- Is one of 9 actors to have won the Triple Crown of Acting (an Oscar, Emmy and Tony); the others in chronological order are Thomas Mitchell, Melvyn Douglas, Paul Scofield, Jack Albertson, Jason Robards, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer.
- Is an accomplished pianist, who needed no hand stand-in for Shine (1996),and played almost all of the pieces in the movie himself.
- Once lived with Mel Gibson while they were in college.
- He won an Oscar for playing David Helfgott in Shine (1996), making him one of 12 actors to win the Award for playing a real person who was still alive at the evening of the Award ceremony (as of 2007).
- Became the fourth actor to appear in 2 films to gross $1 billion with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011). He is the first actor from the southern hemisphere to achieve this feat.
- Became the 19th actor to win the triple crown of acting: In 2009 won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (Exit the King) to go with his Oscar for Shine (1996), and his Emmy for The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004).
- As of 2014, has appeared in five films that were 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 the category.
- His favorite film is City Lights (1931) and often shows it at parties to people who have never seen the film before. Other favorites include Zelig (1983), War and Peace (1965), Persona (1966) and Amarcord (1973).
- Is one of 14 actors to have won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same performance. The others in chronological order 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).
- Has an Arts Degree from the University of Queensland.
- He appeared in two Best Picture Academy Award winners: Shakespeare in Love (1998) and The King's Speech (2010). Colin Firth also appeared in both films.
- He began his acting career with the Queensland Theatre Company in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
- Currently lives in Melbourne, Australia (May 2004)
- His father was of English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry, and his mother was of German descent.
- Actively involved with Melbourne Community Groups in preserving historical landscapes from adverse development; particularly in regard to Camberwell Railway Station where he organized a protest march, attended by Barry Humphries amongst other luminaries (2004).
- Children: Angelica (1992) and James (1995)
- He was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal in the 2001 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to the arts especially through a distinguished acting career.
- He was named Alumnus of the Year by the University of Queensland (Australia) in 1998.
- He adapted Beaumarchais's play "The Marriage of Figaro", with Neil Armfield, for the inaugural production in the new Optus Playhouse in the Queensland Performing Arts Complex, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, in September, 1998. He also played the title role of Figaro in the same production.
- Rush was awarded the Australian of the Year for 2012 by Australian PM Julia Gillard.
- Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Queensland, in Australia.
- He won an Oscar for playing David Helfgott in Shine (1996), making him one of 17 actors to win the Award for playing a real person who was still alive at the evening of the Award ceremony (as of 2015). The other sixteen actors and their respective performances are: Spencer Tracy for playing Father Edward Flanagan in Boys Town (1938), Gary Cooper for playing Alvin C. York in Sergeant York (1941), Patty Duke for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), Jason Robards for playing Ben Bradlee in All the President's Men (1976), Robert De Niro for playing Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980), Sissy Spacek for playing Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)_, Jeremy Irons for playing Claus von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune (1990), Susan Sarandon for playing Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking (1995), Julia Roberts for playing Erin Brockovich-Ellis in Erin Brockovich (2000), Jim Broadbent for playing John Bayley in Iris (2001), Helen Mirren for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006), Sandra Bullock for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side (2009), Melissa Leo for playing Alice Eklund-Ward in The Fighter (2010), Christian Bale for playing Dicky Eklund in The Fighter (2010), Meryl Streep for playing Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (2011) and most recently Eddie Redmayne for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014).
- He was awarded the AC (Companion of the Order of Australia) in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours LIst for his services and contributions to performing arts as an actor and producer.
- Geoffrey won the supporting actor BAFTA in 1999 for 'Shakespeare in Love', and not 'Elizabeth'.
- Attended the Jacques Lecoq School of Mime, Movement and Theater.
- He was awarded the 2009 Tony Award for Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in the play, "Exit the King" on Broadway in New York City.
- Disneyland, Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Park (Paris) and Shanghai Disneyland has Captain Barbossa animatronics in all their "Pirates of the Caribbean" rides.
- Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia (January 2009)
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