Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus O'Toole (born
August 2,
1932) is an
Irish-born film and stage actor who was raised in
England in the Yorkshire city of
Leeds. He was born in
Connemara, County
Galway,
Ireland and spent most of his life in
Great Britain until returning to Ireland at the height of his fame in 1963.
Although O'Toole gives his birthplace as
Connemara,
County Galway, he himself suggests that this may not be accurate in the first volume of his memoirs,
Loitering with Intent, saying that this is the "family version", and that he may have been born in either
Kerry or
Dublin,
Ireland or, perhaps,
Leeds,
England. To avoid such complications for his children, he has ensured that both his daughter Kate and son Lorcan were born in
Dublin. Elder daughter Patricia was born in
England, a mistake which O'Toole regretted, famously saying: "Pat was born in Britain, the poor thing."
In her own memoir,
Public Places, his former wife
Siân Phillips says, "...he may or may not have been born there, but he is a true son of Connemara." His mother, Constance, was Scottish.
After
National Service in
Britain as a radioman in the
Royal Navy, he attended the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1952–1954) on a scholarship after being rejected by the
Abbey Theatre's Drama School in
Dublin by the then director
Ernest Blythe because he couldn't speak
Irish.
He began getting work in the theatre, gaining recognition as a
Shakespearean actor at the
Bristol Old Vic and with the English Stage Company, before making his television debut in 1954 and a very minor film debut in 1959.
O'Toole's major break came when he was chosen to play
T.E. Lawrence in
David Lean's
Lawrence of Arabia (1962), after
Albert Finney turned down the role. His performance introduced him to
U.S. audiences and earned him a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Actor.
After
Lawrence of Arabia, O'Toole received six more nominations for the Best Actor Oscar but never won the award in competition. In 2003, the Academy honoured his body of work with an
Academy Honorary Award for his lifelong contribution to film. O'Toole initially balked about accepting and wrote the academy a letter saying he was "still in the game" and would like more time to "win the lovely bugger outright". The Academy informed him that they would bestow the award whether he wanted it or not and so in the end, O'Toole relented and reluctantly agreed to appear at the ceremony and pick up his Oscar.
His seven Oscars nomination without winning ties him with
Richard Burton in this category of futility. He is also one of a handful of actors to be nominated for playing the same role in two different films; he played
King Henry II in both 1964's
Becket and 1968's
The Lion in Winter.
He has also appeared in
Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre and fulfilled a lifetime ambition when taking to the legendary stage of the Irish capital's
Abbey Theatre in 1970 to play in Waiting for Godot by
Samuel Beckett alongside the celebrated stage actor
Donal McCann.
In 2005 he took a rare
television role as the older version of legendary
18th century Italian adventurer
Giacomo Casanova in the
BBC drama serial
Casanova. O'Toole's role was mainly to frame the drama, telling the story of his life to serving maid Edith (
Rose Byrne). The younger Casanova seen for most of the action was played by
David Tennant, who had to wear contact lenses to match his brown eyes to O'Toole's blue.
O'Toole won an
Emmy Award for his role in the 1999 mini-series
Joan of Arc.
In 1960 he married
Welsh actress,
Siân Phillips, with whom he had two daughters,
Kate O'Toole (an award-winning actress, resident in his home town of Clifden) and Patricia; the couple divorced in 1979. He has never remarried.
Severe illness related to his heavy drinking almost ended his life in the late 1970s. In 1976 he underwent surgery to have his
pancreas removed, which automatically made him a
diabetic. He also had a large portion of his stomach removed. Gradually, O'Toole recovered and returned to work, although he found it harder to get parts in films, resulting in more work for television and occasional stage roles. However, he gave a star turn in 1987's much-garlanded The Last Emperor.
He is currently working on the third installment of
Loitering With Intent. He and his ex-girlfriend, Karen Brown, have a son, Lorcan O'Toole.
He has resided in Clifden, County Galway, Ireland since 1963 and at the height of his career maintained homes in Dublin, London and Paris (at the Ritz) but now keeps only the London one.
*The Italian comic book character
Alan Ford is graphically inspired by O'Toole.
*
1962 - Nominated -
Best Actor in a Leading Role -
Lawrence of Arabia*
1964 - Nominated -
Best Actor in a Leading Role -
Becket*
1968 - Nominated -
Best Actor in a Leading Role -
The Lion in Winter*
1969 - Nominated -
Best Actor in a Leading Role -
Goodbye, Mr. Chips*
1972 - Nominated -
Best Actor in a Leading Role -
The Ruling Class*
1980 - Nominated -
Best Actor in a Leading Role -
The Stunt Man*
1982 - Nominated -
Best Actor in a Leading Role -
My Favorite YearKidnapped (
1960)
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (
1960)
Lawrence of Arabia (
1962)
Becket (
1963)
Lord Jim (
1965)
What's New, Pussycat? (
1965)
How to Steal a Million (
1966)
The Bible: In The Beginning (
1967)
The Night of the Generals (
1967)
Great Catherine (
1968)
The Lion in Winter (
1968)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (
1969)
Brotherly Love (
1969)
Murphy's War (
1971)
The Ruling Class (
1972)
Man of La Mancha (
1972)
Under Milk Wood (
1973)
Rosebud (
1975)
Power Play (
1978)
Zulu Dawn (
1979)
Caligula (
1979)
The Stunt Man (
1980)
My Favorite Year (
1982)
Supergirl (
1984)
Creator (
1985)
The Last Emperor (
1987)
High Spirits (
1988)
Wings of Fame (
1990)
King Ralph (
1991)
The Seventh Coin (
1992)
FairyTale: A True Story (
1997)
Phantoms (
1998)
Hitler: The Rise of Evil (
2003)
Troy (
2004)
Augustus (
2004)
Casanova (
2005, television)
Pygmalion (
1987)
Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell (
1989)
*
Classic Movies (1939 - 1969): Peter O'Toole*
The Unofficial Peter O'Toole Pages
