Alec Guinness

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Alec Guinness

Sir Alec Guinness, CH

Order of the Companions of Honour

The Order of the Companions of Honour is a United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations Order . It was founded by George V of the United Kingdom in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry, or religion....
, CBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom....
(2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an Academy Award

Academy Award for Best Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
winning English actor.

ness was born at 155 Lauderdale Mansions South

Lauderdale Mansions South

Lauderdale Mansions South, is a block of 142 apartments in Lauderdale Road, Maida Vale, London W9. Built in 1897, Lauderdale Mansions South was the first of a swathe of mansion flat buildings for the middle classes that spread across central Maida Vale in the 1897-1907 period....
, Lauderdale Road in Maida Vale

Maida Vale

Maida Vale is a residential district in West London between St John's Wood and Kilburn, London. It is part of City of Westminster. The area is mostly residential, and mainly affluent, consisting of many large Edwardian blocks of mansion flats....
, London

London

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Quotations

There seems to be no end to the senseless wickedness done on this little planet in a minor solar system, and we puny mortals appear to be decreasing in importance so far as the universe is concerned.

My Name Escapes Me (Penguin, 1997), 1st paperback edition, p. 57

...nothing is desperately important and the joy of life is just looking at it.

A Positively Final Appearance (Penguin, 1999), 3rd hardback edition, p. 2

Encyclopedia

Sir Alec Guinness, CH

Order of the Companions of Honour

Order of the British Empire

Academy Award for Best Actor

Biography

Early years

Guinness was born at 155 Lauderdale Mansions South

Lauderdale Mansions South

Maida Vale

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
as Alec Guinness de Cuffe. Under the column for name (where the first names only are usually stated) his birth certificate says 'Alec Guinness'. There is nothing written in the column for name and surname of father. In the column for mother's name is written 'Agnes de Cuffe'. On this basis it has been frequently speculated that the actor's father was a member of the Irish Guinness family. However, his benefactor was a Scottish banker named Andrew Geddes, and the similarity of his name to the name written on the actor's birth certificate ('Alec Guinness') may be a subtle reference to the identity of the actor's father. From 1875, English law required both the presence and consent of the father when the birth of an illegitimate child was registered in order for his name to be put on the certificate. His mother's maiden name was Agnes Cuff (born 8 December 1890), daughter of Edward Cuff and wife Mary Ann Cuff Benfield. She would later marry a shell shock

Shell Shock

Shell Shock, also known as 82nd Marines Attack was a 1964 in film by B-movie director John Hayes . The film takes place in Italy during World War II, and tells the story of a sergeant with his group of soldiers....
ed veteran of the Anglo-Irish War who, according to Guinness, hallucinated

Hallucination

A hallucination, in the broadest sense, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus . In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space....
that his own closets were filled with Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn F?in is a political party in Ireland. The current party, led by Gerry Adams, was formed following a split in January 1970 and traces its origins back to the original Sinn F?in party formed in 1905....
gunmen waiting to kill him.

The man who believed he was Alec Guinness' biological father, Andrew Geddes, paid for the actor's private school education, but the two never met and the identity of his father continues to be debated.

Early career and war service

Guinness first worked writing copy for advertising before making his debut at the Albery Theatre in 1936 at the age of 22, playing the role of Osric in John Gielgud

John Gielgud

Sir Arthur John Gielgud, Order of Merit , Companion of Honour was an England actor and singer, particularly known for his warm and expressive voice, which his colleague Alec Guinness likened to "a silver trumpet muffled in silk"....
's wildly successful production of Hamlet
Hamlet

Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle King Claudius, who has murdered King Hamlet, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude ....
. During this time he worked with many actors and actresses who would become his friends and frequent co-stars in the future, including John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft

Peggy Ashcroft

Dame Peggy Ashcroft Order of the British Empire was an English actress....
, Anthony Quayle

Anthony Quayle

Sir John Anthony Quayle, Order of the British Empire was an English people actor and Theatre director.He was born in Ainsdale, Southport in Lancashire educated at the private Rugby School and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London....
, and Jack Hawkins

Jack Hawkins

John Edward "Jack" Hawkins was an English people film actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe n?e Goodman....
. An early influence from afar was Stan Laurel

Stan Laurel

Stan Laurel was an English comic actor, writer and director, famous as the first half of the comedy double-act Laurel and Hardy, whose career stretched from the silent films of the early 20th century until post-World War II....
, whom Guinness admired.

