Guy Pearce has revealed why he actively chose to make ‘bad movies’—and the reason may surprise you. As it happens, the Hollywood actor agreed to make a number of ‘s**t movies’ amid his divorce proceedings. Pearce, 57, split from psychologist Kate Mestitz in 2015. She was his childhood sweetheart, and they were married for 18 years. Alas, their marriage didn’t go the distance, leaving Pearce ‘in need of money’ as they navigated their separation.

He’s now admitted that it was ‘a real relief’ when he finally sorted out his financial issues and could start picking films for reasons other than a hefty pay cheque again. In an interview with The Times newspaper, he explained: ‘I did a bunch of s**t during my divorce because I needed the money. ‘It was my divorce period, 2016, ’17, and ’18. I’d read scripts thinking, no, this is pretty good actually, I could do this… But a year earlier I would have said no.’.

He confessed: ‘You’re forced to expand your tolerance of things when you need dough, so it was a real relief once I paid off my divorce.’. Pearce added that the period of his life ‘blurred [his] vision’. ‘I’d read something that I felt was good and then question myself. Is it good? Or just in the camp of paying off my divorce?’. After divorcing Mestitz, the actor went on to find love with Game of Thrones star Carice van Houten, and they welcomed a son named Monte.

However, Pearce recently confirmed the pair have parted ways. She also went on to explain the couple actually split ‘years’ ago, but they are committed to raising their little boy together. In a post on Instagram, she wrote: ‘I don’t usually engage in discussions about my personal life, but because of a number of conclusions in the media last week regarding my relationship with Guy, I wanted to make something clear.

‘He and I are great friends and love each other very much, but we haven’t been a ‘couple’ for years. (Sorry not to mention it earlier). ‘I am, however, very proud to say we are in a wonderful partnership raising the true love of our lives – our beautiful son and his hamster. The end.’. Australian star Pearce, who was born in the UK, first became known for portraying Mike Young in the Aussie soap opera Neighbours in the 1980s.

He then achieved international fame when he starred in 1994’s The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and was later cast in Sir Christopher Nolan classic Memento (2000). Other movies he’s acted in include The King’s Speech (2010), Iron Man 3 (2013), and The Brutalist (2024), the latter of which earned him an Oscar nomination. TV-wise, Pearce starred in the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce in 2011, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award.

Cineworld is going all out for the release of Wicked, and we couldn’t be more excited. His next projects include the films Killing Faith and The Woman in Cabin 10, which are currently in the post-production stage. Got a story?. If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.