Guy Pearce has revealed he stepped up as his family’s father figure after the shock death of his dad in a plane crash when the actor was only eight years old.
Pearce’s father, Stuart, who was a chief test pilot for Australia’s government aircraft industry and former RAF squadron leader, was killed in an aircraft accident at the age of 39 in 1976, leaving behind wife Anne, and two children, Pearce and his disabled elder sister Tracy.
The Memento actor, now 57, said his mother made a subtle hint that he would now be the man of the house as the family navigated Stuart’s death in their hometown of Geelong, Australia, after moving from England five years prior.
Tragedy struck when Stuart was testing the Nomad aircraft on August 6 1976. 90 seconds into the flight a ‘large section of the tail fell off’ – with the navigator Pat Larcy the only survivor and Stuart killed.
Pearce told WSJ: ‘When I arrived home from school that day, Mum’s friends were there. She took me into her bedroom and told me what had happened. I don’t remember anything after that. I was eight.
‘Years later, my mother said to me in her typical blunt fashion, “Well, you went really weird after your dad died. I thought about getting you a psychiatrist.” That was probably her sarcastic way of showing sympathy.’
Guy Pearce has revealed he stepped up as his family’s father figure after the shock death of his dad in a plane crash when the actor was only eight years old – pictured December 2024
Pearce’s father, Stuart (pictured with wife Anne), who was a chief test pilot for Australia’s government aircraft industry and former RAF squadron leader, was killed in an aircraft accident at the age of 39 in 1976, leaving behind wife Anne, and two children
The family remained in their home while Pearce took on more responsibility with his sister – who has genetic disorder Cornelia de Lange syndrome – and around the home, while balancing his schoolwork and aspirations to become an actor.
He said: ‘My sister, Tracy, has an intellectual disability, so I became the family dad at a young age. Mum was very clever about easing me into the role. She didn’t say, “I need you to help me.” She said, “It’s so wonderful that you’re being responsible.”
‘We had a TV, and Tracy and I loved our time watching cartoons. I knew when to turn the TV off, do my homework, practice the clarinet and tenor saxophone and help with Tracy and get her to bed.’
Pearce shot to fame in iconic Australian drama, Neighbours where he played Mike Young between 1986 and 1989.
Oscar nominee Pearce broke out in Hollywood with roles in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), L.A. Confidential (1997), Ravenous (1999), and Memento (2000).
He is now a Primetime Emmy Award winner for his role in Mildred Pierce, and has racked up nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for The Brutalist, as well as two Golden Globe Award nominations.
While his late father never knew of Pearce’s desire to act, the star said he would ‘like to think he would have admired my work. No one understood the exhilaration of the unknown better than he did.’
Pearce’s mother Anne died in 2023 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.
The Memento actor, now 57, said his mother made a subtle hint that he would now be the man of the house as the family navigated Stuart’s death in their hometown of Geelong, Australia, – pictured with Anne and his sister Tracy, who has an intellectual disability
He said: ‘My sister, Tracy, has an intellectual disability, so I became the family dad at a young age. Mum was very clever about easing me into the role. She didn’t say, “I need you to help me.” She said, “It’s so wonderful that you’re being responsible”‘
The Pearce family had moved to Australia five years before the tragedy – Pearce seen as a child with his sister, who has genetic disorder Cornelia de Lange syndrome
In 2016, Pearce reflected on the death of his father as he prepared to welcome his first child with then-partner Carice Van Houten
He shared a photo of his father’s doomed plane in its final flight
Pearce is now the toast of Hollywood and became a first time Oscar nominee in 2025 in The Brutalist – seen with co-star Adrien Brody in February 2025
In 2016, Pearce reflected on the death of his father as he prepared to welcome his first child with then-partner Carice Van Houten.
He wrote alongside a photo of his father and the doomed plane: ‘Aug 6 1976 – Dad never made it home from that test flight. A profound effect, only amplified as I await my own child.’
The star welcomed son Monte later that year.
In 2008, the actor told the Daily Mail: ‘Dad’s death probably made me afraid of any unpredictability in my life.’
He added: ‘Of course, life contains nothing but unpredictability, and so, as a kid, my nerves were jangling constantly and I operated on this incredibly high frequency all the time.
‘It was hard being around people; I just wanted to close the door on them.’
