
Biography
Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor and musician. He has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a nomination for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a BAFTA Award. He started his career portraying Mike Young in the Australian television series Neighbours (1986–1989). Pearce received international attention for his breakout role in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). Subsequently, he starred as 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). He also acted in The Time Machine (2002), Bedtime Stories (2008), The Road (2009), The Hurt Locker (2009), The King's Speech (2010), and Lawless (2012). He portrayed Peter Weyland in Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), Aldrich Killian in the Marvel action film Iron Man 3 (2013) and William Cecil in the biopic Mary Queen of Scots (2018). In Australian cinema, Pearce has acted in The Proposition (2005), Animal Kingdom (2010), and The Rover (2014). For his performance in The Brutalist(2024), he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Since 2012, he has played the title role in the TV adaptations of the Jack Irish stories by Australian crime writer Peter Temple. Pearce starred in the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce (2011) and Mare of Easttown. The former won him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor.
Awards & recognition
- Primetime Emmy Award — Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie · 2011
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actor · 2025 · nominated
Filmography50+ titles

Mare of Easttown

Memento

Between a Frock and a Hard Place

L.A. Confidential

Holding the Man

The King's Speech

The Count of Monte Cristo

Back to the Outback

The Hurt Locker

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

A Christmas Carol

Brimstone

Lawless

Two Brothers

The Brutalist

Mildred Pierce

The Road

The Proposition

Without Remorse

Iron Man 3

Animal Kingdom

Ravenous

Snowy River: The McGregor Saga

Memory

Bloodshot

Jack Irish

Mary Queen of Scots

Prometheus

Traitor

A Spy Among Friends

The Last Vermeer

Genius

The Clearing

The Daily Show

The Rover

The Time Machine

Rules of Engagement

The Woman in Cabin 10

The Infernal Machine

The Catcher Was a Spy

Alien: Covenant

When We Rise

Bedtime Stories

Dating the Enemy

Halifax F.P.

The Convert

Equals

First Snow

Neighbours

In Her Skin