82
Age
122
Movies
28
TV Shows
8.2
Rating
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.
82
Died at
122
Movies
28
TV Shows
8.2
Avg Rating
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.
Golden Globe Awards
1944
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.
Gender
Male
Birthday
May 22, 1907
Died
July 11, 1989
Birthplace
Dorking, Surrey, England, UK
Also Known As
War Requiem
1989
Spartacus
1960
The Rehearsal
1974
The Shoes of the Fisherman
1968
Jornal Português (1938-1951)
2015
The Magic Box
1952
The Betsy
1978
The Demi-Paradise
1943
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
2021
A Little Romance
1979
Westward Passage
1932
The Bannfoot Ferry
2024
A Bridge Too Far
1977
Come Back, Little Sheba
1977
Clash of the Titans
1981
To Be Hamlet
1985
The Jazz Singer
1980
Daphne Laureola
1978
Directed by William Wyler
1986
That Hamilton Woman
1941
+ 102 more movies
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
Golden Globe Awards
1944
Golden Globe Awards
1944
Tony Awards
1956
Tony Awards
1956
Great Performances
1971
Great Performances
1971
The Dick Cavett Show
1968
Omnibus
1967
The Carol Burnett Show
1967
The Oscars
1953
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948
Jesus of Nazareth
1977
Brideshead Revisited
1981
The World at War
1973
ABC Stage 67
1966
ABC Stage 67
1966
Talking Pictures
2013
Laurence Olivier Presents
1976
Laurence Olivier Presents
1976
+ 8 more TV shows