Biography
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- Category: Basic Pages
- Published on Friday, 14 April 2006 17:52
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Hugo Weaving was born on April 4, 1960 in Nigeria. The middle sibling of three, Hugo has an older brother Simon and a younger sister Anna. During his early childhood, the Weaving family spent most of their time travelling between Nigeria, Great Britain, and Australia. In the seventies he spent three years in England, attending Queen Elizabeth's Hospital school in Bristol. He showed early promise in theatre productions there and also excelled at history, achieving an A in his O-level examination. He arrived permanently in Australia in 1976, and finished his education at Knox Grammar school, Sydney. He graduated from NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in 1981 and has since worked extensively in film, television and theatre.
He made his film debut as Andy White in The City's Edge in 1983, reportedly one of the first Australian films to focus on the plight of native aborigines. He later exhibited his talent in The Right Hand Man and For Love Alone in 1986. In 1991, Hugo won Best Actor Australian Film Institute Award for his portrayal of blind photographer Martin in Proof. Later in 1994, he was nominated for his role as Mitzi in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He won yet another AFI award as best actor for his performance in The Interview that also earned him the best acting prize at the Montreal Film Festival. In 1998 Hugo won the Australian Star of the Year.
More recently, roles in big-budget movies such as The Matrix trilogy, The Lord of the Rings and V for Vendetta have considerably raised his international profile. Nevertheless, he has often said that he feels most at home on stage and in Australian productions, like Little Fish and Last Ride or the UK/Australia productin Oranges and Sunshine.
His television credits include Bodyline, Dadah Is Death, The Dirtwater Dynasty, Bangkok Hilton, Halifax f.p, After the Deluge and a guest-appearance on ABC's Rake; and several documentaries narrations like Who Killed Dr Bogle and Ms Chandler, Tackling Peace, Inside the Firestorm and I, Spry.
His theatre credits include the Sydney Theatre Company's Macbeth, The Cherry Orchard, The Perfectionist and Arcadia. He has also starred in The Taming Of The Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing for the Melbourne Theatre Company and Julius Caesar, Ring Around The Moon and Private Lives for the State Theatre Company of South Australia. More recently he starred as Judge Brack in Hedda Gabler, in Riflemind and in Uncle Vanya with Cate Blanchett, Richard Roxburg and John Hurt.
He resides in Australia with his partner, Katrina Greenwood and their two children, Harry and Holly.
Fact Sheet / Trivia
- Nationality: Australian
- Born: Nigeria - April 4, 1960
- Lived in: Nigeria (60-61), Australia (61-65), South Africa (66-70), Britain (70-76), Australia (76-present)
- Height: 6' 2'' (1.88 m)
- Hair: Brown/Blond Eyes: Blue
- Family: partner - Katrina Greenwood (since 1983), children - Harry (b. 1989) and Holly (b. 1993)
- Hugo is a graduate of the NIDA.
- His parents and baby Hugo left Nigeria before he was one year old.
- His father worked in the computer industry and moved around a lot. Hugo spent his childhood in South Africa and England before finally settling in Australia.
- Sister Anna-Jane Weaving had a brief singing career in Paris in the mid-80s.
- Nominated for the 2005 Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for his performance in "Hedda Gabler."
- Attended the same high school as Australian actors Adam Garcia, Hugh Jackman, Andrew Johnston, Reg Livermore, writer Stuart Beattie and radio host John Laws.
- Attended the private junior school The Downs School, Wraxall, outside Bristol, whilst living in the UK, which was also briefly attended by Orlando Bloom.
- Suffers from epilepsy.
- Was once carried off stage during a performance at the Sydney Opera House, after he collapsed and started going into convulsions. His reaction was later attributed to the use of strobe lights in the production.
- Weaving fractured his hip doing a stunt while shooting the "Matrix" sequels. He recovered, but since the injury he has more often been doubled by stunt-men.
- He doesn't own a wristwatch or a cell phone (although he has been photographed with a cell phone in some candids)
- He has suffered from epileptic seizures since he was 13. Because of this, he made the decision early on not to drive and he has never had a driver's license.
- He is a pesco Vegetarian - Pesco vegetarians eat fish but no other meat.
- Partner of Katrina Greenwood (1984-present).
- He got the idea of how to play character Agent Smith in the Matrix after watching Red Dwarf, a popular British sitcom. In the episode Holoship, Hugo decided that the character Captain Hercule Platini is how he was going to play the famous role in the Matrix.
- He opened Belgrade Film Festival - FEST in 1997.
- Has helped select the films that have been shown during the first Dungog Film Festival (May-June 2007)
- He recently joined the fight against the proposed controversial Tillegra Dam, to be sited on the Williams River near Dungog to help secure water for the Hunter and Central Coast.
Source: HW | RS, IMDB
Awards
- 2005 Australian Film Institute (AFI) - Best Lead Actor: Little Fish (2005)
- 2005 IF Award - Best Actor: Little Fish (2005)
- 2005 Film Critics Circle of Australia Award - Best Actor in a Supportin Role: Little Fish(2005)
- 2004 Screen Actors Guild Award - Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: The Return of the King (2003)
- 2004 Broadcast Film Critics Choice Award - Best Acting Ensemble: The Return of the King (2003)
- 2004 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards - Best Ensemble Acting: The Two Towers (2002)
- 2003 Online Film Critics Society Awards - Best Ensemble: The Two Towers (2002)
- 2003 National Board of Review - Best Acting by Ensemble: The Return of the King (2003)
- 2002 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards - Best Ensemble Acting: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- 1998 Australian Film Institute (AFI) - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: The Interview (1998)
- 1991 Australian Film Institute (AFI) - Best Actor in a Lead Role: Proof (1991)
- 1998 Montreal World Film Festival - Best Actor: Proof (1998)
Fan Mail Adress
Hugo is represented by Shanahan Management.
Hugo Weaving
c/o Shanahan Management Pty Ltd
PO Box 1509
Darlinghurst NSW 1300
Australia
