Peter O'Toole

Born Aug. 2, 1932, in County Galway, Ireland, Peter O'Toole spent his boyhood working for the Yorkshire Evening News. After turning his attention to acting a few years later, he worked in various theaters, including the Bristol Old Vic, Stratford and The National Theatre.

After a few small film parts, O'Toole was catapulted to worldwide stardom (and received the first of eight Best Actor Oscar nods) with the title role in Lawrence of Arabia (1962). He followed this triumph with much-praised work in Becket (1964), The Lion in Winter (1968), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) and The Ruling Class (1972).

Poor health as a result of excessive drinking nearly ended his career in the 1970s, but he returned to form with 1980's The Stunt Man and 1982's My Favorite Year. O'Toole continued to work for a couple decades in films such as the blockbuster hit Troy, and in 2006, he gave an Oscar-nominated performance in Venus.

Filmography