Trade Mark
Deep dramatic voice
Rich yet flawless voice
Often plays sinister villains or anti-heroes
Roles in science fiction and fantasy films
Calm, reserved delivery of his lines.
High eyebrows, often arched to dramatic effect
Trivia
Graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).
His parents and baby Hugo left Nigeria before he was one year old.
Children with Katrina Greenwood: Harry Weaving (b. 1989) and Holly Weaving (b. 1993).
His father worked in the computer industry and moved around a lot. Hugo spent his childhood in South Africa and England before finally settling in Australia.
Sister Anna-Jane Weaving had a brief singing career in Paris, France in the mid-1980s.
Nominated for the 2005 Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for his performance in "Hedda Gabler".
Attended the same high school as Australian actors Adam Garcia, Hugh Jackman, Andrew Johnston, Reg Livermore, writer Stuart Beattie and radio host John Laws.
Attended the Downs School, Wraxall, outside Bristol, whilst living in the United Kingdom, which was also briefly attended by Orlando Bloom.
Weaving fractured his hip doing a stunt while in training for Matrix (1999). He recovered and the fight scenes in the production were shifted to the end of the filming. Since Keanu Reeves had suffered a neck injury at around the same time, the delay worked well for both actors. While both actors required stunt doubles on The Matrix and its two sequels, they both trained for months in advance of each production and did a lot of the fight choreography themselves.
Has suffered from epileptic seizures since he was age 13. Because of this, he made the decision early on not to drive and he has never had a driver's license. In a 2006 interview, Weaving noted he hasn't suffered a seizure in years, but is still reluctant to get a driver's license because "I'm so used to not driving, I'm scared of what I'd do.".
Is a pesco Vegetarians - Pesco vegetarians eat fish but no other meat.
Partners with Katrina Greenwood (1984-present).
He opened Belgrade Film Festival - FEST in 1997.
Uncle of Morgan and Samara Weaving.
Brother of Simon Weaving.
Is nine years older than Cate Blanchett but plays her son-in-law in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Personal Quotes
"I was on top of Keanu Reeves, he was on his back and I was on my trunk, and I was breathing down his neck for hours and hours. It was... very erotic." (on filming Matrix Reloaded (2003))
I do love working in Australia. Generally, the budgets are smaller, the crews are smaller and generally you work at a fast pace. That gives you energy. At the end of the day, you've worked a lot but you don't feel tired. On the big ones, you sit around a lot. That really saps your energy.
I think I said something like The Interview (1998) was the most fulfilling experience from an acting point of view. And it definitely was. That was a combination of working with a director who was very open and very prepared, and ... working with [co-star] Tony Martin- just sitting opposite him every day, which is pretty much what we did because the film is essentially a dialog between two men.
You're certainly pushed into selling yourself as a commodity in order to sell the product. I will engage in the selling of the film. But I will try not to engage in the selling of the image, because I find that it's easier to go on and make another film, because the next character is actually obstructed if your image is bigger than it. So the longer you keep the mask on, metaphorically and physically, the better.
I'm 'of the world'. There was a time when I thought, 'Oh, I must go back to England. I feel English.' Then I went and the longer I was away, the more Australian I felt. Now, I've come back here and I don't feel entirely Australian. But I certainly feel like this is my country. This is where I live and this is where I want to work.
One of the first things that made me want to be an actor was listening to Prokofiev's 'Romeo and Juliet'. I was intensely moved by it. I think I was about nine - I went to see the ballet. That's what made me interested in Shakespeare.
I think films have a limited ability to change the world, but that doesn't mean you don't stop trying. You do what's right for you, make the films you believe in, talk about the issues you believe in. The bigger the risk, the more chance you're going to be crucified, but you have to execute your beliefs in any way you can. In the end ['Cloud Atlas'] has something to say about love and hope and believing in something. It wants to tell us that individual choices can come to mean something universal.
_
_
