Geoffrey Rush quits industry job after 'inappropriate behavior' claim

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Academy award-winning actor Geoffrey Rush resigned as head of an Australian film industry body on Saturday after allegations surfaced against him of "inappropriate behavior".

Media reports this week said the allegations dated from Rush's starring role in the leading Australian theater's staging of William Shakespeare's "King Lear" two years ago.

The 66-year-old, who has denied any wrongdoing, stepped down as president of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), which he had led for years.

"AACTA acknowledges the decision today of Geoffrey Rush to voluntarily step aside as president of AACTA and accepts and respects his decision to do so," the organization said in a statement.

"We have been deeply concerned about the situation and support a course of action that both respects Geoffrey's rights to the presumption of innocence and due process, but also acknowledges good corporate governance in these circumstances," it added, declining further comment.

No further information about the nature of the behavior or the identity of the person who made the complaint was revealed.

Geoffrey Rush played Captain Barbossa in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films. /Photo via wikimedia.org

In a statement to public broadcaster ABC, Rush said he was unaware of the details of the allegations against him.

"The moment I became aware of rumors of a complaint I immediately phoned and spoke to senior management at the Sydney Theater Company asking for clarification about the details of the statement. They refused to illuminate me with the details," he said.

Neil Armfield, a theater and film director who worked with Rush on "King Lear", told the ABC he did not believe the allegations.

"It's not correct, there's no basis... I absolutely do not believe it," he was quoted as saying.

Rush's lawyer, Nicholas Pullen, told the broadcaster that it was "a great disappointment" to Rush that the theater company "has chosen to smear his name and unjustifiably damage his reputation in this way".

Rush won the Best Actor Academy Award in 1997 for his role in "Shine" and is one of the few actors to have also won a primetime Emmy and a Tony Award.

He is perhaps best known as Captain Barbossa in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films.

Source(s): AP ,AFP