Editing Richard Harris (section)

=== 1959–1963: Early roles and breakthrough ===
Harris made his film debut in 1959 in the film ''[[Alive and Kicking (1959 film)|Alive and Kicking]]'', and played the lead role in ''[[The Ginger Man (play)|The Ginger Man]]'' in the West End in 1959. In his second film, he had a small role as an IRA Volunteer in ''[[Shake Hands with the Devil (1959 film)|Shake Hands with the Devil]]'' (1959), supporting [[James Cagney]]. The film was shot in Ireland and directed by [[Michael Anderson (director)|Michael Anderson]] who offered Harris a role in his next movie, ''[[The Wreck of the Mary Deare (film)|The Wreck of the Mary Deare]]'' (1959), shot in Hollywood.

Harris played another IRA Volunteer in ''[[A Terrible Beauty (1960 film)|A Terrible Beauty]]'' (1960), alongside [[Robert Mitchum]]. He had a memorable [[bit part]] in the film ''[[The Guns of Navarone (film)|The Guns of Navarone]]'' (1961) as a [[Royal Australian Air Force]] pilot who reports that blowing up the "bloody guns" of the island of Navarone is impossible by an [[strategic bombing|air raid]]. He had a larger part in ''[[The Long and the Short and the Tall (film)|The Long and the Short and the Tall]]'' (1961), playing a British soldier; Harris clashed with [[Laurence Harvey]] and [[Richard Todd]] during filming. For his role in the film ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' (1962), despite being virtually unknown to film audiences, Harris reportedly insisted on third billing, behind [[Trevor Howard]] and [[Marlon Brando]], an actor he greatly admired. However, Harris fell out with Brando over the latter's behaviour during the film's production.

Harris's first starring role was in the film ''[[This Sporting Life]]'' (1963), as a bitter young coal miner, Frank Machin, who becomes an acclaimed [[rugby league]] football player. It was based on the novel by [[David Storey]] and directed by [[Lindsay Anderson]]. For his role, Harris won [[Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)|Best Actor]] in 1963 at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] and an [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Academy Award nomination]]. Harris followed this with a leading role in the Italian film, [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]'s ''[[Red Desert (film)|Il Deserto Rosso]]'' (''Red Desert'', 1964). This won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Harris received an offer to support [[Kirk Douglas]] in a British war film, ''[[The Heroes of Telemark]]'' (1965), directed by [[Anthony Mann]], playing a Norwegian resistance leader. He then went to Hollywood to support [[Charlton Heston]] in [[Sam Peckinpah]]'s ''[[Major Dundee]]'' (1965), as an Irish immigrant who became a [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] cavalryman during the [[American Civil War]]. He played [[Cain]] in [[John Huston]]'s film ''[[The Bible: In the Beginning...]]'' (1966). More successful at the box office was ''[[Hawaii (1966 film)|Hawaii]]'' (1966), in which Harris starred alongside [[Julie Andrews]] and [[Max von Sydow]].