10.0
10.0
Laurence Olivier: a life
1982
as Self
Laurence Olivier
Also known as: Baron Olivier of Brighton, The Lord Olivier, Sir Laurence Olivier
Acting
Born:May 22, 1907
Died:July 11, 1989(aged 82)
Birthplace:Dorking, Surrey, England, UK
Nationality:United Kingdom
Education:Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, St Edward's School
N/A
CommunityBiography
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson, Peggy Ashcroft and John Gielgud, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles. Late in his career, he had considerable success in television roles. His family had no theatrical connections, but Olivier's father, a clergyman, decided that his son should become an actor. After attending a drama school in London, Olivier learned his craft in a succession of acting jobs during the late 1920s. In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Coward's Private Lives, and he appeared in his first film. In 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Ashcroft, and by the end of the decade he was an established star. In the 1940s, together with Richardson and John Burrell, Olivier was the co-director of the Old Vic, building it into a highly respected company. There his most celebrated roles included Shakespeare's Richard III and Sophocles's Oedipus. In the 1950s Olivier was an independent actor-manager, but his stage career was in the doldrums until he joined the avant garde English Stage Company in 1957 to play the title role in The Entertainer, a part he later played on film. From 1963 to 1973 he was the founding director of Britain's National Theatre, running a resident company that fostered many future stars. His own parts there included the title role in Othello (1965) and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1970). Among Olivier's films are Wuthering Heights (1939), Rebecca (1940), and a trilogy of Shakespeare films as actor-director: Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), and Richard III (1955). His later films included The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), Sleuth (1972), Marathon Man (1976), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). His television appearances included an adaptation of The Moon and Sixpence (1960), Long Day's Journey into Night (1973), Love Among the Ruins (1975), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1976), Brideshead Revisited (1981) and King Lear (1983). Olivier's honours included a knighthood (1947), a life peerage (1970) and the Order of Merit (1981). For his on-screen work he received four Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, five Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. The National Theatre's largest auditorium is named in his honour, and he is commemorated in the Laurence Olivier Awards, given annually by the Society of London Theatre. He was married three times, to the actresses Jill Esmond from 1930 to 1940, Vivien Leigh from 1940 to 1960, and Joan Plowright from 1961 until his death.
Notable Works
Marathon ManWuthering HeightsHamletRichard IIIRebeccaHenry V
Filmography (109 movies)
10.0
10.0
Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond
1990
as Self (archive footage)
7.9
7.9
Rebecca
1940
as Maxim de Winter
7.7
7.7
Sleuth
1972
as Andrew Wyke
7.6
7.6
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
1999
as Self (archive footage)
7.6
7.6
A Voyage Round My Father
1984
as Clifford Mortimer
7.5
7.5
Spartacus
1960
as Marcus Licinius Crassus
7.4
7.4
Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent
2021
as Self (archive footage)
7.4
7.4
Hamlet
1948
Director
7.2
7.2
Bunny Lake Is Missing
1965
as Supt. Newhouse
7.2
7.2
A Bridge Too Far
1977
as Dr. Jan Spaander
7.2
7.2
Wuthering Heights
1939
as Heathcliff
7.2
7.2
Richard III
1955
Director
7.2
7.2
Marathon Man
1976
as Dr. Christian Szell
7.2
7.2
This Happy Breed
1944
as Narrator (voice)
7.1
7.1
That Hamilton Woman
1941
as Lord Horatio Nelson
7.1
7.1
A Queen Is Crowned
1953
as Narrator
7.0
7.0
Long Day's Journey Into Night
1973
as James Tyrone Sr.
