Editing Peter O'Toole

{{short description|British actor (1932–2013)}}
{{about||the British biologist|Peter J. O'Toole}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = 
| image         = David di Donatello 1970 Loren O'Toole (cropped).jpg
| caption       = O'Toole in 1970
| birth_name    = Peter Seamus O'Toole
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1932|8|2|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Leeds]],{{efn|Records from the Leeds General Register Office confirm he was born at [[St James's University Hospital]] on 2 August 1932.<ref name="independent.ie">{{cite web |title=O'Toole's claims of Irish roots are blarney |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/otooles-claims-of-irish-roots-are-blarney-26284021.html |work=[[Irish Independent]] |date=28 January 2007}}</ref>}} [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], England
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2013|12|14|1932|8|2|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[St John's Wood]], London, England
| occupation    = {{flatlist|
* Actor
* author
}}
| years_active  = 1954–2012
| alma_mater    = [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
| notable_works = [[Peter O'Toole on screen and stage|Full list]]
| spouse        = {{marriage|[[Siân Phillips]]|1959|1979|end=divorced}}
| partner       = Karen Brown (1982–1988)
| children      = 3, including [[Kate O'Toole (actress)|Kate]]
| awards        = [[List of awards and nominations received by Peter O'Toole|Full list]]
}}

'''Peter Seamus O'Toole''' ({{IPAc-en|oʊ|ˈ|t|uː|l}}; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was an English actor known for his leading roles on stage and screen. His numerous accolades include the [[Academy Honorary Award]], a [[British Academy Film Award|BAFTA Award]], a [[Primetime Emmy Award]], and four [[Golden Globe Awards]] as well as nominations for a [[Grammy Award]] and a [[Laurence Olivier Award]].

O'Toole started his training at the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] (RADA) in London and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] actor at the [[Bristol Old Vic]] and with the [[English Stage Company]]. In 1959, he made his [[West End theatre|West End]] debut in ''[[The Long and the Short and the Tall (play)|The Long and the Short and the Tall]]'', and played the [[Prince Hamlet|title role]] in ''[[Hamlet]]'' in the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]'s first production in 1963. Excelling on stage, O'Toole was known for his "hellraiser" lifestyle off-stage.<ref name="hellraiser" /> He received a nomination for the [[Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance]] for his portrayal of [[Jeffrey Bernard]] in the play ''[[Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell]]'' (1990).

Making his film debut in 1959, O'Toole received his first [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] nomination for portraying [[T. E. Lawrence]] in the historical epic ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (1962). He was further Oscar-nominated for playing [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]] in both ''[[Becket (1964 film)|Becket]]'' (1964) and ''[[The Lion in Winter (1968 film)|The Lion in Winter]]'' (1968), a public school teacher in ''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)|Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]'' (1969), a [[Paranoid schizophrenia|paranoid schizophrenic]] in ''[[The Ruling Class (film)|The Ruling Class]]'' (1972), a ruthless film director in ''[[The Stunt Man]]'' (1980), a film actor in ''[[My Favorite Year]]'' (1982), and an elderly man in ''[[Venus (2006 film)|Venus]]'' (2006). He holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for acting without a win (tied with [[Glenn Close]]). In 2002, he was awarded the [[Academy Honorary Award]] for his career achievements.<ref name=oscars>{{cite web |url=http://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/link/075-25/ |title=To Peter O'Toole, whose remarkable talents have provided cinema history with some of its most memorable characters |publisher=The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |orig-year=2002 |series=75th Academy Awards |date=23 March 2003 |location=[[Kodak Theatre]] |access-date=6 February 2021}}</ref>

O'Toole also starred in films such as ''[[What's New Pussycat?]]'' (1965), ''[[How to Steal a Million]]'' (1966), ''[[Man of La Mancha (film)|Man of La Mancha]]'' (1972), ''[[Caligula (film)|Caligula]]'' (1979), ''[[Zulu Dawn]]'' (1979), and ''[[Supergirl (1984 film)|Supergirl]]'' (1984), with supporting roles in ''[[The Last Emperor]]'' (1987), ''[[Bright Young Things (film)|Bright Young Things]]'' (2003), ''[[Troy (film)|Troy]]'' (2004), ''[[Stardust (2007 film)|Stardust]]'' (2007), and ''[[Dean Spanley]]'' (2008). He voiced Anton Ego, the restaurant critic in [[Pixar]]'s animated film ''[[Ratatouille (film)|Ratatouille]]'' (2007). On television, he received the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie]] for his portrayal of Bishop [[Pierre Cauchon]] in the [[CBS Television|CBS]] miniseries ''[[Joan of Arc (miniseries)|Joan of Arc]]'' (1999). He was Emmy-nominated for his performances as [[Lucius Flavius Silva]] in the ABC miniseries ''[[Masada (miniseries)|Masada]]'' (1981), and [[Paul von Hindenburg]] in the miniseries ''[[Hitler: The Rise of Evil]]'' (2003).

