Peter (Seamus) O'Toole - Early life, Career, Personal life, Academy Award nominations, Selected filmography, Stage appearances
Actor, born in Connemara, Co Galway, W Ireland. A journalist and member of the submarine service, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, before joining the Bristol Old Vic, where he made his professional debut in 1955. West End success and a season with the Royal Shakespeare Company established his stage reputation, while his performance in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) made him an international film star. Adept at drama, comedy, or musicals, he has tackled many of the great classical roles, frequently being cast as mercurial or eccentric characters. Nominated seven times for an Oscar, his films include The Lion in Winter (1968), Goodbye Mr Chips (1969), The Stunt Man (1980), My Favorite Year (1982), The Last Emperor (1987), Troy (2004), and Lassie (2005). He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Jeffrey Bernard in the play Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, which was televised in 1999. Later television work includes Casanova (2005). In 2003 he was awarded an honorary Oscar.
| Peter O'Toole | |
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A young Peter O'Toole. |
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| Born |
2 August 1932 |
| Spouse(s) | Siân Phillips (1959-1979) |
Peter Seamus O'Toole (born August 2, 1932 as Peter James O'Toole) is an Irish actor.
Early life
Although O'Toole has previously given his birthplace as Connemara, County Galway, he has himself suggested that this may not be accurate in the first volume of his memoirs, Loitering with Intent, saying that this was the "family version", and that he may have been born in either Kerry, Dublin, or, perhaps, Leeds, England.
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.
Career
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.
After Lawrence of Arabia, O'Toole received six more nominations for the Best Actor Oscar but never won the award in competition.
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 won an Emmy Award for his role in the 1999 mini-series Joan of Arc.
Personal life
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;
He and his ex-girlfriend, Karen Brown, have a son, Lorcan O'Toole.
Height: 6'3" (1.91 meters)
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