SYDNEY (AP) — Geoffrey Rush's lawyer says the actor had no scandal attached to his name before a Sydney newspaper published allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a female co-star.

The actor faced a large media pack Monday as he entered Sydney's Federal Court, where a judge is hearing his defamation trial against Sydney's Daily Telegraph and its journalist Jonathon Moran.

Lawyer Bruce McClintock said Rush had a stellar reputation before the newspaper's 2017 articles.

Court documents say actress Eryn Jean Norvill had complained to the Sydney Theatre Company that Rush had touched her inappropriately during a production of "King Lear" in 2015 and 2016. He has denied the allegations.

The newspaper intends to use Norvill's sworn statement in its defense against the defamation suit, and both Rush and Norvill are expected to testify.