== Early life and education ==
Peter Seamus O'Toole was born on 2 August 1932, the son of Constance Jane Eliot (née Ferguson), a Scottish nurse,<ref name="constance">O'Toole, Peter. ''Loitering with Intent: Child'' (Large print edition), Macmillan London Ltd., London, 1992. {{ISBN|1-85695-051-4}}; pg. 10, "My mother, Constance Jane, had led a troubled and a harsh life. Orphaned early, she had been reared in Scotland and shunted between relatives;..."</ref> and Patrick Joseph "Spats" O'Toole, an Irish metal plater, football player, and [[bookmaker]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/15/peter-otoole-dead_n_4449740.html|title=Peter O'Toole Dead: Actor Dies At Age 81 |work=Huffington Post |access-date=19 December 2013 |date=15 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Peter O'Toole profile at |work=Film Reference |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/26/Peter-O-Toole.html |year=2008 |access-date=4 April 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=Frank |title=Peter O'Toole, A winner in waiting |url=http://www.theirishworld.com/article.asp?SubSection_Id=10&Article_Id=1911 |work=The Irish World |date=31 January 2007 |access-date=4 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509203608/http://www.theirishworld.com/article.asp?SubSection_Id=10&Article_Id=1911|archive-date=9 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.enotes.com/loitering-with-intent-peter-otoole-salem/loitering-with-intent-0080500496|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122044422/http://www.enotes.com/loitering-with-intent-peter-otoole-salem/loitering-with-intent-0080500496|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 January 2013|title=Loitering with Intent Summary – Magill Book Reviews|publisher=Enotes.com|access-date=12 June 2012}}</ref> O'Toole claimed he was not certain of his birthplace or date, stating in his autobiography that he accepted 2 August as his birth date but had birth certificates from England and Ireland. The birth certificate recorded at the Leeds General Register Office says he was born at [[St James's University Hospital]] in [[Leeds]], Yorkshire, England, on 2 August 1932.<ref name="independent.ie"/>

O'Toole had an elder sister named Patricia and grew up in the south Leeds suburb of [[Hunslet]]. When he was one year old, his family began a five-year tour of major racecourse towns in Northern England. He and his sister were brought up in their father's Catholic faith.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3631524/Too-late-for-an-Oscar-No-no-no....html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3631524/Too-late-for-an-Oscar-No-no-no....html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Too late for an Oscar? No, no, no...|work=The Daily Telegraph |date=24 January 2007 |access-date=11 September 2010 |first=Neil |last=Tweedie |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> O'Toole was [[Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuated]] from Leeds early in the Second World War,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/peter-o-toole-lad-from-leeds-who-became-one-of-screen-greats-1-6317796 |title=Peter O'Toole: Lad from Leeds who became one of screen greats |newspaper=[[Yorkshire Evening Post]] |access-date=17 December 2013 |date=15 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926235357/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/peter-o-toole-lad-from-leeds-who-became-one-of-screen-greats-1-6317796 |archive-date=26 September 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and went to a Catholic school for seven or eight years: St Joseph's Secondary School in Hunslet, Leeds.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary: Peter O'Toole, actor |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-peter-otoole-actor-1550298 |access-date=22 March 2020 |work=The Scotsman}}</ref> He later said, "I used to be scared stiff of the nuns: their whole denial of womanhood—the black dresses and the shaving of the hair—was so horrible, so terrifying. [...] Of course, that's all been stopped. They're sipping gin and tonic in the [[Dublin]] pubs now, and a couple of them flashed their pretty ankles at me just the other day."<ref>{{cite news |last=Waldman |first=Alan |title=Tribute to Peter O'Toole |url=http://www.films42.com/tribute/otoole.asp |work=films42.com |access-date=4 April 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Architectural sculpture, RADA.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right|O'Toole studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ([[RADA]]) in London from 1952 to 1954]]
Upon leaving school, O'Toole obtained employment as a trainee journalist and photographer on the ''[[Yorkshire Evening Post]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2013/news/youll-never-make-a-reporter-editor-told-otoole/ |title='You'll never make a reporter' editor told O'Toole |last=Lambourne |first=Helen |date=16 December 2013 |access-date=4 August 2018 |work=Hold the Fronte Page}}</ref> until he was called up for [[national service]] as a [[signaller]] in the [[Royal Navy]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/12/peter-otoole-dead-81-great-actor-outrageous-party-boy-royal-navy/ |title=How the Royal Navy Helped the Late Peter O'Toole Become an Acting Legend |last=Suebsaeng |first=Asawin |date=15 December 2013 |access-date=4 August 2018 |magazine=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |publisher=[[Foundation for National Progress]]}}</ref> As reported in a radio interview in 2006 on [[NPR]], he was asked by an officer whether he had something he had always wanted to do. His reply was that he had always wanted to try being either a poet or an actor.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/12/remembering-peter-otoole-oscar-less-legend/356169/ |title=Remembering Peter O'Toole |last=Lee |first=Adrian |date=15 December 2013 |access-date=4 August 2018 |magazine=[[The Atlantic]]}}</ref>

He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ([[RADA]]) in London from 1952 to 1954 on a scholarship. This came after being rejected by the [[Abbey Theatre]]'s drama school in Dublin by the director [[Ernest Blythe]], because he could not speak the [[Irish language]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Sheehy|first=Michael|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M4HWAAAAMAAJ&q=%2522narrowing+effect%2522|title=Is Ireland Dying?: Culture and the Church in Modern Ireland|date=1969|publisher=Taplinger Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-8008-4250-5|page=141}}</ref> At RADA, he was in the same class as [[Albert Finney]], [[Alan Bates]] and [[Brian Bedford]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Cochrane |first=Claire |title=Twentieth-Century British Theatre: Industry, Art and Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMtOarGzdxkC&pg=PA212 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=27 October 2011 |page=212 |isbn=978-1-139-50213-9}}</ref> O'Toole described this as "the most remarkable class the academy ever had, though we weren't reckoned for much at the time. We were all considered [[wikt:dotty#Etymology 1|dotty]]."<ref>{{cite web|first=Guy |last=Flatley|title=The Rule of O'Toole|url=http://www.moviecrazed.com/outpast/otoole.htm|work=MovieCrazed|date=24 July 2007|access-date=4 April 2008}}</ref>

