Laurence Olivier

Acting · 3.1 popularity

Age

119

Movies

137

Born: May 22, 1907 – July 11, 1989
From: Dorking, Surrey, England, UK
Website: Visit site

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.

Works

137 films

Spartacus

19607.5

The Betsy

19784.8

Romeo and Juliet

19687.4

Clash of the Titans

19816.9

A Bridge Too Far

19777.2

Rebecca

19407.9

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

20045.9

Wuthering Heights

19397.2

The Bounty

19846.8

Marathon Man

19767.2

Pride and Prejudice

19406.9

The Boys from Brazil

19786.7

Battle of Britain

19696.8

Khartoum

19666.3

Sleuth

19727.7

Dracula

19796.4

That Hamilton Woman

19417.1

The Jazz Singer

19805.9

The Prince and the Showgirl

19576.3

Hamlet

19487.4

Richard III

19557.2

A Little Romance

19796.8

The Devil's Disciple

19596.8

Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony

20214.5

Bunny Lake Is Missing

19657.2

Wild Geese II

19854.9

Oh! What a Lovely War

19696.6

Nicholas and Alexandra

19717.0

The Shoes of the Fisherman

19686.8

21 Days

19406.1

49th Parallel

19417.0

To Be Hamlet

1985

Westward Passage

19326.3

Night of 100 Stars II

19856.8

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

19918.0

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

20185.9

The Jigsaw Man

19835.0

Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond

19908.5

Nothing Like a Dame

20186.8

Directed by William Wyler

1986

Henry V

19446.7

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

19888.2

The Magic Box

19526.5

Uncle Vanya

19635.5

Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady

19826.0

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

19766.2

Fire Over England

19376.2

Churchill and the Movie Mogul

20197.3

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

19837.0

Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love

20018.0

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

19406.3

The Filth and the Fury

20006.9

Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration

20244.5

The Divorce of Lady X

19385.9

Carrie

19526.4

Rebecca

1950

The Prince, The Showgirl and Me

2004

The Merchant of Venice

19738.5

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

20106.7

Daphne Laureola

19787.5

Laurence Olivier: A Life

198210.0

Q Planes

19396.0

Potiphar's Wife

19318.0

Hollywood: Style Center of the World

19405.8

King Lear

19836.7

This Happy Breed

19447.1

Othello

19656.4

The Entertainer

19606.2

The Power and the Glory

19639.0

Sir John Mills' Moving Memories

20007.0

Marilyn, dernières séances

20087.0

Inchon

19813.9

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

19765.0

Words for Battle

19416.5

Friends and Lovers

19314.9

War Requiem

19896.3

The Ebony Tower

1984

Charmed Lives: A Family Romance

2028

The Collection

19764.4

Male of the Species

19695.5

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

19867.4

Discovering Hamlet

20117.5

Love Among the Ruins

19767.0

Lady Caroline Lamb

19725.9

Olivier Talks About Othello

1965

Great Acting: Laurence Olivier

196610.0

The Moon and Sixpence

19597.0

Come Back, Little Sheba

19777.0

Gregory Peck: His Own Man

19886.7

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

19614.4

Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood

19997.8

The Conquest of the Air

19315.4

Term of Trial

19626.1

The Beggar's Opera

19535.1

No Funny Business

193310.0

The Gentleman Tramp

19767.1

The Legend of Marilyn Monroe

19666.7

Marilyn Monroe: In The Movies

20127.0

David Copperfield

19695.6

Marilyn despite herself

20128.0

Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell

19952.0

The Yellow Ticket

19315.1

Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson

19833.8

Three Sisters

19704.3

A Voyage Round My Father

19847.4

Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

20236.4

Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent

20217.4

Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe

20127.2

The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People

19767.0

Vivien Leigh: A Delicate Balance

20009.0

As You Like It

19365.4

A Talent for Murder

19836.9

The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci

1953

Moscow Nights

19345.9

Private Lives

1940

A Queen Is Crowned

19537.1

The Body of Marilyn Monroe

20048.0

Saturday, Sunday, Monday

19787.0

The Demi-Paradise

19436.6

Revisiting Brideshead

20058.0

Marilyn Monroe

198610.0

Perfect Understanding

19336.6

Long Day's Journey Into Night

19737.0

The Bannfoot Ferry

2024

The Rehearsal

19745.4

The Volunteer

19445.0

Too Many Crooks

19309.0

The Making of 'Rebecca'

2008

The Temporary Widow

19307.0

The Dance of Death

19696.7

Korda: I Don't Grow on Trees: Part One

1993

Jornal Português (1938-1951)

2015

Tree of Life

1971

The Vivien Leigh Archive at the V&A

20169.0

At the Haunted End of the Day

1981

Malta G.C.

19427.0

The Greats: Vivien Leigh

20167.0