Peter O'Toole (Connemara, Ireland or Leeds, England, August 2, 1932 - London, Great Britain, December 14, 2013)


Film and theatre actor, with the full name Peter Seamus O'Toole, had a thriving acting career stretching seven decades. Born in an Irish-Scottish family, he himself was unsure of the exact date and place of birth, admitting in his autobiography that he possessed two different certificates. The Irish document states he was born in June, but he took August 2 as his birthday. He grew up in England and wanted to become a journalist since early childhood. He started working as a trainee at Yorkshire Evening Post, but soon discovered his new love for theatre. He served two years in the Royal Navy and in 1952 enrolled to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. After finishing his studies, he worked at the Old Vic in Bristol for a few years. His had his first, smaller roles on film and television in mid 1950’s. Director David Lean gave him the leading role in Lawrence of Arabia (1962). This was Peter O'Toole's first major role that instantly brought him international fame and it remains his best known role to this day. He was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor, won the British BAFTA Award for Best British actor, and the Italian David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor (shared with Fredric March for Seven Days in May, 1964). He received two Oscar nominations for his portrayals of Henry II, first for the role in Becket (1964) and the second for the one in The Lion in Winter (1968). In the 1960s, he starred in the adventure drama Lord Jim (1965) by Richard Brooks, comedy What's New Pussycat (1965) by Clive Donner and Richard Talmadge based on Woody Allen's script, romantic comedy How to Steal a Million (1966) by William Wyler, crime drama The Night of the Generals (1967) by Anatole Litvak and romantic comedy Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) by Herbert Ross, which brought him another Oscar nomination. In the first half of the 1970s, he starred in the less successful films such as the drama Country Dance (1970) by J. Lee Thompson, war drama Murphy's War (1971) by Peter Yates, which was slightly more successful, drama Under Milk Wood (1972) by Andrew Sinclair and crime comedy The Ruling Class (1972) by Peter Medak, which proved to be successful commercially as well as with the critics and in addition earned him his fourth Oscar nomination. He played Don Quixote and Miguel de Cervantes in Man of La Mancha (1972) by the director Arthur Hiller, and the role of Robinson Crusoe in a less successful film by Jack Gold Man Friday (1975). In mid-1980’s, his career suffered due to stomach problems. During that time he drank too much, and later discovered he had stomach cancer. After surgery and a long therapy, he quit drinking and managed to fight of the illness. He successfully returned to film playing the leading roles in the popular action comedy The Stunt Man (1980) by director Richard Rush, and in the comedy My Favourite Year (1982) by Richard Benjamin. He received Oscar nominations for both roles, as well as many awards. In the 1980’s, he started to appear more on TV series and films, in addition to making feature films. The lead role in comedy My Favourite Year (1982) by Richard Benjamin brought him another Oscar nomination in 1983. His following bigger film was the biography drama The Last Emperor (1987) by Bernard Bertolucci. During the 1990’s, it became more difficult for him to get good roles, and he continued working on television starring in series and films. On the big screen he played in Wings of Fame (1990) by Otakar Votocek, together with Omar Sharif in The Rainbow Thief (1990) by Alejandro Jodorowski, in the popular, but not critically acclaimed romantic comedy King Ralph (1991) by David S. Ward, children's film FairyTale: A True Story (1997) and sci-fi horror Phantoms (1998) by Joe Chappelle. He received an Emmy for his role in TV mini-series Joan of Arc (1999). After the year 2000, in his late 60s, he still actively worked and starred in the comedy Global Heresy (2002) by Sidney J. Furie. He had smaller but recognised roles in Bright Young Things (2003) by Stephen Fry and Troy (2004) by Wolfgang Petersen. His last greater success was the lead role in comedy Venus (2006) by Roger Michell and even though he broke his hip during its filming, he carried on working. This role was his eighth and last Oscar nomination. After a smaller role in the fantasy film Stardust (2007) by Matthew Vaughn, he played Pope Paul III in the second season of the television series The Tudors in 2008. He appeared in the drama Dean Spanley (2008) by Toa Fraser. In June 2013, he announced his retirement and had his last role in the historical Katherine of Alexandria (2014) by Michael Redwood. Simultaneously with his film career, he continued to work in theatre. For his performance in the play Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell (1989) he received the Laurence Olivier award. In 2000, he received another Laurence Olivier award for his exceptional achievement in theatre, and three years later, in 2003, an honorary Oscar. He published two autobiographies, the first entitled "Loitering With Intent: The Child" about his life from childhood years to the World War II, and the other "Loitering With Intent: The Apprentice" about the years spent at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He was a big fan of rugby and played it for years, but also worked as a cricket coach. His physical appearance inspired the cartoon artist Magnus to create the main character in his comic Alan Ford, that is very popular in this region.







