Early life

Pearce was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. His mother, Anne Cocking (born as Pickering), was from County Durham, England; she was a schoolteacher specialising in needlework and home economics. His father, Stuart Pearce, was a New Zealand-born RAAF test pilot who died flying a GAF Nomad when Pearce was eight. When he was 3 years old, Pearce moved to Geelong, Victoria, where his mother ran a deer farm. He attended the Geelong College, a local private school, and was a member of the GSODA Junior Players. From the age of 15 to 22, he was a competitive amateur bodybuilder, leading to the title of Junior Mr. Victoria. He also took part in fencing. He lived in Box Hill North, Victoria in the late 1980s while working on the Australian drama series Neighbours.

Pearce starred in several theatre productions when he was young. At 17 years of age, whilst still at school at Geelong College, he auditioned for his first film role; a part in "Life and Study at University", a promotion for university study produced and directed by Peter Lane of Deakin University. The lead part called for a 23-year-old university student and at first he was turned down due to his young age, but his mother insisted that her son could play the part.

Career

Pearce transitioned to television when he was cast in the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 1985, playing the role of Mike Young for several years. 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 continues to perform in Australian films, such as The Hard Word (2002) and the critically lauded 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 2010, he appeared as playboy David, the Prince of Wales, who became King Edward VIII, in the award-winning film The King's Speech. He is 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 portrayed the villain character Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3.

Pearce had a supporting role in the Neil Armfield's romantic-drama film Holding the Man, as Dick Conigrave. The 2015 film stars Ryan Corr and Craig Stott, with supporting performances from Pearce, Anthony LaPaglia and Geoffrey Rush. Holding the Man was adapted from Timothy Conigrave's 1995 memoir of the same name.

Next to acting, Guy has a lifelong passion for music and songwriting. He released his first album, Broken Bones, in November 2014. Pearce appeared in a documentary special celebrating Neighbours' 30th anniversary titled Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015.

Videos and awards

Pearce appeared in Australian band Silverchair's music video for "Across the Night" and in Razorlight's video for "Before I Fall to Pieces." He 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.

On 18 September 2011, Pearce won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries for his work in Mildred Pierce as Monty Beragon opposite Kate Winslet.

Personal life

Pearce married his childhood sweetheart, psychologist Kate Mestitz, in March 1997. In October 2015, Pearce confirmed he had split from Mestitz after 18 years of marriage.

He supports a number of charitable organisations for many causes such as animal rights, animal welfare and protecting ecology. In 2004, he stated that he's not a vegetarian but he's gearing to be one and he doesn't cook or eat meat at home.

He is a long-standing fan of Australian rules football, and supports the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League.

On March 19, 2016, Pearce and his girlfriend Carice van Houten announced that they were expecting a child, the first for both parents.

Filmography

List of film and television credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986-1989	Neighbours	Mike Young	TV series (496 episodes)
1990	Friday on My Mind
1990	Heaven Tonight	Paul Dysart
1991	Hunting	Sharp
1991	Home and Away	David Croft	TV series (12 episodes)
1994-1996	Snowy River: The McGregor Saga	Rob McGregor	TV series (65 episodes) Nominated—Logie Award for Most Popular Actor (1996)
1994	Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, TheThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert	Adam Whitely/Felicia Jollygoodfellow
1996	Dating the Enemy	Brett
1997	Devil Game, TheThe Devil Game	Michael	TV film
1997	Halifax f.p: Deja Vu	Daniel & Richard Viney	TV film
1997	Flynn	Errol Flynn
1997	L.A. Confidential	Ed Exley	Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1998	Brand New World aka Woundings	Jimmy Compton	New York International Independent Film Award for Best Actor
1999	Ravenous	Capt. John Boyd
1999	Slipping-Down Life, AA Slipping-Down Life	Drumstrings Casey
2000	Rules of Engagement	Maj. Mark Biggs
2000	Memento	Leonard Shelby	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
2002	Hard Word, TheThe Hard Word	Dale	Nominated—Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor
2002	Time Machine, TheThe Time Machine	Alexander Hartdegen
2002	Count of Monte Cristo, TheThe Count of Monte Cristo	Fernand Mondego
2002	Till Human Voices Wake Us	Dr. Sam Franks
2004	Two Brothers	Aidan McRory
2005	Proposition, TheThe Proposition	Charlie Burns	Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated—Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor Nominated—Inside Film Award for Best Actor
2006	First Snow	Jimmy Starks
2006	Factory Girl	Andy Warhol
2008	Death Defying Acts	Harry Houdini	Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
2008	Winged Creatures	Dr. Bruce Laraby
2008	Traitor	Roy Clayton
2008	Bedtime Stories	Kendall
2009	In Her Skin	Mr. Barber	aka I Am You
2009	Road, TheThe Road	The Veteran
2009	Hurt Locker, TheThe Hurt Locker	Staff Sergeant. Matt Thompson	Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2010	King's Speech, TheThe King's Speech	King Edward VIII	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
2010	Animal Kingdom	Det. Nathan Leckie	Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
2011	Mildred Pierce	Monty Beragon	HBO miniseries Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2011	33 Postcards	Dean Randall	Nominated—AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
2011	Don't Be Afraid of the Dark	Alex Hirst
2011	Seeking Justice	Simon
2012	Lockout	Marion Snow
2012	Prometheus	Peter Weyland
2012	Lawless	Charley Rakes
2012	Jack Irish	Jack Irish	TV films; (Bad Debts and Black Tide)
2013	Breathe In	Keith Reynolds
2013	Iron Man 3	Aldrich Killian
2013	Hateship, Loveship	Ken Gaudette
2014	Jack Irish	Jack Irish	TV film; (Dead Point)
2014	The Rover	Eric	Nominated—AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
2015	Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite	Himself	TV documentary
2015	Results	Trevor
2015	Between a Frock and a Hard Place	Himself	TV documentary
2015	Holding the Man	Dick Conigrave
2015	Lorne	Lorne	Short film
2015	Equals	Jonas	Post-production
2016	Jack Irish	Jack Irish	Six-part TV series
2016	Genius	A. Scott Berg	Post-production
2016	Brimstone	The Reverend	Filming
2016	Wizards of Aus, TheThe Wizards of Aus	Morgan Wright	TV series/Web series
2017	When We Rise	Cleve Jones	TV miniseries

[ Source: Wikipedia ]