Editing Peter O'Toole (section)

=== 1962–1972: ''Lawrence of Arabia'' and stardom ===
[[File:Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia.png|thumb|upright|left|180px|O'Toole as [[T. E. Lawrence]] in ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (1962)]]
O'Toole's major break came in November 1960 when he was chosen to play the eponymous hero [[T. E. Lawrence]] in Sir [[David Lean]]'s epic ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (1962), after [[Albert Finney]] reportedly turned down the part.<ref>{{cite news|title=Albert Finney death: The actor was David Lean's first choice for Lawrence of Arabia' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/albert-finney-dead-lawrence-of-arabia-casting-david-lean-screentest-peter-o-toole-a8770211.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/albert-finney-dead-lawrence-of-arabia-casting-david-lean-screentest-peter-o-toole-a8770211.html|archive-date=26 May 2022|url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=21 April 2020|work=The Independent}}</ref> The role introduced him to a global audience and earned him the first of his eight nominations for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]]. He received the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|BAFTA Award for Best British Actor]]. His performance was ranked number one in ''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere]]'' magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The 100 Greatest Movie Performances of All Time|magazine=[[Première (magazine)|Première]]|date=April 2006}}</ref> In 2003, Lawrence as portrayed by O'Toole was selected as the [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains|tenth-greatest hero in cinema history]] by the [[American Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Good and Evil Rival for Top Spots in AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains|url=http://www.afi.com/100Years/handv.aspx|publisher=American Film Institute|access-date=20 December 2013|date=4 June 2003|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082823/http://afi.com/100years/handv.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote in 1989 "The then unknown Peter O'Toole, with his charmingly diffident manner and his hair and eyes looking unnaturally gold and blue, accounted for no small part of this film's appeal to impressionable young fans".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/29/movies/lawrence-seen-whole.html#:~:text=This%20led%20Bosley%20Crowther%2C%20reviewing,Lawrence%20is%20lost%20in%20it.|title= 'Lawrence' Seen Whole|website= [[The New York Times]]|date= 29 January 1989|accessdate= 13 June 2024|last1= Maslin|first1= BY Janet}}</ref>

O'Toole played [[Hamlet]] under [[Laurence Olivier]]'s direction in the premiere production of the [[Royal National Theatre]] in 1963.<ref>{{cite news|title=Monitor – Prince of Denmark|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/monitor--prince-of-denmark/zdh7rj6|access-date=9 August 2020|agency=BBC}}</ref> The casting of O'Toole as the Dane was met with some controversy with [[Michael Gambon]] describing him as a "god with bright blonde hair". On playing the role O'Toole stated he was "sick with nerves", adding "If you want to know what it's like to be lonely, really lonely, try playing Hamlet." ''[[The Times]]'' wrote, "Mr O'Toole, like Olivier, is an electrifyingly outgoing actor, and it is a surprise to see him make his first appearance...with his features twisted into melancholy"<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2003/mar/12/theatre.artsfeatures1#:~:text=The%20Times%20found%20this%20interpretation,Mail%2C%20the%20issue%20was%20cosmetic%3A|title= Hamlet, National Theatre, October 1963|website= [[The Guardian]]|date= 12 March 2003|accessdate= 13 June 2024|last1= Ellis|first1= Samantha}}</ref> He performed in ''[[Baal (play)|Baal]]'' (1963) at the Phoenix Theatre.<ref name="toole">{{cite magazine |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51269260|title=Dressing-room talk with a wild man of destiny— PETER O'TOOLE|magazine=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=32|issue=49|date=5 May 1965|access-date=25 November 2018|page=36|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

[[File:Peter O'Toole - 1968.jpg|thumb|right|upright|O'Toole in the TV film ''[[Present Laughter]]'' (1968)]]
Even prior to the making of ''Lawrence of Arabia'', O'Toole announced he wanted to form a production company with Jules Buck. In November 1961 they said their company, known as Keep Films (also known as Tricolor Productions) would make a film starring Terry-Thomas, ''[[Operation Snatch]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=BRITAIN'S SCREEN SCENE|first=Stephen|last=Watts|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=5 November 1961|page=X7}}</ref> In 1962 O'Toole and Buck announced they wanted to make a version of ''Waiting for Godot'' for £80,000.<ref>{{cite news|title=PASSING PICTURE SCENE: Film Version of 'Waiting for Godot' Planned--'Gunfighter'--Busy Lass|first=A.&nbsp;H.|last=Weiler|newspaper=New York Times|date=9 September 1962|page=137}}</ref> The film was never made. Instead their first production was ''[[Becket (1964 film)|Becket]]'' (1964), where O'Toole played [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]] opposite Richard Burton. The film, done in association with [[Hal Wallis]], was a financial success.<ref name="news.independent.co.uk"/><ref name="buck">{{cite news|title=Obituary: Jules Buck: Film producer behind Peter O'Toole's rise to screen stardom|last=Bergan|first=Ronald|work=The Guardian|date=24 July 2001|page=20}}</ref>