Filmography:

Katherine of Alexandria (2014)

The Whole World at Our Feet (2013)

For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada (2012)

Eldorado (2012) (V) (voice)

Eager to Die (2010)

Iron Road (2009) (TV series, 2 episodes)

Christmas Cottage (2008)

Dean Spanley (2008)

The Tudors (2008) (TV series, 7 episodes)

Stardust (2007)

Ratatouille (2007) (animation, voice)

One Night with the King (2006)

Venus (2006)

Lassie (2005)

Casanova (2005) (TV series, 3 episodes)

Troy (2004)

Imperium: Augustus (2003) (TV)

Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003) (TV)

Bright Young Things (2003)

The Final Curtain (2002)

Global Heresy (2002)

The Education of Max Bickford (2002) (TV series, 1 episode)

Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell (1999) (TV)

Joan of Arc (1999) (TV)

Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (1999)

The Manor (1999)

Coming Home (1998) (TV)

Phantoms (1998)

FairyTale: A True Story (1997)

Gulliver's Travels (1996) (TV)

Heavy Weather (1995) (TV)

Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III (1994) (TV series, 3 episodes)

The Seventh Coin (1993)

Civvies (1992) (TV series, 3 episode)

Rebecca's Daughters (1992)

Isabelle Eberhardt (1991)

King Ralph (1991)

The Nutcracker Prince (1990) (animation, voice)

The Rainbow Thief (1990)

Crossing to Freedom (1990) (TV)

Wings of Fame (1990)

In una notte di chiaro di luna (1989)

The Dark Angel (1989) (TV series, 2 episodes)

High Spirits (1988)

The Last Emperor (1987)

Club Paradise (1986)

The Ray Bradbury Theater (1986) (TV series, 1 episode)

Creator (1985)

Supergirl (1984)

Kim (1984) (TV)

Svengali (1983) (TV)

Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Curse (1983) (TV, mid-length animation, voice)

Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear (1983) (TV, mid-length animation, voice)

Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four (1983) (TV, mid-length animation, voice)

Sherlock Holmes and a Study in Scarlet (1983) (TV, mid-length animation, voice)

Pygmalion (1983) (TV)

Man and Superman (1982) (TV)

My Favorite Year (1982)

Masada (1981) (TV series, 4 episodes)

The Stunt Man (1980)

Strumpet City (1980) (TV series, 4 episodes)

Caligola (1979)

Zulu Dawn (1979)

Power Play (1978)

Rogue Male (1977) (TV)

Foxtrot (1976)

Man Friday (1975)

Rosebud (1975)

Man of La Mancha (1972)

The Ruling Class (1972)

Under Milk Wood (1972)

Murphy's War (1971)

Country Dance (1970)

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)

Great Catherine (1968)

The Lion in Winter (1968)

Casino Royale (1967) (unsigned)

ITV Play of the Week (1967) (TV series, 1 episode)

The Night of the Generals (1967)

The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966)

How to Steal a Million (1966)

The Sandpiper (1965) (voice, uncredited)

What's New Pussycat (1965)

Lord Jim (1965)

Becket (1964)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Rendezvous (1959-1961) (TV series, 3 episodes)

The Savage Innocents (1960)

The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960)

Kidnapped (1960)

The Long and the Short and the Tall (1959) (TV, short)

The Castiglioni Brothers (1958) (TV)

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1956) (TV series, 1 episode)