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Biography
Although most sources give O'Toole's birthplace as Connemara, County Galway, he himself suggests in the first volume of his memoirs, Loitering with Intent, that this is the "family version", and that he was in fact born in Leeds, England, where he was raised. In her own memoir, Public Places, his former wife Siân Phillips says, "...he may not have been born there, but he is a true son of Connemara." His mother, Constance, was Scottish.
After National Service as a radioman in the Royal Navy he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1952 - 1954) on a scholarship.
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. Lawrence in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia (1962), after Albert Finney turned down the role. His performance introduced him to U.S. audiences and earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
After Lawrence of Arabia, O'Toole received six more nominations for the Best Actor Oscar but never won the award in competition. In 2003, the Academy honoured his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award for his lifelong contribution to film. O'Toole initially balked about accepting and wrote the academy a letter saying he was "still in the game" and would like more time to "win the lovely bugger outright". The Academy informed him that they would bestow the award whether he wanted it or not and so in the end, O'Toole relented and reluctantly agreed to appear at the ceremony and pick up his Oscar.
O'Toole has been nominated for seven Oscars without winning; he is tied with Richard Burton with the most acting nominations without winning. He is also one a handful of actors to be nominated for playing the same role in two different films; he played King Henry II in both 1964's Becket and 1968's The Lion in Winter.
In 1984, he was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award as "Worst Actor" for his role in the Supergirl.
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's role was mainly to frame the drama, telling the story of his life to serving maid Edith (Rose Byrne). The younger Casanova seen for most of the action was played by David Tennant, who had to wear contact lenses to match his brown eyes to O'Toole's blue.
O'Toole won an Emmy Award for his role in the 1999 mini-series Joan of Arc, and 7 other Academy Award nominations.
Personal life
In 1960 he married Welsh actress, Siân Phillips (a speaker of Cymraeg) with whom he had two daughters, Kate O'Toole (also an award-winning actress) and Patricia; the couple divorced in 1979. He has never remarried.
Severe illness related to his heavy drinking almost ended his life in the late 1970s. In 1976 he underwent surgery to have his pancreas removed, which automatically made him a diabetic. Gradually, O'Toole recovered and returned to work, although he found it harder to get parts in films, resulting in more work for television and occasional stage roles.
He is currently working on the third installment of Loitering With Intent. He and his ex-girlfriend, Karen Brown, have a son, Lorcan O'Toole.
Selected filmography
With Petula Clark in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Kidnapped (1960)
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Becket (1963)
Lord Jim (1965)
What's New, Pussycat? (1965)
How to Steal a Million (1966)
The Bible: In The Beginning (1967)
The Night of the Generals (1967)
Great Catherine (1968)
The Lion in Winter (1968)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
Brotherly Love (1969)
Murphy's War (1971)
The Ruling Class (1972)
Man of La Mancha (1972)
Under Milk Wood (1973)
Rosebud (1975)
Power Play (1978)
Zulu Dawn (1979)
Caligula (1979)
The Stunt Man (1980)
My Favorite Year (1982)
Creator (1985)
The Last Emperor (1987)
High Spirits (1988)
Wings of Fame (1990)
King Ralph (1991)
The Seventh Coin (1992)
FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
Phantoms (1998)
Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003)
Troy (2004)
Casanova (2005, television)
Stage Appearances
Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell (1989)