== Acting career ==

=== 1954–1961: Early work and rise to prominence ===
O'Toole began working 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. He played a soldier in an episode of ''[[The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]'' in 1954. He was based at the Bristol Old Vic from 1956 to 1958, appearing in productions of ''[[King Lear]]'', ''[[The Recruiting Officer]]'', ''[[Major Barbara]]'', ''[[Othello]]'', and ''The Slave of Truth'' (all 1956). He was Henry Higgins in ''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]'', Lysander in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', Uncle Gustave in ''Oh! My Papa!'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Oh! My Papa! Cast and crew |url=https://theatricalia.com/play/45c/oh-my-papa/production/91x |publisher=Theatricalia |access-date=6 June 2024}}</ref> and Jimmy Porter in ''[[Look Back in Anger]]'' (all 1957). O'Toole was Tanner in Shaw's ''[[Man and Superman]]'' (1958), a performance he reprised often during his career.{{citation needed|date= June 2024}} He was also in ''[[Hamlet]]'', ''The Holiday'', ''Amphitryon '38'', and ''[[Waiting for Godot]]'' (as Vladimir; all 1958). He hoped ''The Holiday'' would take him to the West End but it ultimately folded in the provinces; during that show he met [[Siân Phillips]] who became his first wife.<ref name="holiday">{{cite news |last=Flatley |first=Guy |title=Peter O'Toole, From 'Lawrence' To 'La Mancha' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/17/archives/peter-otoole-from-lawrence-to-la-mancha-peter-otoole-from-lawrence.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=17 September 1972 |page=D1}}</ref>

O'Toole continued to appear on television, being in episodes of ''[[Armchair Theatre]]'' ("The Pier", 1957), and ''[[BBC Sunday-Night Theatre]]'' ("The Laughing Woman", 1958) and was in the TV adaptation of ''[[The Castiglioni Brothers]]'' (1958). He made his London debut in a musical, ''Oh, My Papa''.<ref name="oh">{{cite news |last=Archer |first=Eugene |title=INTRODUCTION TO AN IRISH INDIVIDUALIST |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=30 September 1962 |page=X7}}</ref> He gained fame on the [[West End theatre|West End]] in the play ''[[The Long and the Short and the Tall (play)|The Long and the Short and the Tall]]'', performed at the Royal Court beginning in January 1959. His co-stars included [[Robert Shaw (actor)|Robert Shaw]] and [[Edward Judd]], and it was directed by [[Lindsay Anderson]]. O'Toole reprised his performance for television on ''Theatre Night'' in 1959 (although he did not appear in the [[The Long and the Short and the Tall (film)|1961 film version]]). The show transferred to the West End in April and won O'Toole Best Actor of the Year in 1959.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hall |first=Willis |title=Writing regional plays for a national audience |work=The Manchester Guardian |date=2 April 1959 |page=6}}</ref>

O'Toole was in much demand. He reportedly received five offers of long-term contracts but turned them down.<ref name="oh" /> His first role was a small role in Disney's version of ''[[Kidnapped (1960 film)|Kidnapped]]'' (1960), playing the bagpipes opposite [[Peter Finch]].<ref name="star">{{cite news |last=Watts |first=Stephen |title=REPORTS ON BRITAIN'S VARIED MOVIE FRONTS |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=24 January 1960 |id={{ProQuest|115236724}}}}</ref> His second feature was ''[[The Savage Innocents]]'' (1960) with [[Anthony Quinn]] for director [[Nicholas Ray]]. With his then wife Sian Phillips he did ''Siwan: The King's Daughter'' (1960) for TV. In 1960 he had a nine-month season at the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] in Stratford, appearing in ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' (as Petruchio), ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' (as Shylock) and ''[[Troilus and Cressida]]'' (as Thersites). He could have made more money in films but said "You've got to go to Stratford when you've got the chance."<ref name="notes">{{cite news|title=NOTED ON BRITAIN'S FILM FRONT|first=Stephen |last=Watts|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=5 February 1961|page=X7. M}}</ref>

O'Toole had been seen in ''The Long and the Short and the Tall'' by [[Jules Buck]] who later established a company with the actor.<ref name="star" /><ref name="news.independent.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article35435.ece|title=Jules Buck|work=The Independent on Sunday|location=London|access-date=23 September 2007|date=23 July 2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107095627/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article35435.ece|archive-date=7 January 2008}}</ref> Buck cast O'Toole in ''[[The Day They Robbed the Bank of England]]'' (1960), a heist thriller from director [[John Guillermin]]. O'Toole was billed third, beneath [[Aldo Ray]] and [[Elizabeth Sellars]].<ref name="ink">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=John Guillermin: Action Man|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/john-guillermin-action-man/|date=17 November 2020}}</ref> The following year he appeared in several episodes of the TV series ''[[Rendezvous (TV series)|Rendezvous]]'' ("End of a Good Man", "Once a Horseplayer", "London-New York").<ref name="tg041029">{{cite news|first=Dan|last=Glaister|work=[[The Guardian]]|title=After 42 years, Sharif and O'Toole decide the time is right to get their epic act together again|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/oct/30/film.filmnews|date=29 October 2004|access-date=3 May 2012|location=London, UK}}</ref> He lost the role in the film adaptation of ''Long and the Short and the Tall'' to [[Laurence Harvey]].<ref name="star" /> "It broke my heart", he said later.<ref name="notes" />

=== 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.

