For a veteran actor who has delivered time and time again in such Oscar-lauded movies as L.A. Confidential, Memento and Best Picture winners The Hurt Locker and The King’s Speech, among others, you might wonder how many times Guy Pearce has been nominated for Academy Awards himself. But, surprisingly, the answer is never. This year, however, that is likely to change with his highly praised Supporting turn in Barry Corbet’s epic drama The Brutalist, for which he is already nominated for Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards.
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Nevertheless, as Pearce tells me in this week’s edition of my Deadline video series The Actor’s Side, he does not feel like he ever has been snubbed. “All I want to do is work and get better, ” he says. That undoubtedly is what he has done in a career with many highlights that include an Emmy win for the limited series Mildred Pierce — his only award, he thinks; another role opposite Kate Winslet in the Emmy-winning limited series Mare of Easttown; playing a drag queen in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; a lot of iconic roles like Houdini, Scrooge and Andy Warhol; and his memorable turns for Ridley Scott as Peter Whelan in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.
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The list goes on and on, and it never ends. His Wikipedia page has five credits listed for 2024 alone, including the Cannes competition film The Shrouds. That David Cronenberg film was just one of the many he has done for such iconic directors as Scott, Christopher Nolan, Curtis Hansen, Kathryn Bigelow, Todd Haynes, etc.
He talks about all of these acting experiences with great insight and anecdotes, as well as why he wanted to take on such a complex role in The Brutalist. To watch our conversation and to get the “actor’s side” of things from Guy Pearce, just click on the link above.
Join me every Wednesday during Oscar season for another edition of The Actor’s Side.