Geoffrey Rush: 'I would like Australia to be a little bit more adult and independent'

Geoffrey Rush said this week that he would like his home country Australia to be 'a little more adult and independent'.

Appearing at the London Film Festival to promote his new movie 'The King's Speech', Rush told members of the press that he was fascinated by the monarchy but hinted that he wished Australia would leave the commonwealth.

Speaking at a press conference in London's Leicester Square, Rush told reporters, "I've always had an intriguing and fascinating obsession with the whole dynasty of British royalty, back a millennia and a bit; the complexity of the history and the shaping of the various houses and the sometimes bloody passing on of weird claimed lineage.

"I just find it all intriguing. I'd like my country to be a little bit more adult and independent but I do find the presence of royalty and monarchy in contemporary life still intriguing."