Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

  • Birthday: 1907-05-22
  • Deathday: 1989-07-11
  • Place of birth: Dorking, Surrey, England, UK
  • Also know as: Лоуренс Оливье

Biography

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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Laurence Olivier, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography

Rebecca

1940

As Maxim de Winter

Sleuth

1972

As Andrew Wyke

A Little Romance

1979

As Julius

Oh! What a Lovely War

1969

As Field Marshal Sir John French

Henry V

1944

As King Henry

Richard III

1955

As Richard III

Carrie

1952

As George Hurstwood

As You Like It

1936

As Orlando

King Lear

1983

As King Lear

A Voyage Round My Father

1984

As Clifford Mortimer

The Entertainer

1960

As Archie Rice

Term of Trial

1962

As Graham Weir

The Betsy

1978

As Loren Hardeman

Inchon

1981

As Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Words for Battle

1941

As Narrator (voice)

The Gentleman Tramp

1976

As Narrator

The Demi-Paradise

1943

As Ivan Kouznetsoff

The Merchant of Venice

1973

As Shylock

Long Day's Journey Into Night

1973

As James Tyrone Sr.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

1976

As Big Daddy

The Beggar's Opera

1953

As MacHeath

Malta G.C.

1942

As Narrator

Hamlet

1948

As Hamlet - Prince of Denmark / Voice of Ghost

A Queen Is Crowned

1953

As Narrator

Too Many Crooks

1930

As The Boy

Great Acting: Laurence Olivier

1966

As Interviewee

Olivier Talks About Othello

1965

As Self/Host

Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson

1983

As Joe Halpern

The Moon and Sixpence

1959

As Charles Strickland

The Dance of Death

1969

As Edgar

Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love

2001

As Himself (Archive Footage)

To Be Hamlet

1985

As Laurence Olivier

Spartacus

1960

As Marcus Licinius Crassus

Bunny Lake Is Missing

1965

As Supt. Newhouse

Marathon Man

1976

As Szell

Wuthering Heights

1939

As Heathcliff

49th Parallel

1941

As Johnnie, the Trapper

The Prince and the Showgirl

1957

As The Regent

The Jigsaw Man

1983

As Adm. Sir Gerald Scaith

Dracula

1979

As Prof. Abraham Van Helsing

Khartoum

1966

As Mahdi

The Jazz Singer

1980

As Cantor Rabinovitch

That Hamilton Woman

1941

As Lord Horatio Nelson

Pride and Prejudice

1940

As Mr. Darcy

Q Planes

1939

As Tony McVane

The Divorce of Lady X

1938

As Everard Logan

Othello

1965

As Othello

The Boys from Brazil

1978

As Ezra Lieberman

21 Days

1940

As Larry Durrant

The Shoes of the Fisherman

1968

As Piotr Ilyich Kamenev

Love Among the Ruins

1975

As Sir Arthur Glanville-Jones

The Conquest of the Air

1936

As Vincent Lunardi

Westward Passage

1932

As Nicholas 'Nick' Allen

Perfect Understanding

1933

As Nicholas Randall

A Talent for Murder

1983

As Dr. Anthony Wainwright

Daphne Laureola

1978

As Sir Joseph

The Temporary Widow

1930

As Peter Bille

Potiphar's Wife

1931

As Straker

Charmed Lives: A Family Romance

0000

As Self (archive footage)

Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent

2020

As Self (archive footage)

No Funny Business

1933

As Clive Dering

The Bounty

1984

As Admiral Hood

War Requiem

1989

As The Old Soldier

The Devil's Disciple

1959

As Gen. Burgoyne

The Yellow Ticket

1931

As Julian Rolfe

Moscow Nights

1935

As Captain Ivan Ignatoff

Friends and Lovers

1931

As Lieutenant Ned Nichols

Fire Over England

1937

As Michael Ingolby

Wild Geese II

1985

As Rudolf Hess

The Collection

1976

As Harry

Come Back, Little Sheba

1977

As Doc Delaney

The Volunteer

1944

As Himself

Uncle Vanya

1963

As Dr. Astrov

Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

2023

As Self (archive footage)

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

1976

As Professor James Moriarty

Three Sisters

1970

As Dr. Ivan Chebutikin

The Rehearsal

1974

As Self

Battle of Britain

1969

As Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding

Saturday, Sunday, Monday

1978

As Antonio

The South Bank Show: Noël Coward

1992

As Self (archival footage)

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

2004

As Dr. Totenkopf (archive footage)

David Copperfield

1969

As Mr. Creakle

Clash of the Titans

1981

As Zeus

Lady Caroline Lamb

1972

As Duke of Wellington

Jornal Português (1938-1951)

2005

As Himself (archive footage)

A Bridge Too Far

1977

As Dr. Jan Spaander

Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood

1999

As Self (archive footage)

Nothing Like a Dame

2018

As Self (archive footage)

Hannibal Hopkins et Sir Anthony

2021

As Self (archive footage)

Discovering Hamlet

2011

As Hamlet (archive footage)

Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond

1990

As Self (archive footage)

Gregory Peck: His Own Man

1988

As Self (archive footage)

This Happy Breed

1944

As Narrator (voice)

Male of the Species

1969

As Presenter

Sir John Mills' Moving Memories

2000

As Self (archive footage)

Nicholas and Alexandra

1971

As Count Witte

The Filth and the Fury

2000

As Richard III (archive footage)

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

2018

As Self (archive footage)

Romeo and Juliet

1968

As Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

The Kid Stays in the Picture

2002

As Self (archive footage)

Revisiting Brideshead

2005

As Self (archive footage)

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

2010

As Self (archive footage)

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

1986

As Self (from The Prince and the Showgirl [1957]) (archive footage)

The Magic Box

1952

As Police Constable 94-B

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

1991

As Superintendent Newhouse (archive footage) (uncredited)

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

1961

As Maxim de Winter (archive footage) (uncredited)

Terror in the Aisles

1984

As Doctor Christian Szell (Archive Footage)

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

1983

As Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

And the Oscar Goes To...

2014

As Self (archive footage)

Production

Henry V

1944

As Director

Hamlet

1948

As Director

Richard III

1955

As Director

Three Sisters

1970

As Director

Hindle Wakes

1976

As Director

Uncle Vanya

1963

As Stage Director

The Collection

1976

As Producer

Richard III

1955

As Producer

Henry V

1944

As Producer

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

1976

As Producer

Hamlet

1948

As Producer

The Beggar's Opera

1953

As Producer

Daphne Laureola

1978

As Executive Producer

Saturday, Sunday, Monday

1978

As Producer

Hindle Wakes

1976

As Producer

Henry V

1944

As Writer

Hamlet

1948

As Screenplay

Come Back, Little Sheba

1977

As Creative Producer

Richard III

1955

As Screenplay

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