Guinness continued playing Shakespearean roles throughout his career. In 1937 he played the role of Aumerle in Richard II
Richard II (play)

'King Richard the Second' is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's successors: Henry IV, part 1, Henry IV, part...
and Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Although classified as a Shakespearean comedies in the First Folio, and while it shares certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedy, the play is perhaps more remembered for its dramatic scenes, and is best known for...
under the direction of John Gielgud

John Gielgud

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
. He also appeared as Romeo in a production of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a Shakespearean tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young "Star-crossed" whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding families....
(1939), Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night and as Exeter in Henry V
Henry V (play)

Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in 1599. It is based on the life of King Henry V of England, and focuses on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War....
in 1937, both opposite Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, Order of Merit was an English people Stage actor, Theatre director, and Theatrical producer. He is one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft and Ralph Richardson....
, and Ferdinand in The Tempest
The Tempest

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610?11, although some researchers have argued for an earlier dating. Its protagonist is the banished sorcerer Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, who uses his magical powers to punish and forgive his enemies when he raises a tempest that drives them ashore....
, opposite Gielgud as Prospero

Prospero

File:Prospero and miranda.jpgProspero is the protagonist in The Tempest , a Play by William Shakespeare....
.

In 1939, he adapted Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens, Royal Society of Arts , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English people novelist of the Victorian era, as well as a vigorous Reform movement....
' novel Great Expectations
Great Expectations

Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens first serial ised in All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It is regarded as one of his greatest and most sophisticated novels, and is one of his most enduringly popular, having been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
for the stage, playing the part of Herbert Pocket. The play was a success. One of its viewers was a young British film editor named David Lean

David Lean

Sir David Lean, CBE, was an England filmmaker, film producer, screenwriter and Film editing, best remembered for big-screen epics such as Lawrence of Arabia , The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago , Ryan's Daughter, and A Passage to India ....
, who had Guinness reprise his role in the former's 1946 film adaptation

Great Expectations (1946 film)

Great Expectations is a 1946 in film British film directed by David Lean and based on the Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It stars John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Finlay Currie, Martita Hunt, and Alec Guinness....
of the play.

Guinness served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, serving first as a seaman in 1941 and being commissioned the following year. He commanded a landing craft taking part in the invasion of Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
and Elba

Elba

Elba is an island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. It is the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, and the third largest List of islands of Italy after Sicily and Sardinia....
and later ferried supplies to the Yugoslav

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and in Slovene language: Socialisticna Federativna Republika Jugoslavija The Slovene language name also uses this Gaj?s Latin alphabet version with a slight difference in spelling....
partisans.

During the war, he appeared in Terence Rattigan

Terence Rattigan

Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan was one of England's most popular 20th century dramatists. He was born in Kensington, London of Irish people extraction, educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Oxford, and his plays are generally situated within an upper middle class background....
's West End Play for Bomber Command

Bomber Command

Bomber Command is an organizational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. Many countries have a "Bomber Command", although the most famous ones were in United Kingdom and the United States....
, Flare Path.

Post-war career

He returned to the Old Vic

Old Vic

The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road, London. It became a Grade II* listed building in 1951....
in 1946 and stayed until 1948, playing Abel Drugger in Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson

Benjamin Jonson was an England English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satire plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist , and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his Lyric poetry poems....
's The Alchemist
The Alchemist (play)

The Alchemist is a comedy by English literature playwright Ben Jonson. First performed in 1610 in literature by the King's Men, it is generally considered Jonson's best and most characteristic comedy; Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed that it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature....
, the Fool in King Lear
King Lear

King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606, and is considered one of his greatest works....
opposite Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, Order of Merit was an English people Stage actor, Theatre director, and Theatrical producer. He is one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft and Ralph Richardson....
in the title role, DeGuiche in Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)

Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand based on the life of the real Cyrano de Bergerac.The entire play is written in verse, in rhyming couplets of 12 syllables per line, very close to the Alexandrine format, but the verses sometimes lack a caesura....
opposite Ralph Richardson

Ralph Richardson

Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
in the title role, and finally starring in an Old Vic

Old Vic

Richard II (play)

'King Richard the Second' is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's successors: Henry IV, part 1, Henry IV, part...
. After leaving the Old Vic

Old Vic

The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road, London. It became a Grade II* listed building in 1951....
, he had a success as the Uninvited Guest in the Broadway production of T. S. Eliot

T. S. Eliot

'Thomas Stearns Eliot', Order of Merit , was a poet, dramatist, and literary critic. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Among his most famous writings are the poems The Love Song of J....
's The Cocktail Party
The Cocktail Party

The Cocktail Party is a play by T. S. Eliot. Elements of the play are based on Alcestis, by the Ancient Greek playwright Euripides. The play was the most popular of Eliot's seven plays in his lifetime, although his 1935 play, Murder in the Cathedral, is better remembered today....
(1950, revived at the Edinburgh Festival

Edinburgh International Festival

the edinburgh international festival --Special:Contributions/83.44.166.187 21:30, 26 February 2009 The Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August....
in 1968), but his second attempt at the title role of Hamlet, this time under his own direction at the New Theatre

Noël Coward Theatre

The No?l Coward Theatre is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre, and was built by Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899....
(1951), proved a major theatrical disaster.