=== 1973–1999: Established actor ===
O'Toole did not make a film for several years. He performed at the Bristol Old Vic from 1973 to 1974 in ''[[Uncle Vanya]]'', ''[[Plunder (play)|Plunder]]'', ''[[The Apple Cart]]'' and ''Judgement''. He returned to films with ''[[Rosebud (1975 film)|Rosebud]]'' (1975), a flop thriller for [[Otto Preminger]], in which O'Toole replaced [[Robert Mitchum]] at the last minute. He followed it with ''[[Man Friday (film)|Man Friday]]'' (1975), an adaptation of the [[Robinson Crusoe]] story, which was the last work from Keep Films.<ref name="buck" /> O'Toole made ''[[Foxtrot (1976 film)|Foxtrot]]'' (1976), directed by [[Arturo Ripstein]]. He was critically acclaimed for his performance in ''[[Rogue Male (1976 film)|Rogue Male]]'' (1976) for British television.<ref name="TV">{{cite news|title=Television: An Interview with Mark Shivas|last=Hodgson |first=Clive|work=London Magazine|issue=1|date=1 April 1978|volume=18|page=68}}</ref> He did ''Dead Eyed Dicks'' on stage in Sydney in 1976.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131796935 |title=IN BRIEF Actors |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=51 |issue=14,539 |date=20 November 1976 |access-date=25 November 2018 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Less well received was ''[[Power Play (1978 film)|Power Play]]'' (1978), made in Canada, and ''[[Zulu Dawn]]'' (1979), shot in South Africa.<ref>{{cite news|title=Canadian calls the shots at U.S. cable giant|work=Toronto Star|date=16 November 1988|page=B9}}</ref> He toured ''[[Uncle Vanya]]'' and ''[[Present Laughter]]'' on stage. In 1979, O'Toole starred as [[Tiberius]] in the controversial ''[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]]''-funded biopic ''[[Caligula (film)|Caligula]]'' acting alongside [[Malcolm McDowell]], [[Helen Mirren]] and [[John Gielgud]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/caligula-the-ultimate-cut-review-1235744121/|title= 'Caligula: The Ultimate Cut' Review: The Taming of a Screwed Production, Minus the Penthouse Taint|website= Variety|date= 4 October 2023|accessdate= 13 June 2024}}</ref>

In 1980, he received critical acclaim for playing the director in the behind-the-scenes film ''[[The Stunt Man]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-stunt-man-1980|title=The Stunt Man|first=Roger |last=Ebert|date=7 November 1980|work=rogerebert.com|access-date=7 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0DE1D81238F934A25753C1A966948260|work=The New York Times|first=Janet|last=Maslin|title=O'Toole In 'Stunt Man'|date=17 October 1980}}</ref> His performance earned him an Oscar nomination. He appeared in a mini-series for Irish TV, ''[[Strumpet City (miniseries)|Strumpet City]]'', in which he played [[James Larkin]]. He followed this with another mini-series, ''[[Masada (miniseries)|Masada]]'' (1981), playing [[Lucius Flavius Silva]]. In 1980, he performed in ''[[Macbeth]]'' at the Old Vic for $500 a week ({{Inflation|US|500|1980|fmt=eq|r=-2}}), a performance that famously earned O'Toole some of the worst reviews of his career.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article125624814 |title=Another 'Macbeth' success |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=55 |issue=16,441 |date=30 September 1980 |access-date=25 November 2018 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Downie |first=Leonard, Jr. |title=Toil and Trouble At the Old Vic |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/09/09/toil-and-trouble-at-the-old-vic/c2011439-41b1-4600-bff6-4b038f1bd2a0/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=9 September 1980}}</ref>

O'Toole was nominated for another Oscar for ''[[My Favorite Year]]'' (1982), a light romantic comedy about the behind-the-scenes at a 1950s TV variety-comedy show, in which O'Toole plays an ageing [[swashbuckling]] film star reminiscent of [[Errol Flynn]]. He returned to the stage in London with a performance in ''Man and Superman'' (1982) that was better received than his ''Macbeth''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130831493 |title=O'Toole role improves on his Macbeth |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=57 |issue=17,224 |date=24 November 1982 |access-date=25 November 2018 |page=28 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He focused on television, doing an adaptation of ''[[Man and Superman]]'' (1983), ''[[Svengali (1983 film)|Svengali]]'' (1983), ''Pygmalion'' (1984), and ''[[Kim (1984 film)|Kim]]'' (1984), and providing the voice of [[Sherlock Holmes]] for a series of animated TV movies. He played in ''Pygmalion'' on stage in 1984 at the West End's [[Shaftesbury Theatre]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Peter O'Toole: buccaneer at large |work=The Globe and Mail |date=12 May 1984 |page=8}}</ref>

O'Toole returned to feature films in ''[[Supergirl (1984 film)|Supergirl]]'' (1984), ''[[Creator (1985 film)|Creator]]'' (1985), ''[[Club Paradise]]'' (1986), ''[[The Last Emperor]]'' (1987) as Sir [[Reginald Johnston]], and ''[[High Spirits (film)|High Spirits]]'' (1988).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102035135 |title=FILM |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=63 |issue=19,414 |date=1 December 1988 |access-date=25 November 2018 |page=29 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He appeared on Broadway in an adaptation of ''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]'' (1987), opposite [[Amanda Plummer]]. It ran for 113 performances.

He won a [[Laurence Olivier Award]] for his performance in ''[[Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell]]'' (1989).<ref>{{cite news|last=Gibbons|first=Fiachra|title=National upsets the form book at awards|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/feb/19/fiachragibbons|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=15 December 2013|date=19 February 2000}}</ref> His other appearances that decade include ''[[Uncle Silas]]'' (1989) for television. O'Toole's performances in the 1990s include ''[[Wings of Fame]]'' (1990); ''[[The Rainbow Thief]]'' (1990), with Sharif; ''[[King Ralph]]'' (1991) with [[John Goodman]]; ''[[Isabelle Eberhardt (film)|Isabelle Eberhardt]]'' (1992); ''[[Rebecca's Daughters]]'' (1992), in Wales; ''[[Civvies (TV series)|Civvies]]'' (1992), a British TV series; ''[[The Seventh Coin]]'' (1993); ''[[Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III]]'' (1994), for American TV; and ''[[Heavy Weather (film)|Heavy Weather]]'' (1995), for British TV. He was in an adaptation of ''[[Gulliver's Travels (miniseries)|Gulliver's Travels]]'' (1996), playing the Emperor of Lilliput; ''[[FairyTale: A True Story]]'' (1997), playing [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]]; ''[[Phantoms (1998 film)|Phantoms]]'' (1998), from a novel by [[Dean Koontz]]; and ''[[Molokai: The Story of Father Damien]]'' (1999). He won a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for his role as Bishop Pierre Cauchon in the 1999 mini-series ''[[Joan of Arc (miniseries)|Joan of Arc]]''. He also produced and starred in a TV adaptation of ''[[Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell]]'' (1999).

