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Richard Burton Biography
Birth Name:Richard Walter Jenkins
Birth Place:Pontrhydyfen, United Kingdom
Profession Actor, Soundtrack, Producer, Director
Fast Facts
- For his services to drama, he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1970 Queen's Birthday Honours List
- Was presented with a Special Tony Award in 1976 for returning to Broadway
- When he joined the Air Training Corps, he ran into an old teacher who took him under his wing, teaching him everything from the school subjects he'd missed after dropping out to how to project his voice as an actor
- Quote: "The only thing in life is language․ Not love․ Not anything else․"
- Was a central figure in the "British New Wave" of cinema
- Especially in his later career, he played a number of characters who didn't like themselves
- Carried around a bag of novels, dictionaries, Shakespeare works, books of quotations, histories and biographies
- Was the twelfth of thirteen children, and when his mother died in child birth when he was two years old, he was raised by his older sister
- Loved doing crossword puzzles, but preferred ones based around wordplay over those based around regurgitating encyclopedic knowledge
- Suffered from alcoholism and purportedly smoked three to five packs of cigarettes per day
Awards
- 1953Oscar-Best Actor in a Supporting Role: nominated
- 1953Golden Globe-Most Promising Newcomer - Male: winner
- 1954Oscar-Best Actor in a Leading Role: nominated
- 1960BAFTA Film Award-Best British Actor: nominated
- 1960Golden Globe-Best Actor - Drama: nominated
- 1965Oscar-Best Actor in a Leading Role: nominated
- 1965Fotogramas de Plata-Best Foreign Performer (Mejor intérprete de cine extranjero): winner
- 1965Golden Globe-Best Actor - Drama: nominated
- 1965Golden Laurel-Dramatic Performance, Male: winner
- 1966Oscar-Best Actor in a Leading Role: nominated
- 1966David-Best Foreign Actor (Migliore Attore Straniero): winner
- 1966Golden Laurel-Dramatic Performance, Male: winner
- 1966NYFCC Award-Best Actor: nominated
- 1967Oscar-Best Actor in a Leading Role: nominated
- 1967BAFTA Film Award-Best British Actor: winner
- 1967David-Best Foreign Actor (Migliore Attore Straniero): winner
- 1967Golden Globe-Best Actor - Drama: nominated
- 1967Golden Laurel-Male Dramatic Performance: winner
- 1967NSFC Award-Best Actor: nominated
- 1968BAFTA Film Award-Best British Actor: nominated
- 1968Bambi-Best Actor - International: winner
- 1968Golden Globe-Best Actor - Comedy or Musical: nominated
- 1970Oscar-Best Actor in a Leading Role: nominated
- 1970Golden Globe-Best Actor - Drama: nominated
- 1973Best Actor-: winner
- 1978Oscar-Best Actor in a Leading Role: nominated
- 1978Golden Globe-Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: winner
- 1984Best Actor-: winner
- 1985Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special: nominated