He was initially mainly associated with the Ealing comedies

Ealing Comedies

The Ealing Comedies were a series of film comedies produced by Ealing Studios during the period 1947 to 1957.Hue and Cry in 1947 is generally considered to be the first of the "Ealing Comedies", and Barnacle Bill the last in 1957....
, and particularly for playing eight different characters in Kind Hearts and Coronets
Kind Hearts and Coronets

Kind Hearts and Coronets is an Cinema of the United Kingdom black comedy/Thriller film, produced by the famous Ealing Studios, who made a number of popular post-war comedies, such as The Ladykillers....
. Other films from this period included The Lavender Hill Mob
The Lavender Hill Mob

The Lavender Hill Mob is a 1951 in film comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T.E.B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton and starring Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway and Sid James as gold thieves....
, The Ladykillers
The Ladykillers

The Ladykillers is a dark comedy film, another edition in a series of post-war Ealing comedies. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green , Jack Warner and Katie Johnson....
, and The Man in the White Suit
The Man in the White Suit

The Man In The White Suit is a satire comedy film made in 1951 in film by Ealing Studios. It starred Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, and Cecil Parker, and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick....
. In 1952, director Ronald Neame

Ronald Neame

Ronald Neame, Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom film cinematographer, film producer, screenwriter, and film director.Neame's parents were the photographer Elwin Neame and the actor Ivy Close....
cast Guinness in his first romantic lead role, opposite Petula Clark

Petula Clark

Petula Clark, Order of the British Empire , is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II....
in The Card
The Card

The Card is a short comedic novel written by Arnold Bennett in 1911. It was later made into a 1952 in film movie starring Alec Guinness and Petula Clark....
.

Invited by his friend Tyrone Guthrie

Tyrone Guthrie

Sir William Tyrone Guthrie was an Anglo-Irish Tony Award-winning theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, at his family's home, Annaghmakerrig, in County Monaghan, Ireland....
to join in the premier season of the Stratford Festival of Canada

Stratford Festival of Canada

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is an annual celebration of theatre running from April to November in the Canada city of Stratford, Ontario, Ontario....
, Guinness lived for a brief time in Stratford, Ontario

Stratford, Ontario

Stratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County, Ontario in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 30,461, according to the 2006 census....
. On July 13, 1953, Guinness spoke the first lines of the first play produced by the festival (Shakespeare's Richard III
Richard III (play)

Richard III is a Shakespearean history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591, depicting the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England....
): "Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this sun of York."

Guinness won particular acclaim for his work with director David Lean. After appearing in Lean's Great Expectations
Great Expectations (1946 film)

Great Expectations is a 1946 in film British film directed by David Lean and based on the Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It stars John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Finlay Currie, Martita Hunt, and Alec Guinness....
and Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist (1948 film)

Oliver Twist is the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following the success of his 1946 in film version of Great Expectations , Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his next film, including film producer Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan, cinematographer Guy Green , production designe...
, he was given a starring role opposite William Holden

William Holden

William Holden was an Academy Award-winning United States film actor. One of the top stars of the 1950s, he was named one of the "Top 10 stars of the year" six times and appeared on the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years......
in Bridge on the River Kwai. For his performance as Colonel Nicholson, the unyielding British POW leader, Guinness won an Academy Award for Best Actor

Best Actor

Best Actor is the name of an award. It is presented by various film organizations, film festivals, and people's awards. It may also refer to the Best Actor award in theatre or on television....
. Despite a difficult and often hostile relationship, Lean, referring to Guinness as "my good luck charm", continued to cast Guinness in character roles in his later films: Arab

Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
leader Prince Feisal in Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (film)

Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 in film UK epic film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Austrian Sam Spiegel , from a script by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson ....
; the title character's half-brother, Bolshevik leader Yevgraf, in Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago (1965 film)

Doctor Zhivago is a 1965 in film Cinema of the United States epic film or drama film-romance film-war film directed by David Lean and loosely based on the famous Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak....
; and Indian mystic Godbole in A Passage to India
A Passage to India (film)

A Passage to India is a 1984 in film adventure film-drama film directed by David Lean, based on the A Passage to India by E. M. Forster....
. He was also offered a role in Lean's adaptation of Ryan's Daughter
Ryan's Daughter

Ryan's Daughter is David Lean's 1970 film which is set in 1916 and tells the story of an Ireland girl who has an affair with a United Kingdom officer during World War I, despite opposition from her nationalist neighbours....
(1970), but declined.