=== 2000–2013: Resurgence and final roles ===
O'Toole's work in the next decade included ''[[Global Heresy]]'' (2002); ''[[The Final Curtain (film)|The Final Curtain]]'' (2003); ''[[Bright Young Things (film)|Bright Young Things]]'' (2003); ''[[Hitler: The Rise of Evil]]'' (2003) for TV, as [[Paul von Hindenburg]]; and ''[[Imperium: Augustus]]'' (2004) as [[Augustus Caesar]]. In 2004, he played [[Priam|King Priam]] in ''[[Troy (film)|Troy]]''. In 2005, he appeared on television as the older version of legendary 18th century Italian adventurer [[Giacomo Casanova]] in the [[BBC]] drama serial ''[[Casanova (2005 TV serial)|Casanova]]''. The younger Casanova, on screen 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. He followed it with a role in ''[[Lassie (2005 film)|Lassie]]'' (2005).

O'Toole was once again nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Maurice in the 2006 film ''[[Venus (2006 film)|Venus]]'', directed by [[Roger Michell]], his eighth such nomination.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/12/15/peter-o-toole-interview/4032597/|title=A Peter O'Toole interview with USA TODAY|website=USA Today|access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref> He was in ''[[One Night with the King]]'' (2007) and co-starred in the [[Pixar]] animated film ''[[Ratatouille (film)|Ratatouille]]'' (2007), an animated film about a rat with dreams of becoming the greatest chef in Paris, as Anton Ego, a food critic. He had a small role in ''[[Stardust (2007 film)|Stardust]]'' (2007). O'Toole also appeared in the second season of [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]'s drama series ''[[The Tudors]]'' (2008), portraying [[Pope Paul III]], who [[excommunicate]]s [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]] from the church, an act which leads to a confrontation between the two men in seven of the ten episodes. Also in 2008, he starred with [[Jeremy Northam]] and [[Sam Neill]] in the New Zealand/British film ''[[Dean Spanley]]'', based on an Alan Sharp adaptation of Irish author Lord Dunsany's short novel, ''My Talks with Dean Spanley''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dean Spanley|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/dec/14/dean-spanley-review|access-date=18 December 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=14 December 2008|first=Philip |last=French}}</ref>

O'Toole was in ''[[Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Cottage]]'' (2008) and ''[[Iron Road (film)|Iron Road]]'' (2009), a Canadian-Chinese miniseries. O'Toole's final performances were in ''[[Eldorado (2012 film)|Eldorado]]'' (2012) and ''[[For Greater Glory]]: The True Story of Cristiada'' (2012). On 10 July 2012, O'Toole released a statement announcing his retirement from acting.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/peter-o-toole-announces-retirement-from-show-biz-1.1145972|title=Peter O'Toole announces retirement from show biz|publisher=[[CBC.ca]]|access-date=10 July 2012|date=10 July 2012}}</ref> A number of films were released after his retirement and death: ''[[Decline of an Empire]]'' (2013), as [[Cornelius Gallus|Gallus]], and ''[[Diamond Cartel]]'' (2017).

== Personal life ==
[[File:Becket 1964 still 2.jpg|thumb|right|O'Toole (left) with [[Richard Burton]] in ''Becket'' (1964). The two actors along with [[Richard Harris]] and [[Oliver Reed]] were among a close group of friends who excelled on both stage and screen, and were known as "hellraisers" in their personal lives.<ref name="hellraiser">{{cite news |title=Four 'Hellraisers,' Living It Up In The Public Eye |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125227649&t=1584984700036 |access-date=22 March 2020 |publisher=NPR}}</ref> ]]

=== Personal views ===

While studying at RADA in the early 1950s, O'Toole opposed the [[Korean War]], and later became a supporter of the [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]]. During the 1960s, he was involved in the [[opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War]]. He played a role in the creation of the current form of the well-known Irish folk song "[[Carrickfergus (song)|Carrickfergus]]" which he related to [[Dominic Behan]], who put it in print and made a recording in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/nme-video/youtube/id/DF0qr4q0mnM|work=[[NME]]|access-date=15 December 2013|title=Harris & O'Toole – Carrickfergus video|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215222105/http://www.nme.com/nme-video/youtube/id/DF0qr4q0mnM|archive-date=15 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Although he lost faith in [[organised religion]] as a teenager, O'Toole expressed positive sentiments regarding the life of Jesus Christ. In an interview for ''[[The New York Times]]'', he said "No one can take Jesus away from me... there's no doubt there was a historical figure of tremendous importance, with enormous notions. Such as peace." He called himself "a retired Christian" who prefers "an education and reading and facts" to faith.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/arts/television/26tudo.html|title=Papal Robes, and Deference, Fit O'Toole Snugly|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=26 July 2007|first=Anita|last=Gates}}</ref>

British Pakistani playwright [[Hanif Kureishi]] states in his memoir that O'Toole told him "The only Paki I ever liked was Omar Sharif."<ref name='shattered'>{{cite book |last=Kureishi |first=Hanif |date=19 November 2024 |title=Shattered |url=https://www.penguin.com.au/books/shattered-9780241667958 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9780241667958 |access-date=2 January 2025}}</ref>

=== Ireland ===
The son of an Irishman, O’Toole had a strong affinity with Ireland and on occasion referred to himself as Irish:  “I consider myself to be an Irishman but I have lived most of my life in England so I am fairly bogus Irish actor as such”.<ref>{{cite news |title=Irish Man Bogus Irish Actor 1963 |url=https://www.rte.ie/archives/2013/1216/493136-peter-otoole/ |work=[[RTÉ]]}}</ref> In an interview with [[Charlie Rose]] in 1992 he said Irishness was “almost the centre of my very being” and that “Everything I think of is coloured by its history, by its literature, by its people, by its geography”. He recalls that he was “a bit of a misfit, a bit of an odd man out” but that when he went to [[County Kerry]], Ireland in 1946 he realized “I wasn’t different at all”.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Guidera |first1=Anita |title=Peter the Great |url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/peter-the-great/29855638.html |work=[[Irish Independent]] |date=22 December 2013}}</ref>

