Hugo Weaving

Though he shied away from big Hollywood blockbusters early in his career, actor Hugo Weaving went on to have prominent supporting roles - typically as the villain - in some of the biggest movie franchises in cinema history. After emerging from his native Australia wearing drag for the international hit "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" (1994), Weaving used his powerful and distinctive voice to good use in "Babe" (1995) and its sequel "Babe 2: Pig in the City" (1998). But he came into true prominence as the ubiquitous Agent Smith in the surprise hit sci-fi thriller, "The Matrix" (1999), and its two sequels, "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003) and "The Matrix Revolutions" (2003). He had a smaller, but no less important role as an Elf leader in "The Lord of the Rings" (2001-03) trilogy. Both franchises catapulted Weaving's career and turned him into a household name. Though he routinely went back to Australia to film smaller, more dramatic-minded fare, he always seemed to find himself right in the middle of huge Hollywood pictures, including as the voice of Megatron in "Transformers" (2007) and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (2009).