Guy Pearce Reflects on The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’s Impact

Guy Pearce recently reflected on his role in the 1994 road comedy film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and the LGBTQ cult classic it became.

Speaking to ComingSoon, Pearce reminisced on the film, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024. Pearce reflected on how happy the reception made him, and how he’s still touched all these years later that the film might have helped someone in a time of need.

“Well, it means a lot. I mean, and I have to sort of always remind myself that I’m just as much an observer as everyone else, really,” said Pearce. “Yes, I got to be in it, but it’s not like I created it. Also, when the film came out and the year or two afterward when people were just kind of flipping out over it, and I’ve had so many people say to me, ‘Because of that movie, I was able to come out to my family.’ So just that alone, the amount of times people have said that to me, and I think that the film probably helped.

“But it certainly came at a time when people when pride and not feeling as humiliated by being different to everybody else, I think, in that early nineties period. Particularly after the horrific decade of the eighties and AIDS for the gay community. Priscilla coming as the sort of light was beginning to shine a bit more, and people were becoming more accepting. Not to suggest people are completely accepting by any means these days, but it came at a really great time. So to be part of that was so special. I still have so many people kind of grabbing me and almost in tears going, ‘You have no idea what that film did for me.’ So to be part of that, it’s just extraordinary, really. Amazing.”

What is The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert about?

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was released in 1994 and starred Pearce, Hugo Weaving, Terence Stamp, and Bill Hunter. The film followed the story of two drag queens (played by Weaving and Pearce) and a transgender woman (Stamp) as they journey across the Australian Outback in a tour bus that they’ve decorated and nicknamed Priscilla. The movie catalogued the various people they met along the way.

Upon its release, it was a surprise massive hit, and became a major film in the world of LGBTQ portrayal in cinema. The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and has since become a cult classic across the world.