He possessed an Irish passport and believed he may have been born in [[Connemara]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Meagher |first1=John |title=President leads tributes to Peter O'Toole, a legend fiercely proud of his Irish heritage |url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/president-leads-tributes-to-peter-otoole-a-legend-fiercely-proud-of-his-irish-heritage/29840800.html |work=[[Irish Independent]] |date=16 December 2013}}</ref> He owned a house in Ireland located in [[Clifden]], [[County Galway]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wapshott |first1=Nicholas |title=Peter O'Toole: A Biography |date=1984 |publisher=Beaufort Books |page=198}}</ref> In 1969 he met future Irish president [[Michael D. Higgins]] and the two developed a friendship.<ref>{{cite news |title=President Higgins pays tribute to 'genius' of late Peter O'Toole |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/president-higgins-pays-tribute-to-genius-of-late-peter-o-toole-1.1800246 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=18 May 2014}}</ref>

His son Lorcan was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1983. He told his friends that he wanted him to be "raised as an Irishman".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sellars |first1=Robert |title=Peter O'Toole: The Definitive Biography |date=2015 |publisher=Pan Macmillan |page=272}}</ref>

=== Relationships ===
O'Toole married Welsh actress Siân Phillips in 1959, with whom he had two daughters: actress [[Kate O'Toole (actress)|Kate]] and Patricia. They were divorced in 1979. Phillips later said in two autobiographies that O'Toole had subjected her to mental cruelty, largely fuelled by drinking, and was subject to bouts of extreme jealousy when she finally left him for a younger lover.<ref name="msn">{{cite web|first=Nathan |last=Southern|title=Peter O'Toole profile|url=http://movies.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=330239|work=AllRovi|publisher=MSN Movies|year=2008|access-date=4 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310100845/http://movies.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=330239|archive-date=10 March 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

O'Toole and his girlfriend, model Karen Brown, had a son, Lorcan O'Toole (born 17 March 1983), when O'Toole was 50 years old. Lorcan, now an actor, was a pupil at [[Harrow School]], boarding at West Acre from 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2013-06/11/peter-otoole-the-final-interview-film/viewall|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215213213/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2013-06/11/peter-otoole-the-final-interview-film/viewall|url-status=live|archive-date=15 December 2013|work=[[GQ]]|access-date=15 December 2013|date=15 December 2013|first=Sarah|last=Standing|title=Remembering Peter O'Toole}}</ref>

=== Sports ===
O'Toole played [[rugby league]] as a child in Leeds<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/12/17/otoole-joins-the-rugby-league-actors-xiii|work=The Roar|access-date=19 December 2013|title=O'Toole joins the rugby league actors XIII}}</ref> and was also a [[rugby union]] fan, attending [[Six Nations Championship|Five Nations]] matches with friends and fellow rugby fans [[Richard Harris]], [[Kenneth Griffith]], [[Peter Finch]] and [[Richard Burton]]. He was also a lifelong player, coach and enthusiast of cricket<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/otoole-bowled-them-over-in-galway-29859197.html|work=[[Irish Independent]]|access-date=23 December 2013|title=O'Toole bowled them over in Galway}}</ref> and a fan of [[Sunderland A.F.C.]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://salutsunderland.com/2011/12/peter-otoole-a-hell-raising-dad-and-a-lost-sunderland-passion-2|work=Salut Sunderland|access-date=19 December 2013|title=Peter O'Toole, a hell-raising dad and a lost Sunderland passion|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215192216/http://salutsunderland.com/2011/12/peter-otoole-a-hell-raising-dad-and-a-lost-sunderland-passion-2/|archive-date=15 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> His support of Sunderland was passed on to him through his father, who was a labourer in [[Sunderland]] for many years.<ref name="Archived copy">{{cite web |url=https://salutsunderland.com/2010/09/peter-otoole-and-a-lost-sunderland-passion/ |title=Peter O'Toole and a lost Sunderland passion|access-date=13 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326060216/http://salutsunderland.com/2010/09/peter-otoole-and-a-lost-sunderland-passion/ |archive-date=26 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was named their most famous fan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wearsideonline.com/peter-otoole-dies/|title=Peter O'Toole Dies – Sunderland Most Famous Supporter Is Dead|first=Paper|last=Terry |date=23 December 2013|access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref> The actor in a later interview expressed that he no longer considered himself as much of a fan following the demolition of [[Roker Park]] and the subsequent move to the [[Stadium of Light]]. He described Roker Park as his last connection to the club and that everything "they meant to him was when they were at Roker Park".<ref name="Archived copy" />

=== Health ===
Severe illness almost ended O'Toole's life in the late 1970s. His stomach cancer was misdiagnosed as resulting from his alcoholic excess.<ref>{{cite book|title=Leading Men: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era|year=2006|publisher=Chronicle Books (Turner Classic Movies Film Guide)|page=165}}</ref> O'Toole underwent surgery in 1976 to have his [[pancreas]] and a large portion of his stomach removed, which resulted in [[insulin]]-dependent [[diabetes]]. In 1978, he nearly died from a [[hematologic disease]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/12/peter-o-toole-dead-lawrence-of-arabia |title=Peter O'Toole, Dead at 81, Made an Indelible Mark with Lawrence of Arabia |last=Hogan |first=Mike |date=15 December 2013 |access-date=4 August 2018 |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]}}</ref> He eventually recovered and returned to work. He resided on the Sky Road, just outside [[Clifden]], [[Connemara]], County Galway, from 1963<!-- until when? -->, and at the height of his career maintained homes in Dublin, London, and Paris (at the [[Hôtel Ritz Paris|Ritz]], which was where his character supposedly lived in the film ''[[How to Steal a Million]]'').{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

