In addition to his live action appearances, Weaving has had severalvoice over roles, including in the filmsBabe (1995),Happy Feet (2006) andHappy Feet Two (2011), and theTransformers series asMegatron (2007–2011). He reprised his roles of Agent Smith and Elrond inMatrix andLord of the Rings video game adaptations.
While in the UK, Weaving attendedThe Downs School,Wraxall, nearBristol, andQueen Elizabeth's Hospital.[7] While at the Downs School, in 1973, Weaving played one of his first theatrical roles, taking the part of Captain Asquith inRobert Bolt'sThe Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew. His family moved back to Sydney, Australia in 1976 with the intention to settle; however his parents separated not long after they migrated.[8]. In Sydney, he attendedKnox Grammar School[9], going on to study at Sydney'sNational Institute of Dramatic Art, graduating with a Diploma of Dramatic Art (Acting) in 1981.[10][11]. Weaving has said that though his roots are in Australia, and he considers it his country, he feels neither wholly English nor wholly Australian.[12][13]
He received additional acclaim in the role of thehalf-elven lordElrond inPeter Jackson's three-film adaptation ofThe Lord of the Rings, released between 2001 and 2003.[15] Weaving was the main actor in Andrew Kotatko's award-winning filmEverything Goes (2004). He starred as a heroin-addicted ex-rugby league player in the 2005 Australianindie filmLittle Fish, oppositeCate Blanchett. Weaving played the title role asV in the 2005 filmV for Vendetta, in which he was reunited withthe Wachowskis, creators ofThe Matrix trilogy, who wrote the adapted screenplay. ActorJames Purefoy was originally signed to play the role, but was fired six weeks into filming over creative differences.[16][17][18] Weaving reshot most of Purefoy's scenes as V (even though his face is never seen) apart from a couple of minor dialogue-free scenes early in the film while stuntman David Leitch performed all of V's stunts.
In a controversial move by directorMichael Bay, Weaving was chosen as theDecepticon leaderMegatron vocally in the 2007 live-action filmTransformers, rather than using theoriginal version of the character's voice created by the voice actorFrank Welker. Weaving himself was unaware of the controversy, having accepted the role based on Michael Bay's personal request; in a November 2008Sun Herald interview, he said he had never seenTransformers. Though Weaving reprised his role in two sequels, he does not have much personal investment in theTransformers films. In February 2010, Weaving revealed toThe Age: "Director Michael Bay talks to me on the phone. I've never met him. We were doing the voice for the second one and I still hadn't seen the first one. I still didn't really know who the characters were and I didn't know what anything was. It's a voice job, for sure, and people assume I've spent my life working on it, but I really know so little about it."[19] In 2012, Weaving said toCollider: "It was one of the only things I've ever done where I had no knowledge of it, I didn't care about it, I didn't think about it. They wanted me to do it. In one way, I regret that bit. I don't regret doing it, but I very rarely do something if it's meaningless. It was meaningless to me, honestly. I don't mean that in any nasty way."
Weaving played a supporting role inJoe Johnston's 2010 remake of the 1941 filmThe Wolfman, starringBenicio del Toro. Immediately afterWolfman wrapped in spring 2008, he returned home to Australia to film a lead role in the filmLast Ride, directed by Glendyn Ivin. In early 2009,Guillermo del Toro, then director ofThe Hobbit films, prequels toThe Lord of the Rings, confirmed his intent to again cast Weaving asElrond ofRivendell in a BBC interview.[20] When asked about reprising the role, Weaving replied that he was game, but had not officially been approached. Del Toro eventually left the project; Peter Jackson decided to direct the films himself but Weaving was not officially confirmed in the cast until May 2011.
Weaving spent the summer of 2009 starring in theMelbourne Theatre Company's production ofGod of Carnage, portraying the caustic lawyer Alain Reille. He returned to the stage in November 2010 in Sydney Theatre Company'sUncle Vanya, co-starring Cate Blanchett andRichard Roxburgh.[21] Weaving filmed a guest role on Roxburgh's Australian TV seriesRake in May 2010.
In May 2009, Weaving accepted a co-starring role in the docudramaOranges and Sunshine,[22] about the forced migration of thousands of British children to Australia in the 1950s. Filming began in autumn 2009 inNottingham, England, andAdelaide, South Australia, and continued through January 2010. The film premiered at theRome International Film Festival on 28 October 2010 and garnered positive reviews. 2010 saw the release ofLegend of the Guardians (formerlyThe Guardians of Ga'Hoole), in which Weaving has another high-profile voice role,[23] portraying two different owls named Noctus and Grimble inZack Snyder's film adaptation ofKathryn Lasky's popular series of children's books.
