Hugo Weaving

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Hugo Weaving

Hugo Wallace Weaving (born April 4, 1960) is a Nigerian-born English-Australian film and stage actor.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Hugo Weaving was born in Nigeria to English parents Wallace and Anne. He spent his childhood in South Africa and then moved to the United Kingdom in his teens. While in England he attended the prestigious boarding school Queen Elizabeth's Hospital, commonly known in Bristol as the QEH School. He moved to Australia in 1976, where he attended Sydney's Knox Grammar School. Weaving later graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1981.

[edit] Career

Weaving's first major role was in the television series Bodyline in 1984, as the English captain, Douglas Jardine. Weaving appeared in the Australian mini-series The Dirtwater Dynasty in 1988 and later starred opposite Nicole Kidman in the 1989 film Bangkok Hilton. In 1991 Weaving received the Australian Film Institute's award for "Best Actor" for his performance in the low-budget Proof. He also appeared as Sir John in the 1993 Yahoo Serious comedy, Reckless Kelly, a lampoon of the famous Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. However, Weaving first received attention overseas with the international hit Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994. In 1998, Weaving received the award for "Best Actor" from the Montreal Film Festival for his performance in The Interview. He played Poseidon in the mini-series adaptation of the Odyssey. Weaving was also a voice actor in the cartoon film 'The Magic Pudding'.

Weaving depicting Elrond in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

Weaving's role as Agent Smith in The Matrix Trilogy.

He earned further international attention with his performance as the enigmatic Agent Smith in the 1999 blockbuster hit The Matrix. Weaving later reprised the role of Smith in the 2003 sequels to The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. He also garnered much popular attention in the role of the elf Elrond in Peter Jackson's three-film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, released between 2001 and 2003.

Weaving was the main actor in Andrew Kotatko's Everything Goes (2004). He also played the title role in the 2006 film V for Vendetta, in which he was reunited with the Wachowski brothers, creators of The Matrix trilogy, who were responsible for the adapted screenplay. Weaving's involvement in V For Vendetta was very last-minute. Actor James Purefoy was the original actor signed as V, but he pulled out six weeks into filming due to personal problems with wearing the Guy Fawkes mask throughout the entire film. Weaving's V is filmed in the majority of V For Vendetta, but Purefoy's V is shown in several of the movie's scenes. The sections filmed with Purefoy were later voiced over by Weaving.

Weaving also provides the main voice over for the video game, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II.

In addition to his career in film, Weaving has continued working as a stage actor, regularly appearing in productions by the Sydney Theatre Company. In 2006 he is working with Cate Blanchett on a reprise of the STC production of Hedda Gabler to be restaged in New York City.

[edit] Personal life

Weaving lives in Sydney with his girlfriend Katrina Greenwood and their children Harry and Holly. Though some articles state that they are married, Weaving has brought up his dislike for marriage in interviews. ^{[citation needed]}

In an interview ^{[citation needed]} he stated that he "occasionally smokes and seldom drinks."

When he was approximately 15 years old, Weaving was diagnosed with epilepsy [1]; he rarely speaks of it in interviews, aside from an anecdote about a seizure while performing on stage. This condition has kept him from getting his driver's license. ^{[citation needed]}

Weaving as V in the 2006 film adaptation of Alan Moore's 1988 graphic novel V for Vendetta. V's mask and attire are modelled after Guy Fawkes.

[edit] Filmography (partial)

• Happy Feet (2006), as Noah (voice)
• V for Vendetta (2006), as V
• Little Fish (2005), as Lionel Dawson
• Peaches (2004), as Alan
• Everything Goes (2004), as Ray
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) as Elrond
• The Matrix Revolutions (2003), as Agent Smith
• After the Deluge (2003), as Martin Kirby
• The Matrix Reloaded (2003), as Agent Smith
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), as Elrond
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), as Elrond
• Russian Doll (2001), as Harvey
• The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (2001), as Rubicondo (Dentist)
• Strange Planet (1999), as Steven
• Little Echo Lost (1999), as Echo Man
• The Matrix (1999), as Agent Smith
• Babe: Pig in the City (1998), as the voice of Rex the Male Sheepdog
• Bedrooms and Hallways (1998) as Jeremy
• The Interview (1998), as Eddie Rodney Fleming
• The Kiss (1998), as Barry
• True Love and Chaos (1997) as Morris
• Halifax f.p: Isn't It Romantic (1997), as Det. Sgt. Tom Hurkos
• "Frontier" (1997), as Governor Arthur
• "Naked: Stories of Men" - Episode "Coral Island" (1996) as Martin Furlong
• "The Bite" (1996), as Jack Shannon
• "Bordertown" (1995), as Kenneth Pearson
• Babe (1995) as the voice of Rex the Male Sheepdog
• Exile (1994), as Innes
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), as Anthony 'Tick' Belrose/Mitzi Del Bra
• What's Going On, Frank? (1994), as Strange Packer in Supermarket
• Frauds (1993), as Jonathan Wheats
• Reckless Kelly (1993), as Sir John
• The Custodian (1993), as Det. Church
• "Seven Deadly Sins" (1993), as Lust
• Road to Alice (1992), as Morris
• Proof (1991), as Martin
• ...Almost (1990), as Jake
• "Bangkok Hilton" (1989), as Richard Carlisle
• Dadah Is Death (1988), as Geoffrey Chambers
• "The Dirtwater Dynasty" (1988), as Richard Eastwick
• The Right Hand Man (1987), as Ned Devine
• "Melba" (1987), as Charles Armstrong
• For Love Alone (1986), as Johnathan Crow
• "Bodyline" (1984), as Douglas Jardine
• The City's Edge (1983), as Andy White
• ...Maybe This Time (1980), as Student 2

[edit] External links

• Hugo Weaving at the Internet Movie Database