=== Interests and influences ===
In an interview with [[NPR]] in December 2006, O'Toole revealed that he knew all 154 of [[Shakespeare's sonnets]]. A self-described romantic, O'Toole said of the sonnets that nothing in the English language compares with them, and that he read them daily. In ''[[Venus (2006 film)|Venus]]'' (2006), he recites [[Sonnet 18]] ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?").<ref>{{cite news |title=Peter O'Toole and a Young 'Venus' |url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/6869925 |access-date=24 March 2020 |publisher=NPR}}</ref>

O'Toole wrote two memoirs. ''Loitering with Intent: The Child'' chronicles his childhood in the years leading up to the Second World War, and was a ''New York Times'' Notable Book of the Year in 1992. His second, ''Loitering With Intent: The Apprentice'', is about his years spent training with a cadre of friends at [[RADA]].{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

O'Toole was interviewed at least three times by [[Charlie Rose]] on his eponymous [[Charlie Rose (talk show)|talk show]]. In a 17 January 2007 interview, O'Toole stated that British actor [[Eric Porter]] had most influenced him, adding that the difference between actors of yesterday and today is that actors of his generation were trained for "theatre, theatre, theatre". He also believes that the challenge for the actor is "to use his imagination to link to his emotion" and that "good parts make good actors." However, in other venues (including the DVD commentary for ''[[Becket]]''), O'Toole credited [[Donald Wolfit]] as being his most important mentor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kabatchnik |first1=Amnon |title=Blood on the Stage, 1600 to 1800: Milestone Plays of Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem |date=2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=209}}</ref>

=== Death and legacy ===
[[File:Peter O'Toole Memorial Plaque London.jpg|thumb|right|O'Toole's memorial plaque in [[St Paul's, Covent Garden|St Paul's Church]] in [[Covent Garden]], London]]
O'Toole retired from acting in July 2012 owing to a recurrence of stomach cancer.<ref name="IrishInd">{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/president-leads-tributes-to-peter-otoole-a-legend-fiercely-proud-of-his-irish-heritage-29840800.html|title=President leads tributes to Peter O'Toole, a legend fiercely proud of his Irish heritage|work=Irish Independent|access-date=24 September 2019|date=16 December 2013}}</ref> He died on 14 December 2013 at the [[Wellington Hospital, London|Wellington Hospital]] in [[St John's Wood]], London, at the age of 81.<ref>{{cite news|last=Booth|first=Robert|date=15 December 2013|title=Peter O'Toole, star of Lawrence of Arabia, dies aged 81|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/15/peter-o-toole-dies-lawrence-arabia|access-date=10 February 2023|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> His funeral was held at [[Golders Green Crematorium]] in London on 21 December 2013, where his body was cremated in a wicker coffin.<ref>{{cite web|date=22 December 2013|title=Peter O'Toole's ex-wife makes an appearance at his funeral|url=https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/449985/Peter-O-Toole-s-ex-wife-makes-an-appearance-at-his-funeral|access-date=10 February 2023|website=Express.co.uk}}</ref> His family stated their intention to fulfil his wishes and take his ashes to the west of Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.u.tv/Entertainment/OTooles-ashes-heading-home-to-Ireland/45f962d2-7ea1-487c-ab57-060916e4a631|work=[[UTV (TV channel)|Ulster Television]]|title=O'Toole's ashes heading home to Ireland|access-date=4 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101062227/http://www.u.tv/entertainment/OTooles-ashes-heading-home-to-Ireland/45f962d2-7ea1-487c-ab57-060916e4a631|archive-date=1 January 2014}}</ref>

On 18 May 2014, a new prize was launched in memory of Peter O'Toole at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School; this includes an annual award given to two young actors from the School, including a professional contract at Bristol Old Vic Theatre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bristololdvic.org.uk/peterotooleprize.html|title=The Peter O'Toole Prize|website=bristololdvic.org.uk|access-date=27 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428142548/http://www.bristololdvic.org.uk/peterotooleprize.html|archive-date=28 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> He has a memorial plaque in [[St Paul's, Covent Garden|St Paul's]], the Actors' Church in [[Covent Garden]], London.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

On 21 April 2017, the [[Harry Ransom Center]] at the [[University of Texas at Austin]] announced that [[Kate O'Toole (actress)|Kate O'Toole]] had placed her father's archive at the Humanities Research Centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/press/releases/2017/otoole.html|title=Archive Acquired of Theatre and Film Actor Peter O'Toole|website=utexas.edu|access-date=27 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428142535/http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/press/releases/2017/otoole.html|archive-date=28 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The collection includes O'Toole's scripts, extensive published and unpublished writings, props, photographs, letters, medical records, and more. It joins the archives of several of O'Toole's collaborators and friends, including [[Donald Wolfit]], [[Eli Wallach]], [[Peter Glenville]], Sir [[Tom Stoppard]], and Dame [[Edith Evans]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/apr/21/peter-otoole-personal-archive-heads-to-university-of-texas|title=Peter O'Toole personal archive heads to University of Texas|last=Brown|first=Mark|date=21 April 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=27 April 2017|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/peter-otoole-archive-university-of-texas-1202392237/|title=Peter O'Toole Archive Acquired by University of Texas|last=Nyren|first=Erin|work=Variety|access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref>

== Acting credits and accolades ==
{{main|Peter O'Toole on screen and stage|List of awards and nominations received by Peter O'Toole}}
O'Toole was the recipient of numerous nominations and awards. He was offered a [[knighthood]] but rejected it in objection to Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s policies.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Corliss |first=Richard |title=Peter O'Toole: Lawrence of Always |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/16/peter-otoole-lawrence-of-always/ |access-date=5 February 2020 |magazine=Time |date=16 December 2013}}</ref> He received four [[Golden Globe Award]]s, one [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA Award for Best British Actor]] (for ''Lawrence of Arabia'') and one [[Primetime Emmy Award]].

