the Year for 2012 by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Geoffrey won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor in 1999 for 'Shakespeare in Love', not for 'Elizabeth'.
Disneyland, Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Park (Paris) and Shanghai Disneyland all feature Captain Barbossa animatronics in their "Pirates of the Caribbean" rides.
He won an Oscar for his role as David Helfgott in Shine (1996) and, as of 2015, became one of 17 actors to win the award for portraying a real person who was still alive on the night of the ceremony. The other sixteen actors and their performances are: Spencer Tracy as Father Edward Flanagan in Boys Town (1938), Gary Cooper as Alvin C. York in Sergeant York (1941), Patty Duke as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee in All the President's Men (1976), Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980), Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Jeremy Irons as Claus von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune (1990), Susan Sarandon as Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking (1995), Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich-Ellis in Erin Brockovich (2000), Jim Broadbent as John Bayley in Iris (2001), Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006), Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side (2009), Melissa Leo as Alice Eklund-Ward in The Fighter (2010), Christian Bale as Dicky Eklund in The Fighter (2010), Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (2011) and finally Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014).
He attended the Jacques Lecoq Mime, Movement and Theatre School.
He was awarded the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actor for his performance in the play "Exit the King," which was staged on Broadway in New York City.
Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.