Hugo Weaving (b. April 14, 1960) is an Australian actor.
Weaving's father was a seismologist for a multinational oil company, so his family moved frequently when he was a child. He was born in Nigeria, but his family left that country before he turned one. "I've often dreamed about going back to Nigeria, but that's a very romantic notion. It's a hideous country to go to in reality." They finally settled in Sydney, Australia in 1976 when he was 16.
Weaving graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in 1981. His film debut was in The City's Edge (1983), one of the earliest films to treat aboriginies sympathetically. He won a best actor award from the Australian Film Institute for his role as a blind photographer in Proof (1994). International attention came with his turn as the drag queen Tick in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and as the voice of the sheepdog Rex in Babe (1995).
Unlike many actors, Weaving is perfectly happy starring in small Australian films and staying in Sydney with his wife and two children. Despite his best efforts, he is on his way to becoming an actor of some international renown. Most people, even if they don't know his name, remember him from his scene-stealing role as Agent Smith in The Matrix (1999). In 2001, he appeared as the elven lord Elrond in Lord of the Rings and finished filming the two sequels to The Matrix.