Other famous roles of this time period included The Swan
The Swan (film)

The Swan is a 1956 in film remake by MGM of a 1925 in film film . The film is a romantic comedy directed by Charles Vidor, produced by Dore Schary from a screenplay by John Dighton based on the play by Ferenc Moln?r....
(1956) with Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly

Grace Patricia Kelly was an Academy Award-winning United States film and Stage actor and fashion icon. Upon marrying Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1956, she became Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, but was generally known as Princess Grace of Monaco....
in her last film role, The Horse's Mouth
The Horse's Mouth

The Horse's Mouth is a 1944 in literature novel by Joyce Cary, the third in his First Trilogy, whose first two books are Herself Surprised and To Be A Pilgrim ....
(1958) in which Guinness played the part of drunken painter Gulley Jimson as well as contributing the screenplay, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Tunes of Glory
Tunes of Glory

Tunes of Glory is a 1960 in film film directed by Ronald Neame, based on the novel by James Kennaway, who also wrote the screenplay, centering on events in a Scotland Highland military barracks in the period following World War II....
(1960), Damn the Defiant! (1962), The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)

The Fall of the Roman Empire is a 1964 in film English language epic film produced by Samuel Bronston Productions and The Rank Organisation, and released by Paramount Pictures....
(1964), The Quiller Memorandum
The Quiller Memorandum

The Quiller Memorandum is a film adaptation of the 1965 spy novel The Berlin Memorandum, by Elleston Trevor, screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Anderson , featuring George Segal, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger and Alec Guinness....
(1966), Marley's Ghost in Scrooge
Scrooge (1970 film)

Scrooge is a 1970 in film musical film adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic 1843 story, A Christmas Carol. It was filmed in London, directed by Ronald Neame, and starred Albert Finney in the title role....
(1970), Charles I of England

Charles I of England

Charles I was List of English monarchs, List of monarchs of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his capital punishment on 30 January 1649....
in Cromwell
Cromwell (film)

Cromwell is a film, based on the life of Oliver Cromwell who led the Parliament of England forces during the English Civil War and, as Lord Protector, ruled The Protectorate in the mid-17th century....
(1970), and the title role in Hitler: The Last Ten Days
Hitler: The Last Ten Days

Hitler: The Last Ten Days is a 1973 in film film depicting the days leading up to Adolf Hitler's Hitler's Death. It stars Alec Guinness and Simon Ward....
(1973) (which he considered his best film performance; critics disagreed ).

He won a Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
for his Broadway triumph as poet Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas

Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh people poet who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself....
in Dylan. He followed this success by playing the title role in Macbeth
Macbeth

Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest Shakespearean tragedy and is believed to have been written some time between 1603 and 1606, with 1607 being the very latest possible date....
opposite Simone Signoret

Simone Signoret

Simone Signoret is a beloved Academy Award winning legend of French cinema and widely hailed as the greatest France actress in film history. She became the first French person to win an Academy Award in 1959 for her role in Room at the Top....
at the Royal Court Theatre

Royal Court Theatre

The Royal Court Theatre is a West End Theatre#London's non-commercial theatres theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea....
in 1966, one of the most conspicuous failures of his career.

From the 1970s, Guinness made regular television appearances, including the part of George Smiley

George Smiley

George Smiley is a fictional character created by John le Carr?. Smiley is an intelligence officer working for MI6 , the British overseas intelligence agency....
in the serializations of two novels by John le Carré

John le Carré

John le Carr? is an English author of spy fiction, several of which have been adapted for film and television. He worked for MI5 and MI6 in the 1950s and 1960s, before leaving the secret service to devote himself to writing after the success of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold....
: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a spy novel by John le Carr?, first published in 1974. It is the first volume of a three-book series informally known as The Karla Trilogy, followed by The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People....
and Smiley's People
Smiley's People

Smiley's People is a spy novel by John le Carr?, published in 1979. Featuring British master-spy George Smiley, it is the third and final novel of the "Karla Trilogy," following Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy....
. Le Carré was so impressed by Guinness's performance as Smiley that he based his characterization of Smiley in subsequent novels on Guinness. One of his last appearances was in the acclaimed BBC drama Eskimo Day.

Guinness received his fifth Oscar nomination for his performance in Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens, Royal Society of Arts , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English people novelist of the Victorian era, as well as a vigorous Reform movement....
' Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit

Little Dorrit is a Serial by Charles Dickens published originally between 1855 and 1857. It is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period....
in 1989. He received an honorary Oscar in 1980 "for advancing the art of screen acting through a host of memorable and distinguished performances."

