Guy Pearce facts: Neighbours star's Hollywood career, wife, kids and more revealed

29 July 2022, 15:47 | Updated: 15 April 2024, 15:44

Guy Pearce is one of Australia's most beloved acting exports.

Here are all the big facts about the former Neighbours heartthrob turned Hollywood megastar...

1. Who is Guy Pearce and where is he from?

   

   Guy Pearce, is an Australian actor and songwriter who was born in the UK and relocated with his family when he was 3-years-old.

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   The actor found fame on Australian soap opera Neighbours when he joined the cast playing Mike Young from 1986-1989 before leaving to pursue a career in Hollywood.

   

   He is widely considered one of the country's greatest acting exports, alongside Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Chris Hemsworth and Hugh Jackman.

2. How old is Guy Pearce?

   

   Guy Pearce was born on October 5, 1967 and celebrated his 54th birthday in 2021.

   He was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire to parents Stuart Pearce a Royal New Zealand Air Force pilot and Anne Cocking, an English schoolteacher.

3. Why did Guy Pearce leave Neighbours?

   Guy started playing Mike Young on Neighbours in 1986, yet by 1988 he was already being offered roles in movies.

   The young star had a storyline in 1988 where he left Erinsborough briefly to tour with his band – a storyline that was to cover up Guy leaving temporarily to shoot a feature film – and by 1989 Guy had decided he no longer wanted to renew his contract on the soap.

   

   The actor's exit storyline saw his leave Ramsay Street in December 1989 to reportedly look after his sick mother.

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   Guy Pearce returned to Neighbours for the last three episodes of the show's 37-year run in July 2022, and was praised for his incredible acting ability and sheer "commitment" to reprising his role as heartthrob Mike Young.

   

4. What films has Guy Pearce been in?

   

   Guy Pearce left Neighbours in 1989 and had a brief stint on rival soap Home and Away from 1991-1992 before making his way to the bright lights of Hollywood.

   He starred in some small-budget films and TV series, including The Late Show and My Forgotten Man, before receiving international attention after his breakout role in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994.

   

   

   Guy Pearce Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters | GQ

   He later had starring roles in films including LA Confidential, Memento and The Time Machine. Other roles include The Road, The Hurt Locker, The King's Speech, Prometheus, and Iron Man 3 and he recently starred in smash hit mini-series Mare of Easttown, opposite Kate Winslet.

   Guy won a Primetime Emmy Award for Mildred Pierce and has received various award nominations including a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and an Australian Academy Film Award.

5. What songs has Guy Pearce released?

   Guy's acting career saw him give musical performances in films such as 1999's A Slipping Down Life, and the star has since gone on to release original music of his own.

   Pearce's acclaimed 2018 album The Nomad was inspired by when his wife left him in 2015.

   Watch Guy Pearce sing 'The Nomad' below:

   

   THE NOMAD by Guy Pearce - music video

   “It just sort of blurted out in that rather difficult year of 2015,” he said about the album in an interview with The Irish Times in 2021.

   “It was the whole thing about my dad’s plane being called the Nomad, and me feeling nomadic after Kate left. I didn’t feel I belonged anywhere.”

   Guy's most recent music venture came as a starring role in a music video for Radiohead's 'Follow Me Around' at the end of 2021.

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   Pearce told the world about his debut in a tongue-in-cheek tweet: “It’s not every day you find a free working toaster on the side of the road. It’s also not every day you get to be in a Radiohead video clip. Both happened a few weeks ago.”

   Watch Guy Pearce star in Radiohead's 'Follow Me Around' below:

   

   Radiohead - Follow Me Around (Official Video)

6. Is Guy Pearce married?

   

   In 1997 Guy Pearce married his childhood sweetheart, Kate Mestitz, and the pair announced their divorce after 18 years in 2015.

   Soon after Guy met Dutch actress Carice van Houten, best known for her portrayal of Melisandre in Game of Thrones, and the pair live together in Amsterdam.

7. Does Guy Pearce have children?

   View this post on Instagram

   A post shared by Carice van Houten (@leavecaricealone)

   Guy Pearce and partner Carice van Houten had 5-year-old son Monte in 2016.

   Speaking on Australian television in 2018, the actor said he was 'madly in love' with his little boy, adding in 2021 that 'having a young child at the ripe old age of 53 is a lot.'