Geoffrey Rush - Geoffrey Rush Returns Home For Australian Of The Year Event

The King's Speech star, who was the first Australian-born actor to win an Academy Award, was handed the accolade by the country's Prime Minister Julia Gillard in January (12) in recognition of his long-running career in showbusiness.

And on Wednesday, Rush thrilled fans at the Empire theatre in his native Toowoomba, where he was the guest of honour at the Australian of the Year Tour of Honour event.

He took questions from the audience about his movie roles and memories of his childhood, while young Australian of the Year, engineering student Marita Cheng, also took to the stage.