Star Wars

Guinness' role as Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars Star Wars galaxy. He is one of the protagonists in the Star Wars film series; along with Anakin Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in each of the six Star Wars films....
in the original Star Wars
Star Wars

Star Wars is an epic film space opera Media franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but later had the subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope added to distinguish it from its sequels and prequels....
trilogy, beginning in 1977, brought him worldwide recognition by a new generation. Guinness agreed to take the part on the condition that he would not have to do publicity to promote the film. He was also one of the few cast members who believed that the film would be a box office hit and negotiated a deal for two percent of the gross, which made him very wealthy in later life. His role would also result in a Golden Globe Nomination and Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
.

Despite this, Guinness was never happy with being identified with the part, and expressed dismay at the fan following that the Star Wars trilogy attracted. In the DVD commentary of Star Wars: A New Hope, director George Lucas

George Lucas

George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an Academy Award-nominated United States film director, film producer, screenwriter and chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the Epic film Sci-Fi franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones....
says that Guinness was not happy with the script re-write in which Obi-Wan is killed. However, Guinness stated in a 1999 interview that it was actually his idea to kill off Obi Wan, persuading Lucas that it would make him a stronger character. Lucas agreed to the idea, but Guinness confided in the interview, "What I didn't tell Lucas was that I just couldn't go on speaking those bloody awful, banal lines. I'd had enough of the mumbo jumbo." He continued by saying that he "shrivelled up" every time Star Wars was mentioned to him. Despite his dislike, fellow cast members Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill

Mark Richard Hamill is an United States actor and voice artist, best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the voice of Joker in the DC animated universe....
, Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford is an United Statesn actor. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy, and as the Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones franchise#Films film series....
, Anthony Daniels

Anthony Daniels

Anthony Kingsley Daniels is an United Kingdom actor, known for his role as the android C-3PO in the Star Wars series of films made between 1977 and 2005....
, and Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Frances Fisher is an United States actor, screenwriter and novelist. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia Organa in the Star Wars original trilogy....
(as well as Lucas) have spoken highly of his courtesy and professionalism on and off the set, wherein he did not let his distaste for the material show to his co-stars. Lucas credited him with inspiring fellow cast and crew to work harder, saying he was instrumental in helping to complete filming of the movies.

Guinness was quoted as saying that the royalties he obtained from working on the films gave him "no complaints; let me leave it by saying I can live for the rest of my life in the reasonably modest way I am now used to, that I have no debts and I can afford to refuse work that doesn't appeal to me". In his autobiography, Blessings In Disguise, Guinness tells an imaginary interviewer "Blessed be Star Wars!", while in the final volume of the book A Positively Final Appearance (1997), he recounts grudgingly giving an autograph to a young fan who claimed to have watched Star Wars over 100 times, on the condition that the fan promised to stop watching the film, because as Guinness put it "this is going to be an ill effect on your life". The fan was stunned at first, but later thanked him. Guinness grew so tired of modern audiences seeming to remember him only for his role of Obi-Wan Kenobi that he would throw away the fan mail he received from Star Wars fans without reading it.

Personal life

Guinness married the artist, playwright, and actress Merula Salaman (1914–2000) in 1938; in 1940, they had a son, Matthew Guinness

Matthew Guinness

Matthew Guinness is an United Kingdom actor. He plays The Farmer in the 1976 film Nuts in May and had a small role in 1987's Lady Jane ....
, who later became an actor.

Guinness consulted Tarot

Tarot

The tarot is typically a set of seventy-eight cards, composed of twenty-one Trump , one The Fool , and four Suit of fourteen cards each?ten pip and four Face card cards ....
cards for a time, but came to the conclusion that the symbols of the cards mocked Christianity and Christ. He then burned his cards and shortly afterwards converted to Roman Catholicism.

In his biography Alec Guinness: The Unknown, Garry O'Connor reveals that Guinness was arrested and fined 10 guineas for a homosexual act in a public lavatory in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
in 1946. Guinness avoided publicity by giving his name as "Herbert Pocket" to both police and court. The name "Herbert Pocket" was taken from the character in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations that Guinness had played on stage in 1939 and was also about to play in the film adaptation. The incident did not become public knowledge until April 2001, eight months after his death. The authenticity of this incident has been doubted, however, including by Piers Paul Read

Piers Paul Read

Piers Paul Read is a British novelist and non-fiction writer and author....
, Guinness's official biographer, who believes that Guinness was mixed up with John Gielgud, who was infamously arrested for such an act at the same period, though Read nonetheless acknowledges Guinness's bisexuality .

While serving in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
, Guinness for a while planned to become an Anglican priest

Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
. In 1954, however, during the shooting of the film Father Brown, Alec and Merula Guinness were formally received into the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
. They would remain devout and regular church-goers for the remainder of their lives. Their son Matthew had converted to Catholicism some time earlier. Every morning, Guinness recited a verse from Psalm 143
Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
, "Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning".

