Geoffrey Rush isn’t afraid to lean into eccentricity—both professionally and, as you’ll soon see, personally. Born in Queensland and raised near Brisbane, Rush is the only Australian ever to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. After a random stint as a mime in Paris, Rush got his big break in 1996, starring in Shine as the child-prodigy pianist David Helfgott. Since then, he’s portrayed a colorful collection of characters, from a domineering theater owner in Shakespeare in Love to Pirates of the Caribbean’s villain turned hero, Captain Hector Barbossa. Now he stars alongside John Lithgow in the psychological thriller The Rule of Jenny Pen. To celebrate the film’s release, the actor shares his key components to the good life. —Carolina de Armas
Airline: Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services). Founded in my home state in 1922. They’ve had their ups and downs, but their safety record is impeccable.
Airport: Wellington International Airport, in New Zealand. It’s breathtaking and the strip is short.
Alibi: “Phone battery died. S’sorry!”
App: AccuRadio. Specifically their AccuBroadway channel. You find it when you need it.
Bag: Sometimes a pillowcase works.
Bedtime: Nowadays, a sensible one.
Bike: Never electric—too many seniors are hurled over the handlebars going downhill.
Breakfast, weekday: Muesli, plain Greek yogurt, and manuka honey. Only after the pug has had her food.
Breakfast, weekend: Full English breakfast with chilies or Arabic spices. Only after the pug has had her food.
Car: Have never owned one. I can’t drive. I forgot to do it.
Child: Cupids in Renaissance art and one’s own—warts and wonder and all.
Cocktail: Negroni! The secret is to line the glass with Angostura bitters; throw in a clove and a tiny eyedropper of a dark grappa. (Shh, I promised I’d never reveal this alchemical potion.)
Cocktail appetizer: Big Sicilian green olives or Nibble Nobby’s Nuts.
