Profile of Peter O'Toole on Famous Like Me

Peter O'Toole (born August 2, 1932) is a famous Irish film actor.

He was born Peter Seamus O'Toole in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland to an Irish father and a Scottish mother, and was raised in Leeds, England. He left Catholic school at an early age (unsurprising since he recalled that the nuns tried to beat the lefthandedness out of him) and became a journalist, working at the Yorkshire Evening News.

After National Service as a radioman in the Royal Navy he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1952-54) on a scholarship. He worked in 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. In 1960 he married Welsh actress Siân Phillips with whom he had two daughters, Kate O'Toole (also an award winning actress) and Pat; the couple divorced in 1979. He has never remarried.

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 US audiences and earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

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. 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.

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 their Lifetime Achievement Award for his 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.

O'Toole also has the distinction of being the only actor ever nominated for Academy Awards for playing the same character in two different films; he played King Henry II in both 1964's Becket and 1968's The Lion in Winter. He is tied with Becket co-star Richard Burton for most nominations for an acting Oscar (7) without winning.

In 1984, he was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award as "Worst Actor" for his role in Supergirl.

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 brilliant, mesmerizing blue eyes.

O'Toole has won an Emmy Award for his role on CBS's "Joan of Arc", and 7 other Academy Award Nominations.

In 2003 he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.

O'Toole was sometimes confused with his friend and fellow Irishman, the late Richard Harris.

He and his ex-girlfriend, Karen Brown, have a son, Lorcan O'Toole.

Selected filmography

• Kidnapped (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)
• 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: Rise of Evil (2003)
• Troy (2004)
• Casanova (2005, television)

Stage appearances

• Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell (1989)

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