Love of animals

Guinness had a life long affection for animals - particularly domestic pets - though this was to lead to one of the more curious incidents of his colourful life. On the 12th May 1976, police officers were called to his home address to reports of odd noises and a distinctive smell. The officers discovered that Guinness' townhouse was inhabited by over 1, 000 cats a number of which had been coloured yellow with dye. Guinness agreed to all but 6 of the cats being removed and taken into the care of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). It is for this reason that the RSPCA is commonly referred to as "The Yellow Fur Brigade". Upon his death, Guinness was buried in a coffin decorated with the giant face of a yellow cat.

Death

Guinness died on August 5, 2000, from liver cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a primary cancer of the liver. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitis infection or cirrhosis ....
, at Midhurst

Midhurst

Midhurst is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester Districts of England of West Sussex, England, with a population of approximately 5000 people....
in West Sussex

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial counties of England until 1974 and the coming into force of the Local Government...
. He had been receiving hospital treatment for glaucoma

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a group of diseases of the optic nerve involving loss of ganglion cell in a characteristic pattern of optic atrophy. Raised intraocular pressure is a significant risk factor for developing glaucoma ....
, and had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer

Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. It occurs when cell s of the prostate Mutation and begin to multiply out of control....
. He was interred in Petersfield, Hampshire

Petersfield, Hampshire

Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 17 miles north of Portsmouth, on the A3 road....
, England. Merula Sylvia Guinness died of cancer

Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
in Petersfield in October 2000, aged 86 and was interred alongside her husband of 62 years.

Encounter with James Dean

On Friday, September 23, 1955, Guinness was at the Villa Capri restaurant in Los Angeles, and found no table available. The actor James Dean

James Dean

James Byron Dean was a two-time Academy Award-nominated American film actor. Dean's status as a cultural icon is best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause, in which he starred as troubled stereotypical high school rebel Jim Stark....
, then filming Giant
Giant (film)

Giant is a drama film directed by George Stevens from a screenplay adapted by Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat from the novel by Edna Ferber. It stars Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean and features Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Rod Taylor and Earl Holliman....
, invited Guinness to sit at his table. During lunch, Dean talked about his new car, a Porsche 550

Porsche 550

The Porsche 550 was a sports car produced by Porsche from 1953-1956.Inspired by the Porsche 356 Speedster which was created by Ferry Porsche and raced by Walter Gl?ckler in 1951, the factory decided to build such a car, being its first designed specifically for use in auto racing....
Spyder. On leaving the restaurant, Dean insisted on showing off the car to Guinness, who said "Please never get in it. If you do, you will be dead within a week." Dean died in a crash in the Porsche the following Friday, September 30.

Awards and honours

Guinness won the Academy Award

Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
as Best Actor in 1957 for his role in Bridge on the River Kwai. He was nominated in 1958 for his screenplay adapted from Joyce Cary

Joyce Cary

Joyce Arthur Cary was an Ireland novelist and artist....
's novel The Horse's Mouth
The Horse's Mouth

The Horse's Mouth is a 1944 in literature novel by Joyce Cary, the third in his First Trilogy, whose first two books are Herself Surprised and To Be A Pilgrim ....
and for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977. He also received an Academy Honorary Award

Academy Honorary Award

The Academy Honorary Award, instituted in 1948 in film for the 21st Academy Awards , is given by the discretion of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences#Current administration of the Academy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to celebrate motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards....
for lifetime achievement in 1980. In 1988, he received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit (film)

Little Dorrit is a 1988 in film film adaptation of the Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B....
.

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1955, and was knighted

Knight Bachelor

The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Chivalric order....
in 1959. In 1991, Guinness received an Honorary Doctorate from Cambridge University. Three years later, he was bestowed the title of Companion of Honour

Order of the Companions of Honour

Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, that serves as an entertainment hall of fame....
at 1559 Vine Street.

Writings

Guinness wrote three volumes of a bestselling autobiography, beginning with Blessings in Disguise in 1985, followed by My Name Escapes Me in 1996, and A Positively Final Appearance in 1999. His authorised biography was written by his close friend, British novelist Piers Paul Read

Piers Paul Read

Piers Paul Read is a British novelist and non-fiction writer and author....
. It was published in 2003.

