Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush has become virtually housebound and barely eats since a Sydney newspaper alleged inappropriate behaviour towards an actress, his lawyer has sworn in an affidavit.
Nicholas Pullen’s affidavit submitted to the Australian Federal Court in Sydney said the 66-year-old Australian actor had suffered “tremendous emotional and social hardship” since The Daily Telegraph accusation in December.
Rush has denied the allegation of inappropriate behaviour towards actress Eryn Jean Norvill during the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of King Lear in 2015.
He is suing the newspaper over the articles, which he says portray him as a pervert and sexual predator.
Details of the alleged behaviour remain vague.
Rush “suffers lack of sleep and anxiety requiring medication” and believes his worth to the entertainment industry “is now irreparably damaged”, his lawyer wrote.
He rarely left home in the three months after the articles and “has been virtually housebound”, his lawyer said.
Rush “has lost his appetite and barely eats” and “wakes up every morning with a terrible sense of dread about his future career”, Mr Pullen added.
The actor has performed in the Sydney Theatre Company for 35 years.
He won the 1997 best actor Academy Award for Shine and has three other Oscar nominations.
Rush is perhaps best known as Captain Barbossa in the Pirates Of The Caribbean films.