GUY PEARCE

Date of Birth: October 5, 1967

Birth Name: Guy Edward Pearce

Before landing the coveted role of a cop in the noir-flavoured Oscar nominated film L.A. Confidential (1997), 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 (1994).

Born in Cambridgeshire, England, 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 Pearce 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."

Pearce married his childhood sweetheart, Kate Mestitz, in 1997. They lived together for a short time after marrying, but now live apart because of 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."

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

Filmography:

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)
The Road (2009)
Animal Kingdom (2009)
The Hurt Locker (2009)
In Her Skin (2009)
Bedtime Stories (2008)
Traitor (2008)
Winged Creatures (2008)
Death Defying Acts (2007)
First Snow (2007)
Factory Girl (2007)
The Proposition (2006)
Two Brothers (2004)
A Slipping Down Life (2004)
The Hard Word (2003)
Till Human Voices Wake Us (2002)
The Time Machine (2002)
The Count Of Monte Cristo (2002)
Memento (2001)
Rules Of Engagement (2000)
Ravenous (1999)
Woundings (1999)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Dating the Enemy (1996)
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
My Forgotten Man (1993)
The Final Stage (1992)
Hunting (1991)
Heaven Tonight (1990)