O'Toole turned down the lead role in ''[[The Cardinal (film)|The Cardinal]]'' (1963).<ref name="oh"/> Instead he and Buck made another epic, ''[[Lord Jim (1965 film)|Lord Jim]]'' (1965), based on the novel by [[Joseph Conrad]] directed by Richard Brooks.<ref name="news.independent.co.uk"/><ref name="toole"/> He and Buck intended to follow this with a biopic of [[William Adams (sailor, born 1564)|Will Adams]]<ref>{{cite news|title=O'Toole's New Role to Be 'Will Adams'|work=Los Angeles Times|date=19 August 1964|page=D13}}</ref> and a film about [[the Charge of the Light Brigade]], but neither project happened.<ref>{{cite news|title=O'Toole and Harvey in Levine Brigade: Wolper on Remagen Bridge; Wise's Music Really Sounds|last=Scheuer |first=Philip&nbsp;K.|work=Los Angeles Times|date=3 March 1965|page=D9}}</ref> Instead O'Toole went into ''[[What's New Pussycat?]]'' (1965), a comedy based on a script by [[Woody Allen]], taking over a role originally meant for [[Warren Beatty]] and starring alongside [[Peter Sellers]]. It was a huge success.<ref name="Biskind2011">{{cite book|first=Peter|last=Biskind|author-link=Peter Biskind|title=Easy Riders Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-And Rock 'N Roll Generation Save|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J3ucTdpeE9YC&pg=PA25|date=13 December 2011|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York City|isbn=978-1-4391-2661-5|pages=25–26}}</ref> He and Buck helped produce ''[[The Party's Over (1965 film)|The Party's Over]]'' (1965). O'Toole returned to the stage with ''Ride a Cock Horse'' at the Piccadilly Theatre in 1965, which was harshly reviewed.<ref name="holiday"/> He made a heist film with [[Audrey Hepburn]], ''[[How to Steal a Million]]'' (1966), directed by [[William Wyler]]. He played the Three Angels in the all-star ''[[The Bible: In the Beginning...]]'' (1966), directed by [[John Huston]]. In 1966 at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin he appeared in productions of ''[[Juno and the Paycock]]'' and ''[[Man and Superman]]''.<ref name="holiday"/>

[[File:Peter O'Toole - Lion.jpg|thumb|upright|left|As King Henry II in ''[[The Lion in Winter (1968 film)|The Lion in Winter]]'' (1968)]]
[[Sam Spiegel]], producer of ''Lawrence of Arabia'', reunited O'Toole with Omar Sharif in ''[[The Night of the Generals]]'' (1967), which was a box office disappointment. O'Toole played in an adaptation of [[Noël Coward]]'s ''[[Present Laughter]]'' for TV in 1968, and had a cameo in ''[[Casino Royale (1967 film)|Casino Royale]]'' (1967). He played Henry II again in ''[[The Lion in Winter (1968 film)|The Lion in Winter]]'' (1968) alongside [[Katharine Hepburn]], and was nominated for an Oscar again&nbsp;– one of the few times an actor had been nominated playing the same character in different films. The film was also successful at the box office.<ref>"The World's Top Twenty Films", ''Sunday Times'', [London, England], 27 September 1970: 27. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. accessed 5 April 2014</ref> Less popular was ''[[Great Catherine (film)|Great Catherine]]'' (1968) with [[Jeanne Moreau]], an adaptation of the play by [[George Bernard Shaw]] which Buck and O'Toole co-produced.<ref name="news.independent.co.uk" /><ref>{{cite news|title='Catherine' Plush Saga of Czarist Era|last=Marks |first=Sally&nbsp;K.|work=Los Angeles Times|date=30 April 1967|page=c11}}</ref> In 1969, he played the title role in the film ''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)|Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]'', a musical adaptation of [[Goodbye, Mr. Chips|James Hilton's novella]], starring opposite [[Petula Clark]]. He was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Academy Award as Best Actor]] and won a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]]. O'Toole fulfilled a lifetime ambition in 1970 when he performed on stage in [[Samuel Beckett]]'s ''[[Waiting for Godot]]'', alongside [[Donal McCann]], at Dublin's [[Abbey Theatre]].

In other films, he played a man in love with his sister (played by [[Susannah York]]) in ''[[Country Dance (film)|Country Dance]]'' (1970). O'Toole starred in a war film for director [[Peter Yates]], ''[[Murphy's War (film)|Murphy's War]]'' (1971), appearing alongside Sian Phillips. He was reunited with Richard Burton in a film version of ''[[Under Milk Wood (1971 film)|Under Milk Wood]]'' (1972) by [[Dylan Thomas]], produced by himself and Buck; [[Elizabeth Taylor]] co-starred. The film was not a popular success.<ref name="holiday" /> He received another [[Academy Award for Best Actor]]  nomination for his performance in ''[[The Ruling Class (film)|The Ruling Class]]'' (1972), done for his own company.<ref name="news.independent.co.uk" /><ref name="holiday" /> In 1972, he played both [[Miguel de Cervantes]] and his fictional creation [[Don Quixote]] in ''[[Man of La Mancha (film)|Man of La Mancha]]'', the motion picture adaptation of the [[Man of La Mancha|1965 hit Broadway musical]], opposite [[Sophia Loren]]. The film was a critical and commercial failure, criticised for using mostly non-singing actors. His singing was dubbed by [[tenor]] [[Simon Gilbert (tenor)|Simon Gilbert]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Man of La Mancha (1972) – Soundtracks|website=[[IMDb]] |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068909/soundtrack|access-date=10 February 2023}}</ref> but the other actors did their own singing. O'Toole and co-star [[James Coco]], who played both Cervantes's manservant and [[Sancho Panza]], both received [[Golden Globe]] nominations for their performances.