Filmography

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Brother Sun, Sister Moon is a 1972 in film film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Graham Faulkner and Judi Bowker. The film is a biopic of Saint Francis of Assisi....
>

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1934	Evensong	Extra (WWI soldier in audience)	uncredited
1946	Great Expectations Great Expectations (1946 film) *Great Expectations* is a 1946 in film British film directed by David Lean and based on the Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It stars John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Finlay Currie, Martita Hunt, and Alec Guinness....	Herbert Pocket
1948	Oliver Twist Oliver Twist (1948 film) *Oliver Twist* is the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following the success of his 1946 in film version of Great Expectations , Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his next film, including film producer Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan, cinematographer Guy Green , production designe...	Fagin
1949	Kind Hearts and Coronets Kind Hearts and Coronets *Kind Hearts and Coronets* is an Cinema of the United Kingdom black comedy/Thriller film, produced by the famous Ealing Studios, who made a number of popular post-war comedies, such as The Ladykillers....	The Duke, The Banker, The Parson, The General, The Admiral, Young Ascoyne, Young Henry, Lady Agatha
1949	A Run for Your Money A Run for Your Money *A Run for Your Money* is a 1949 in film Ealing Studios comedy film starring Donald Houston and Meredith Edwards as two Wales visiting London for the first time....	Whimple
1950	Last Holiday Last Holiday (1950 film) *Last Holiday* is a 1950 in film Cinema of the United Kingdom featuring Alec Guinness in his sixth starring role....	George Bird
1950	The Mudlark The Mudlark The Mudlark a film made in England by 20th Century Fox, is a fictionalized account of how Victoria of the United Kingdom was eventually brought out of her mourning for her dead husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....	Benjamin Disraeli
1951	The Lavender Hill Mob The Lavender Hill Mob *The Lavender Hill Mob* is a 1951 in film comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T.E.B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton and starring Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway and Sid James as gold thieves....	Henry Holland	Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry.... nomination
1951	The Man in the White Suit The Man in the White Suit *The Man In The White Suit* is a satire comedy film made in 1951 in film by Ealing Studios. It starred Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, and Cecil Parker, and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick....	Sidney Stratton
1952	The Card The Card *The Card* is a short comedic novel written by Arnold Bennett in 1911. It was later made into a 1952 in film movie starring Alec Guinness and Petula Clark....	Edward Henry ‘Denry’ Machin
1953	The Square Mile	narrator	short subject
	Malta Story Malta Story *Malta Story* is a 1953 in film black and white war film based on the heroic defence of Malta, the island itself, its people, and the Royal Air Force aviators who fought to defend it....	Flight Lt. Peter Ross
	The Captain's Paradise The Captain's Paradise *The Captain's Paradise* is a 1953 in film Cinema of the United Kingdom comedy starring Alec Guinness and directed by Anthony Kimmins. It is set in Gibraltar and northern Morocco, and on a ship that travels between them....	Capt. Henry St. James
1954	Father Brown	Father Brown
1954	The Stratford Adventure The Stratford Adventure *The Stratford Adventure* is a 1954 in film documentary film about the founding of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, directed by Morten Parker....	as himself	short subject
1955	Rowlandson's England	narrator	short subject
	To Paris with Love	Col. Sir Edgar Fraser
	The Prisoner	The Cardinal
	The Ladykillers The Ladykillers *The Ladykillers* is a dark comedy film, another edition in a series of post-war Ealing comedies. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green , Jack Warner and Katie Johnson....	Professor Marcus
1956	The Swan The Swan (film) *The Swan* is a 1956 in film remake by MGM of a 1925 in film film . The film is a romantic comedy directed by Charles Vidor, produced by Dore Schary from a screenplay by John Dighton based on the play by Ferenc Moln?r....	Prince Albert
1957	The Bridge on the River Kwai The Bridge on the River Kwai *The Bridge on the River Kwai* is a Cinema of the United Kingdom 1957 in film World War II film by David Lean; based on the novel The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle....	Col. Nicholson	Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
1957	Barnacle Bill	Captain William Horatio Ambrose	released in the US as All at Sea
1958	The Horse's Mouth The Horse's Mouth (film) *The Horse's Mouth* is a 1958 in film film, directed by Ronald Neame. Alec Guinness wrote the screenplay from the 1944 novel The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary, and also played the lead role of Gulley Jimson, a London artist....	Gulley Jimson	also writer and Academy Award for Best Screenplay nomination
1959	Our Man in Havana Our Man in Havana (film) *Our Man in Havana* is a 1959 in film film directed by Carol Reed and starring Alec Guinness, Burl Ives, Maureen O'Hara, Ralph Richardson, Noel Coward and Ernie Kovacs....	Jim Wormold
1959	The Scapegoat The Scapegoat (film) *The Scapegoat* is a 1959 in film crime film based on the The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier, and starring Alec Guinness, Nicole Maurey and Bette Davis....	John Barratt/Jacques De Gue