'''Academy Award nominations'''

O'Toole was nominated eight times for the Academy Award for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]  but was never able to win a competitive Oscar. In 2002,<ref name=oscars /> the Academy honoured him with an [[Academy Honorary Award]] for his entire body of work and his lifelong contribution to film. O'Toole initially balked about accepting and wrote the Academy a letter saying that 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. He told [[Charlie Rose]] in January 2007 that his children admonished him, saying that it was the highest honour one could receive in the filmmaking industry. O'Toole agreed to appear at the ceremony and receive his Honorary Oscar. It was presented to him by [[Meryl Streep]]. He joked with [[Robert Osborne]] during an interview at [[Turner Classic Movies]]' film festival that he was the "Biggest Loser of All Time" due to failure to win an Academy Award after multiple nominations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyE2rDuyxRg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/xyE2rDuyxRg| archive-date=29 October 2021|title=Interview de Peter O'Toole| date=16 December 2013|via=YouTube|access-date=3 November 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Winner
! Also Nominated
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor#1960s|1962]]
| ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]''
| [[Gregory Peck]] – ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird (film)|To Kill a Mockingbird]]''
| [[Burt Lancaster]] – ''[[Birdman of Alcatraz (film)|Birdman of Alcatraz]]''<br />[[Jack Lemmon]] – ''[[Days of Wine and Roses (film)|Days of Wine and Roses]]''<br />[[Marcello Mastroianni]] – ''[[Divorce Italian Style]]''
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor#1960s|1964]]
| ''[[Becket (1964 film)|Becket]]''
| [[Rex Harrison]] – ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]''
| [[Richard Burton]] – ''[[Becket (1964 film)|Becket]]''<br />[[Anthony Quinn]] – ''[[Zorba the Greek (film)|Zorba the Greek]]''<br />[[Peter Sellers]] – ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]''
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor#1960s|1968]]
| ''[[The Lion in Winter (1968 film)|The Lion in Winter]]''
| [[Cliff Robertson]] – ''[[Charly (1968 film)|Charly]]''
| [[Alan Arkin]] – ''[[The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (film)|The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter]]''<br />[[Alan Bates]] – ''[[The Fixer (1968 film)|The Fixer]]''<br />[[Ron Moody]] – ''[[Oliver! (film)|Oliver!]]''
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor#1960s|1969]]
| ''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)|Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]''
| [[John Wayne]] – ''[[True Grit (1969 film)|True Grit]]''
| [[Richard Burton]] – ''[[Anne of the Thousand Days]]''<br />[[Dustin Hoffman]] – ''[[Midnight Cowboy]]''<br />[[Jon Voight]] – ''[[Midnight Cowboy]]''
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor#1970s|1972]]
| ''[[The Ruling Class (film)|The Ruling Class]]''
| [[Marlon Brando]] – ''[[The Godfather]]'' (declined)
| [[Michael Caine]] – ''[[Sleuth (1972 film)|Sleuth]]''<br />[[Laurence Olivier]] – ''[[Sleuth (1972 film)|Sleuth]]''<br />[[Paul Winfield]] – ''[[Sounder (film)|Sounder]]''
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor#1980s|1980]]
| ''[[The Stunt Man]]''
| [[Robert De Niro]] – ''[[Raging Bull]]''
| [[Robert Duvall]] – ''[[The Great Santini]]''<br />[[John Hurt]] – ''[[The Elephant Man (1980 film)|The Elephant Man]]''<br />[[Jack Lemmon]] – ''[[Tribute (1980 film)|Tribute]]''
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor#1980s|1982]]
| ''[[My Favorite Year]]''
| [[Ben Kingsley]] – ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]''
| [[Dustin Hoffman]] – ''[[Tootsie]]''<br />[[Jack Lemmon]] – ''[[Missing (1982 film)|Missing]]''<br />[[Paul Newman]] – ''[[The Verdict]]''
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor#2000s|2006]]
| ''[[Venus (2006 film)|Venus]]''
| [[Forest Whitaker]] – ''[[The Last King of Scotland (film)|The Last King of Scotland]]''
| [[Leonardo DiCaprio]] – ''[[Blood Diamond (film)|Blood Diamond]]''<br />[[Ryan Gosling]] – ''[[Half Nelson (film)|Half Nelson]]''<br />[[Will Smith]] – ''[[The Pursuit of Happyness]]''
|}

== Bibliography ==
* ''Loitering with Intent: The Child'' (1992)
* ''Loitering with Intent: The Apprentice'' (1997)

== See also ==
*[[List of British Academy Award nominees and winners]]
*[[List of actors with Academy Award nominations]]
*[[List of actors with three or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last1=Porter |first1=Darwin |last2=Prince |first2=Danforth |title=Peter O'Toole: Hellraiser, Sexual Outlaw, Irish Rebel |date=2015 |publisher=Blood Moon Productions |location=Staten Island, New York |isbn=978-1936003457}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Peter O'Toole}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|0000564}}
* {{NPG name}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{Screenonline name|id=473484}}

{{Navboxes
|title = [[List of awards and nominations received by Peter O'Toole|Awards for Peter O'Toole]]
|list =
{{Academy Honorary Award}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Actor 1960–1979}}
{{David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor}}
{{David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{EmmyAward MiniseriesSupportingActor}}
{{GoldenGlobeBestActorMotionPictureDrama 1961–1980}}
{{GoldenGlobeAwardBestActorMotionPictureMusicalComedy 1961–1980}}
{{Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year Actor}}
{{IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Film}}
{{OlivierAward OutstandingAchievement}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Actor}}
{{National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

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