Hugo Weaving

Hugo has been in a long term relationship with his girlfriend Katrina Greenwood since 1984. The couple has two children Harry and Holly.

Several members from his family have ventured into acting, such as his son Harry and his niece Samara Weaving.

Hugo suffered from epilepsy as a teenager. But the condition was not very severe and he overcame it when he turned 18. But he remains sceptic about it and refuses to drive until now.

Hugo Weaving was born on April 4, 1960 in Nigeria to English parents Anne and Wallace Weaving as the second of the three children in the family. His mother worked as a tour guide and a teacher while his father was an acclaimed seismologist. His father’s work took him to different places from time to time and as a result, Hugo spent most of his childhood living in Nigeria, England and Australia.

Soon after Hugo was born, the family moved to England for sometime before moving to Australia for work reasons. The family also had a brief stay in South Africa. Hugo started acting while he was studying in England attending The Downs School. As the first acting role of his life, he played the role of Captain Asquith in the play ‘The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew’. As for his academics, he particularly enjoyed history and scored high grades in it consistently.

In the mid 70s, the family moved back to Australia, where Hugo started attending Knox Grammar School. The family lived in Sydney and by then Hugo had developed a keen interest in acting. Following his high school graduation, Hugo decided to learn acting professionally and got enrolled into National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney.

Following his graduation from NIDA, Hugo went out in search of steady acting work. It was not difficult for him as NIDA is known as one of the most well respected acting institutions in the world with alumni such as Geoffrey Rush and Mel Gibson.

Straight out of NIDA, Hugo made his acting debut with a small role as a student in the film ‘...Maybe this Time’ in 1981. He further appeared in bigger roles in films such as ‘The City’s Edge’ and ‘For Love Alone’. All of these were small Australian films and remained unanimous for long times post their release.

His television debut happened in 1984 with a role in the series ‘Bodyline’, where he played the role of an English cricketer. For the years following that, Hugo appeared in several TV series’ such as ‘The Dirtwater Dynasty’ and ‘Barlow and Chambers: A Long Way from Home’.

In the early 90s, Hugo finally started gaining recognition for his roles in the films such as ‘Proof’ and ‘Reckless Kelly’. Both the Australian films ran into film festivals and brought Hugo a worldwide exposure for the first time.

In 1993, Hugo appeared playing starring roles in the films such as ‘Frauds’ and ‘The Custodian’. In the very next year, came the next breakthrough role of his career in the film ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’. His role as a drag queen brought him international fame. In the coming years, he further gained prominence as he provided his voice to the film ‘Babe’.

In 1999 came the project that turned his life around. He was offered the role of the main villain Mr. Smith in the science fiction action film ‘The Matrix’. Owing to its existential content and path-breaking action sequences, the film is known as a cult classic. Hugo’s portrayal as a stiff, stoic evil AI brought him the super-stardom in Hollywood.

Hugo Weaving has won several Australian Film Institute Awards throughout his career. In the Best Actor category, he has won awards for films such as ‘Proof’, ‘The Interview’ and ‘Little Fish’. Apart from these awards, he has earned many nominations for his roles in critically acclaimed films such as ‘The Dressmaker’, ‘Jasper Jones’, ‘The Old Man who Read Love Stories’ and ‘The Matrix’.