7.0
7.0
The Merchant of Venice
1973
as Shylock
7.0
7.0
Discovering Hamlet
2011
as Hamlet (archive footage)
7.0
7.0
Come Back, Little Sheba
1977
as Doc Delaney
7.0
7.0
Hindle Wakes
1976
Producer
6.9
6.9
Nicholas and Alexandra
1971
as Count Witte
6.9
6.9
The Filth and the Fury
2000
as Richard III (archive footage)
6.9
6.9
Love Among the Ruins
1976
as Sir Arthur Glanville-Jones
6.9
6.9
Pride and Prejudice
1940
as Mr. Darcy
6.9
6.9
49th Parallel
1941
as Johnnie, the Trapper
6.9
6.9
Clash of the Titans
1981
as Zeus
6.8
6.8
A Little Romance
1979
as Julius
6.8
6.8
Nothing Like a Dame
2018
as Self (archive footage)
6.8
6.8
Battle of Britain
1969
as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding
6.7
6.7
The Shoes of the Fisherman
1968
as Piotr Ilyich Kamenev
6.7
6.7
The Boys from Brazil
1978
as Ezra Lieberman
6.7
6.7
The Bounty
1984
as Admiral Hood
6.7
6.7
Gregory Peck: His Own Man
1988
as Self (archive footage)
6.7
6.7
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe
1966
6.7
6.7
Oh! What a Lovely War
1969
as Field Marshal Sir John French
6.6
6.6
The Gentleman Tramp
1976
as Narrator
6.6
6.6
Henry V
1944
Producer
6.5
6.5
The Devil's Disciple
1959
as Gen. Burgoyne
6.5
6.5
King Lear
1983
as King Lear
6.4
6.4
Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
2023
as Self (archive footage)
6.4
6.4
War Requiem
1989
as The Old Soldier
6.4
6.4
Carrie
1952
as George Hurstwood
6.3
6.3
The Prince and the Showgirl
1957
Producer
6.3
6.3
Dracula
1979
as Prof. Abraham Van Helsing
6.3
6.3
Khartoum
1966
as Mahdi
6.3
6.3
The Demi-Paradise
1943
as Ivan Kouznetsoff
6.2
6.2
Othello
1965
as Othello
6.2
6.2
The Entertainer
1960
as Archie Rice
6.2
6.2
Fire Over England
1937
as Michael Ingolby
6.2
6.2
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
1976
as Professor James Moriarty
6.2
6.2
Words for Battle
1941
as Narrator (voice)
6.1
6.1
Perfect Understanding
1933
as Nicholas Randall
6.1
6.1
21 Days Together
1940
as Larry Durrant
6.0
6.0
Daphne Laureola
1978
Executive Producer
5.9
5.9
A Talent for Murder
1983
as Dr. Anthony Wainwright
5.9
5.9
Q Planes
1939
as Tony McVane
5.9
5.9
Term of Trial
1962
as Graham Weir
5.9
5.9
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
2004
as Dr. Totenkopf (archive footage)
5.9
5.9
The Divorce of Lady X
1938
as Everard Logan
5.9
5.9
The Jazz Singer
1980
as Cantor Rabinovitch
5.8
5.8
Westward Passage
1932
as Nicholas 'Nick' Allen
5.6
5.6
Lady Caroline Lamb
1972
as Duke of Wellington
5.5
5.5
The Dance of Death
1969
as Edgar
5.5
5.5
Male of the Species
1969
as Presenter
5.4
5.4
David Copperfield
1969
as Mr. Creakle
5.2
5.2
Moscow Nights
1934
as Captain Ivan Ignatoff
5.1
5.1
As You Like It
1936
as Orlando
4.9
4.9
The Jigsaw Man
1983
as Adm. Sir Gerald Scaith
4.8
4.8
Wild Geese II
1985
as Rudolf Hess
4.8
4.8
The Rehearsal
1974
as Self
4.8
4.8
The Volunteer
1944
as Self
4.7
4.7
The Yellow Ticket
1931
as Julian Rolfe
4.5
4.5
Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
2024
as Self (archive footage)
4.5
4.5
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
2021
as Self (archive footage)
4.5
4.5
The Betsy
1978
as Loren Hardeman
4.4
4.4
Friends and Lovers
1931
as Lieutenant Ned Nichols
4.3
4.3
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1976
Producer
4.2
4.2
The Conquest of the Air
1931
as Vincent Lunardi
4.1
4.1
The Beggar's Opera
1953
Producer
4.0
4.0
Uncle Vanya
1963
Director
4.0
4.0
The Collection
1976
Producer
3.8
3.8
Three Sisters
1970
Director
3.4
3.4
Inchon
1981
as Gen. Douglas MacArthur
2.7
2.7
Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson
1983
as Joe Halpern
Malta G.C.
1942
as Narrator
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
1978
Producer
Sir John Mills' Moving Memories
2000
as Self (archive footage)
The Moon and Sixpence
1959
as Charles Strickland
Jornal Português (1938-1951)
2005
as Self (archive footage)
At the Haunted End of the Day
1981
as Self
Great Acting: Laurence Olivier
1966
as Self - Interviewee
Olivier Talks About Othello
1965
as Self - Host
Directed by William Wyler
1986
as Self
The Temporary Widow
1930
as Peter Bille
The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People
1976
as Self
The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci
1953
as Narrator
The Ebony Tower
1984
as Henry Breasley
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
2001
as Self (archive footage)
The Power and the Glory
1963
as Priest
No Funny Business
1933
as Clive Dering
To Be Hamlet
1985
as Self
Potiphar's Wife
1931
as Straker
Tree of Life
1971
as Narrator
Private lives
1940
as Elyot Chase
Rebecca
1950
as Maxim de winter
Korda: I Don't Grow on Trees: Part One
1993
as Self
Too Many Crooks
1930
as The Boy
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