Hugo Wallace Weaving (born
4 April 1960) is an English-Australian film and stage actor.
He is best known for playing Agent Smith in The Matrix trilogy
(1999–2003), Elrond in The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003)
and The Hobbit (2012–2014) film
trilogies, V in V for Vendetta (2006), Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger and
the father in Hacksaw Ridge.
Weaving's first television role was in the 1984 Australian television
series Bodyline, where he portrayed English cricket captain Douglas Jardine.
In film, he first rose to prominence for his performance as Martin in the
Australian drama Proof (1991).
Weaving played Anthony
"Tick" Belrose/Mitzi Del Bra in the comedy-drama The Adventures
of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994); and multiple
roles in the science fiction film Cloud Atlas(2012). His roles as a voice actor include
Rex in Babe,
Noah in Happy Feet and Happy Feet Two,
and Megatron in
the Transformersfilm series.
Weaving's awards for acting include a Satellite Award, MTV Movie Award and
six Australian Film Institute Awards.
Early
Life
Weaving was born at the University of Ibadan Teaching
Hospital, in Ibadan, in the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria,
to English parents Anne (née Lennard) (born 1932), a tour guide and former
teacher, and Wallace Weaving (born 1929), a seismologist. His
maternal grandmother was Belgian. A year after his birth, his family
returned to England, living in Bedford and Brighton before
moving to Melbourne and Sydney in
Australia; Johannesburg in South Africa; and then returning to
England again.
While in England, he
attended The Downs School, Wraxall,
near Bristol,
and Queen Elizabeth's Hospital. While at the
Downs School, in 1973 Weaving played one of his first theatrical roles, taking
the part of 'Captain Asquith' in Robert Bolt's
"The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew". His family moved back to
Australia in 1976, where he attended Knox Grammar School in Sydney. He
graduated from Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art in
1981.
Career
Weaving's first television role was in the
1984 Australian television series Bodyline,
as the English cricket
captain Douglas Jardine.
Weaving appeared in the Australian miniseries The Dirtwater Dynasty in
1988 and as Geoffrey Chambers in
the drama Barlow and Chambers: A Long Way From Home.
He starred opposite Nicole Kidman in the 1989 film Bangkok Hilton.
In 1991, Weaving received the Australian Film
Institute's "Best Actor" award for his performance in the
low-budget Proof. He appeared as Sir John in the
1993 Yahoo Serious comedy Reckless Kelly, a lampoon of Australian
outlaw Ned Kelly.
In the mid-90s, Weaving portrayed drag queen Anthony "Tick"
Belrose/Mitzi Del Bra in the 1994 film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and
provided the voice of Rex the sheepdog in the 1995 family film Babe. In 1998, he received the
"Best Actor" award from the Montreal Film
Festival for his performance as a suspected serial killer in The Interview.
1999–2010
Weaving played the enigmatic and
evil-minded Agent Smith in
the 1999 film The Matrix. He later reprised that role
in the film's 2003 sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix
Revolutions. He was a voice actor in the cartoon film The Magic Pudding.
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