On 4 May 2010, it was officially confirmed byMarvel Studios that Weaving would play theNazi supervillainJohann Schmidt / Red Skull in the superhero filmCaptain America: The First Avenger.[24] Weaving completed filming his role on the project in September 2010 and returned to Sydney to prepare forUncle Vanya. It is unlikely he will sign on for any further installments in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU); in an August 2011Baltimore Sun interview, the actor confided he is weary of typecasting and of "blockbuster" films in general: "I think I've about had enough... I'm not sure how many more of them I'll make. It doesn't feel to me as though they've been the majority of my work, though that's probably the way it seems to most other people."[25] Red Skull returned in the MCU filmsAvengers: Infinity War (2018) andAvengers: Endgame (2019), withRoss Marquand replacing Weaving in the role.
On 13 March 2011,The Key Man, which Weaving filmed in 2006, finally debuted at theSouth By Southwest Festival inAustin, Texas.[26] The child migrant sagaOranges and Sunshine opened in the UK on 1 April, the culmination of months of success on the festival circuit in late 2010-early 2011.[27] In March, theSydney Theatre Company andJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced that STC's 2010 production of Chekhov'sUncle Vanya would be reprised in Washington, D.C., during the month of August.[28] In April, months of speculation finally ended when Weaving appeared onThe Hobbit's New Zealand set, shortly before a production spokesman officially confirmed the actor's return as Elrond in Peter Jackson's prequel trilogy toThe Lord of the Rings.[29] He was part of the cast of the Wachowskis' adaptation ofDavid Mitchell's novelCloud Atlas.[30] The project, co-starringTom Hanks,Ben Whishaw,Halle Berry,Jim Broadbent, andSusan Sarandon, began filming in September 2011 and was released in October 2012.
2012 found Weaving re-focusing on his theatrical career, with a return to the Sydney Theatre Company to star in a new adaptation ofChristopher Hampton's playLes Liaisons Dangereuses in March.[31] He portrayed the notorious Vicomte de Valmont, a character he first played onstage in 1987. His frequent stage foilPamela Rabe costarred. Weaving andCate Blanchett reprised their roles in STC's internationally lauded production ofUncle Vanya for a ten-day run atNew York'sLincoln Center in July.[32]
The busy actor joined the cast of three forthcoming Australian films in summer 2012. The Western-tinged police thrillerMystery Road, written and directed byIvan Sen, began filming in June 2012.[33] Weaving appeared in the prison dramaHealing for director Craig Monahan, with whom he previously madeThe Interview (1998) andPeaches (2005).[34] He appeared in a segment of the Australian anthology filmThe Turning, based onTim Winton's collection of linked stories, entitled "The Commission", directed byDavid Wenham.[35] He ended 2013 co-starring withRichard Roxburgh andPhilip Quast inSamuel Beckett'sWaiting For Godot, for the Sydney Theatre Company.[36][37]
In the spring of 2013, Weaving reprised theAgent Smith role for aGeneral Electric television commercial for their "Brilliant Machines" innovations in healthcare management technology, which was slated to air during a break from 13 April's edition ofSaturday Night Live, and subsequently continued to receive multiple airings on major cable networks.[38]
From 26 July to 27 September 2014, Weaving played the titular role ofSydney Theatre Company's production ofMacbeth.[39] In an unusual treatment of the Shakespearian tragedy by young Sydney directorKip Williams, Weaving's performance was described by Peter Gotting ofThe Guardian as "the role of his career".[40]
In 2004, Weaving became an ambassador for Australiananimal rights organisationVoiceless, the animal protection institute. He attends events, promotes Voiceless in interviews, and assists in their judging of annual grants recipients.[45]
When he was 13 years old, Weaving was diagnosed withepilepsy. Although the condition rarely affected him and stopped in his early 30s, he still chooses not to drive, given the risk of a seizure.[47][48]
He has been in a relationship with Katrina Greenwood since 1984;[49] they live in Sydney and have two children together:Harry Greenwood, an actor, and Holly Greenwood, an artist.[50] The children were given their mother's surname, which Weaving's son described as the family's "stand against the patriarchy."[51]
Weaving has a brother and a sister. He is the uncle of actressSamara Weaving, who began her career in Australia before transitioning to American roles. Both appeared in the 2013 Australian filmMystery Road. His younger niece Morgan Weaving appeared on the Australian soap operaHome and Away alongside her sister.[52]
^"Depth among the shallows".The Age. Melbourne, Australia: Fairfax Digital. 12 February 2010.Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved13 April 2010.
The Dictionary of Performing Arts in Australia – Theatre . Film . Radio . Television – Volume 1 – Ann Atkinson, Linsay Knight, Margaret McPhee – Allen & Unwin Pty. Ltd., 1996
The Australian Film and Television Companion – compiled by Tony Harrison – Simon & Schuster Australia, 1994
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