Wallace was a quiet but hard working man. He dedicated his life to two things; his family and his career. A career that had him traveling around the world and frequently moving his family from one country to another. You see, Wallace was a seismologist. He passionately studied earthquakes and the life altering affect they have on our daily life.
And in 1960, his own daily life changed quite drastically with the birth of his son. Wallace was currently stationed in Nigeria, but very soon he would be uprooting his wife and new baby, to bring them back to his home country, the UK.
Wallace’s son was very much like him; hard working yet painfully shy. So it was quite a surprise when at the age of 9, Wallace’s son proclaimed that he was going to become an actor. His son had just returned from a trip to the theatre where he had been profoundly moved by Prokofiev’s ballet production of Romeo and Juliet.
Wallace was stunned. How could his boy overcome his insurmountable stage fright? Or his fear of public speaking? Perhaps, thought Wallace, this too was just a phase.
4 years later however, the stage fright, the shyness, and everything else seemed to magically disappear. Wallace’s son had very recently been diagnosed with Epilepsy and frequently experienced seizures and other episodes. Wouldn’t it make more sense for his son to turn inward? For his shyness to increase even more?
It turns out that Wallace’s 13 year old son was on such a high dose of anti-epileptics, that his crippling anxiety was completely masked! So much in fact, that he went on to receive incredibly high marks in school & in 1981 he graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. He was officially an actor.
As time went on, Wallace’s son diligently mastered his craft and went on to earn numerous awards; including 2 Australian Film Institute Awards and the Australian Star of the Year Award. He then went on to open the Belgrade Film Festival in 1997.
Wallace’s son was so dedicated as an actor, that in 1999 he actually fractured his hip while attempting to perfect a stunt for one of his roles.
Luckily, the hip healed quite nicely, and Wallace’s son was able to finish filming his role for The Matrix. He then went on to star in big ticket films such as The Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit, and V for Vendetta.
Interestingly enough, with all of this time spent acting, Wallace’s now famous son never took the time to get a driver’s license. Today, at 56 years old, he still doesn’t drive. When asked about it, he simply explains that Epilepsy held him back from getting a license, but didn’t hold him back from life. If he didn’t need a driver’s license then, why should he need one now?
So who is Wallace’s pragmatic, hard working, famous son? None other than the talented Hugo Weaving! Known as one of the greatest sci-fi villains of the 21st century! And it all started with a little inspiration from Romeo & Juliet, and a little help from his anti-seizure meds.
Hello from Minnesota! I was diagnosed with Generalized Idiopathic Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in 2006. My goal is to create and contribute to a community for those living with Epilepsy & other neurological disorders, so that we can support each other, raise awareness, and share our hope for fewer seizures in the future!