Guy Pearce: 7 things you didn't know about the Neighbours star

Neighbours legend Guy Pearce is set to reprise his iconic role as Mike Young in the finale of the much-loved Australian soap.

Since leaving the soap in 1989, he has gone on to star in Hollywood blockbuster films, including The King's Speech, Memento, L.A. Confidential, Prometheus and the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol amongst many more.

Now that he's going back to the role that kickstarted his superstar career, here are 7 things that you didn't know about the Neighbours star...

1.Guy Pearce is still a fan of Neighbours

Most soap fans will know Guy best for playing maths teacher Mike Young in Neighbours from 1986 until 1989. Not only was Mike best friends with the likes of Charlene Mitchell (played by Kylie Minogue) and Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan) he also had a romance with Jane Harris (Annie Jones).

Speaking of the TV show that launched his career, Guy told The Guardian: "I feel really proud of it and thankful to have been a part of it. It's great. I love it because it gave me the chance to do other things."

2. He's good friends with Jason Donovan

As well as kickstarting his hugely successful career in film and television, Neighbours also gave Guy friends for life. He told The Guardian: "Jason and I still call each other Scott and Mike. He's still a really close friend and we went to Kylie's 50th, which was the first time the three of us had got together since Neighbours."

After 37 years on-screen, the Australian soap ends on July 29 with a double-episode special, which will see best friends Jason and Guy reunited as Jason will come back as Scott Robinson and Kylie Minogue as Charlene Mitchell for the finale.

Mike will make his explosive return to Erinsborough to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend Jane Harris as her partner Clive Gibbons (Geoff Payne) tries to make amends for his lies.

3. He has a very famous partner

Guy was married to Kate Mestitz, his childhood sweetheart, for 18 years before they went their separate ways in 2015. Guy then went on to meet his partner, actress Carice van Houten, who is better known to TV fans as Melisandre in Game of Thrones.

4. He became a dad at 50

Despite the fact he previously said becoming a father wasn't on his agenda, Guy and Carice welcomed their son Monte into the world in August 2016. Guy splits his time between Melbourne where he often works and Amsterdam where Carice and their son live.

He told The Guardian: "Being a father might teach me to be more patient, but it still feels relatively new. My heart is there, completely and utterly, but my brain is still steering the ship around."

5. He's not just an actor

As well as having a hugely impressive acting CV with the likes of LA Confidential and Memento under his belt, Guy is also a passionate singer and songwriter. He released his first album Broken Bones in November 2014, and his second album, The Nomad, in 2018.

6. He used to be a body builder

Guy revealed on The Late Late Show with James Corden that he was once crowned Mr Junior Victoria in a body-building competition when he was just 16 years old... "I have only ever entered one bodybuilding competition and I won it, I'm 100 percent a winner!

7. He was born in England 

While Guy is a renowned Australian actor, he was actually born in Cambridgeshire and his mother is from County Durham. He moved to Australia when he was just three years old when his father took a job as a Chief Test pilot for the Australian Government Aircraft Factories.

Sadly when Guy was just eight years old his father died in an aviation accident, leaving behind Guy, his sister and their mother.

Guy Pearce's fact file

Answers to the most frequently asked questions about Guy Pearce...

Twitter: @TheGuyPearce

We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.