Guy Pearce

Acting

Guy Pearce

Born 1967-10-05 · Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, UK

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.

Acting credits

The Dog Stars poster
6.7

After the world's population has been ravaged by a pandemic, a man lives a lonesome existence in a Colorado airplane hangar with his dog and a dour gunman he has befriended. When a mysterious transmission comes through on the radio while he’s flying his old Cessna, it sparks a hunt for the provenance of the sound.

The Dog Stars

2026

The Brutalist poster
6.9

When an innovative modern architect flees post-war Europe, he is given the opportunity to rebuild his legacy. Set during the dawn of the modern United States (in Pennsylvania), his wife joins him, and their lives are forever changed by a demanding, wealthy patron.

The Brutalist

2024

Iron Man 3 poster
6.9

When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.

Iron Man 3

2013

Memento poster
8.2

Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.

Memento

2000

Alien: Covenant poster
6.2

The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise but is actually a dark, dangerous world.

Alien: Covenant

2017

Prometheus poster
6.6

A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

Prometheus

2012

The King's Speech poster
7.7

The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.

The King's Speech

2010

The Count of Monte Cristo poster
7.7

Young sailor Edmond Dantès is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes, finds treasure, and reinvents himself as the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo to exact revenge on those who betrayed him.

The Count of Monte Cristo

2002

L.A. Confidential poster
7.8

Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.

L.A. Confidential

1997

The Hurt Locker poster
7.3

During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

The Hurt Locker

2008

The Time Machine poster
6.3

Hoping to alter the events of the past, a 19th-century inventor instead travels 800,000 years into the future, where he finds mankind divided into two warring races.

The Time Machine

2002

The Road poster
7.0

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones and, when the snow falls, it is gray. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there.

The Road

2009

The Woman in Cabin 10 poster
6.2

On a lavish yacht for an assignment, a journalist sees a passenger go overboard. But when no one believes her, she risks her life to uncover the truth.

The Woman in Cabin 10

2025

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse poster
6.9

An elite Navy SEAL uncovers an international conspiracy while seeking justice for the murder of his pregnant wife.

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse

2021

Bloodshot poster
6.7

After he and his wife are murdered, marine Ray Garrison is resurrected by a team of scientists. Enhanced with nanotechnology, he becomes a superhuman, biotech killing machine—'Bloodshot'. As Ray first trains with fellow super-soldiers, he cannot recall anything from his former life. But when his memories flood back and he remembers the man that killed both him and his wife, he breaks out of the facility to get revenge, only to discover that there's more to the conspiracy than he thought.

Bloodshot

2020

Memory poster
6.7

Alex, an assassin-for-hire, finds that he's become a target after he refuses to complete a job for a dangerous criminal organization. With the crime syndicate and FBI in hot pursuit, Alex has the skills to stay ahead, except for one thing: he is struggling with severe memory loss, affecting his every move. Alex must question his every action and whom he can ultimately trust.

Memory

2022

Lawless poster
7.1

In 1931, the Bondurant brothers of Franklin County, Virginia, run a multipurpose backwoods establishment that hides their true business — bootlegging. Middle brother Forrest is the brain of the operation; older Howard is the brawn, and younger Jack, the lookout. Though the local police have taken bribes and left the brothers alone, a violent war erupts when a sadistic lawman from Chicago arrives and tries to shut down the Bondurants operation.

Lawless

2012

Lockout poster
5.9

Set in the near future, Lockout follows a falsely convicted ex-government agent , whose one chance at obtaining freedom lies in the dangerous mission of rescuing the President's daughter from rioting convicts at an outer space maximum security prison.

Lockout

2012

Equals poster
6.1

A futuristic love story set in a world where emotions have been eradicated.

Equals

2015

Rules of Engagement poster
6.2

A Marine Colonel is brought to court-martial after ordering his men to fire on demonstrators surrounding the American embassy in Yemen.

Rules of Engagement

2000

Bedtime Stories poster
6.2

Skeeter Bronson is a down-on-his-luck guy who's always telling bedtime stories to his niece and nephew. But his life is turned upside down when the fantastical stories he makes up for entertainment inexplicably turn into reality. Can a bewildered Skeeter manage his own unruly fantasies now that the outrageous characters and situations from his mind have morphed into actual people and events?

Bedtime Stories

2008

Traitor poster
6.7

When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer Samir Horn.

Traitor

2008

Mary Queen of Scots poster
6.5

In 1561, Mary Stuart, widow of the King of France, returns to Scotland, reclaims her rightful throne and menaces the future of Queen Elizabeth I as ruler of England, because she has a legitimate claim to the English throne. Betrayals, rebellions, conspiracies and their own life choices imperil both Queens. They experience the bitter cost of power, until their tragic fate is finally fulfilled.

Mary Queen of Scots

2018

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark poster
5.8

A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

2010