Dashing, sophisticated and one of the most stunning-looking men on the planet in his youth, this lauded Irish thespian studied at RADA alongside the likes of Albert Finney and his lifelong friend (and frequent drinking partner) Richard Harris before debuting on the London stage. But movies were where the blue-eyed stunner became a star. With only a few TV and film parts on his résumé, O'Toole won the title role in the 1962 epic
Lawrence of Arabia. He was not the first choice; myriad actors had turned down the part, including old school chum Finney. Yet as writer/adventurer/warrior T.E. Lawrence, O'Toole was magnetic and magnificent, earning his first of eight Academy Award nominations for best actor. For the rest of the decade, he remained a mega movie star, appearing in projects both prestigious (as King Henry II in both
Becket and
The Lion in Winter, garnering him two more Oscar nods) and popular (the caper
How to Steal a Million, the comedy
What's New, Pussycat). He even tackled a musical,
Goodbye, Mr. Chips, winning yet another Oscar nomination. But in the '70s, despite a nod for his turn as an insane nobleman in the satire
The Ruling Class, his hard off-screen life began to catch up with him. Although married to actress Siân Phillips with two children, he was a notorious ladies' man, and a lush. His looks began to suffer, as did his career and finally his health. Although accounts differ as to whether it was alcohol, stomach cancer or some combination thereof that prompted doctors to remove parts of his stomach and intestines, O'Toole almost died. And while he made a full recovery, he was never again the beautiful man he once was. In the '80s, after some low-profile projects and a divorce, he made a comeback with a pair of Oscar-nominated turns: a manipulative director in the thriller
Stunt Man and a washed-up alcoholic movie star in the comedy
My Favorite Year, a role eerily similar to his own life. While O'Toole continued to work steadily, he sometimes seemed to suffer from Michael Caine syndrome, signing on to projects of dubious quality (
Supergirl,
Club Paradise,
King Ralph) simply to earn a paycheck. In 2003, after being nominated for — but never winning — seven acting Oscars (a record he shared with buddy Richard Burton), he finally took home an honorary statuette in 2003. O'Toole, however, was initially hesitant to accept it, and wrote a note to the Academy stating that despite his advanced age, he was "still in the game and might win the lovely bugger outright." In 2006, he proved that wasn't an empty boast when he was nominated for his
eighth Oscar for his work as an old actor involved with a teen in
Venus. With his craggy face and sunken eyes, O'Toole looked like a specter of his former self, but he still displayed the same incredible charisma he had 45 years earlier.
Peter O'Toole Fast Facts:
- As a teenager, he worked for the Yorkshire Evening News.
- At age 19, he joined the Navy and spent a few years on a submarine.
- In 1955, he made his professional acting debut as a member of the Bristol Old Vic company.
- Published the first part of his three-volume memoirs, Loitering with Intent: The Child, in 1993. The second part, Loitering with Intent: The Apprentice, was published in 1997. The last installment is forthcoming.
- Peter O'Toole Relationships:
- Kate O'Toole - Daughter
- Constance O'Toole - Mother
- Lorcan O'Toole - Son
- Patricia - Sister
- Patricia O'Toole - Daughter
- Patrick O'Toole - Father
- Siân Phillips - Ex-wife
- Karen Somerville - Ex-significant Other
- Peter O'Toole Awards:
- 1981 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special - Nominee
- 1999 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie - Winner
- 2003 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie - Nominee
- 1962 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1964 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1968 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1969 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1972 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1980 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1982 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 2006 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 2002 Oscar: Honorary Award - Winner
- 1963 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 1965 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Winner
- 1969 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Winner
- 1981 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 1970 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Winner
- 1973 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 1983 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 2000 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 1982 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 1963 Golden Globe: New Star of the Year - Actor - Winner
- College:
- Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, England (1954)