1960	Tunes of Glory Tunes of Glory *Tunes of Glory* is a 1960 in film film directed by Ronald Neame, based on the novel by James Kennaway, who also wrote the screenplay, centering on events in a Scotland Highland military barracks in the period following World War II....	Maj. Jock Sinclair, D.S.O., M.M.
1962	A Majority of One A Majority of One *A Majority of One* is a play by Leonard Spigelgass. The comedy involves Mrs. Jacoby, a Jewish widow from Brooklyn, New York, and Koichi Asano, a millionaire widower from Tokyo....	Koichi Asano
	HMS Defiant HMS Defiant *H.M.S. Defiant* is a United Kingdom film released in 1962 in film about a mutiny aboard the fictitious ship of the title at around the time of the Spithead Mutiny, starring Alec Guinness and Dirk Bogarde....	Captain Crawford
	Lawrence of Arabia Lawrence of Arabia (film) *Lawrence of Arabia* is a 1962 in film UK epic film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Austrian Sam Spiegel , from a script by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson ....	Prince Feisal
1964	The Fall of the Roman Empire The Fall of the Roman Empire (film) *The Fall of the Roman Empire* is a 1964 in film English language epic film produced by Samuel Bronston Productions and The Rank Organisation, and released by Paramount Pictures....	Marcus Aurelius
1965	Pasternak Pasternak Pasternak or Pasternack . Notable people with the last name "Pasternak" include:* Boris Pasternak, poet and writer* Joe Pasternak , Hungarian-US actor...	Himself	short subject
	Situation Hopeless ... But Not Serious	Wilhelm Frick
	Doctor Zhivago Doctor Zhivago (1965 film) *Doctor Zhivago* is a 1965 in film Cinema of the United States epic film or drama film-romance film-war film directed by David Lean and loosely based on the famous Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak....	Gen. Yevgraf Zhivago
1966	Hotel Paradiso	Benedict Boniface
1966	The Quiller Memorandum The Quiller Memorandum *The Quiller Memorandum* is a film adaptation of the 1965 spy novel The Berlin Memorandum, by Elleston Trevor, screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Anderson , featuring George Segal, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger and Alec Guinness....	Pol
1967	The Comedians in Africa	Himself	uncredited, short subject
1967	The Comedians The Comedians (novel) *The Comedians* is a novel by Graham Greene, first published in 1966. Set in Haiti under the rule of Fran?ois Duvalier and his secret police, the Tonton Macoute, The Comedians tells the story of a tired hotel owner, Brown, and his increasing fatalism as he watches Haiti descend into barbarism....	Major H.O. Jones
1970	Cromwell Cromwell (film) *Cromwell* is a film, based on the life of Oliver Cromwell who led the Parliament of England forces during the English Civil War and, as Lord Protector, ruled The Protectorate in the mid-17th century....	King Charles I
1970	Scrooge Scrooge (1970 film) *Scrooge* is a 1970 in film musical film adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic 1843 story, A Christmas Carol. It was filmed in London, directed by Ronald Neame, and starred Albert Finney in the title role....	Jacob Marley’s ghost
1972	Brother Sun, Sister Moon Brother Sun, Sister Moon *Brother Sun, Sister Moon* is a 1972 in film film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Graham Faulkner and Judi Bowker. The film is a biopic of Saint Francis of Assisi....	Pope Innocent III
1973	Hitler: The Last Ten Days Hitler: The Last Ten Days *Hitler: The Last Ten Days* is a 1973 in film film depicting the days leading up to Adolf Hitler's Hitler's Death. It stars Alec Guinness and Simon Ward....	Adolf Hitler
Pope Innocent III		1976	Murder by Death Murder by Death *Murder by Death* is a comedy movie written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore . The plot is a parody of the traditional country house whodunit, familiar to mystery fiction fans from classics such as Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, a form also parodied for the stage in Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound....	Jamesir Bensonmum
1977	Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope *Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope* is an Cinema of the United States 1977 in film space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It was the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: Star Wars#Original trilogy continue the story, while a Star Wars#Prequel trilogy contributes backstory, primarily for the troubled charac...	Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars Star Wars galaxy. He is one of the protagonists in the Star Wars film series; along with Anakin Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in each of the six Star Wars films....	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry.... nomination
1979	Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy *Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy* is a spy novel by John le Carr?, first published in 1974. It is the first volume of a three-book series informally known as The Karla Trilogy, followed by The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People....	George Smiley George Smiley George Smiley is a fictional character created by John le Carr?. Smiley is an intelligence officer working for MI6 , the British overseas intelligence agency....
1980	Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back *Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back* is a 1980 in film space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett....	Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi
	Raise the Titanic	John Bigalow
	Little Lord Fauntleroy Little Lord Fauntleroy 'Little Lord Fauntleroy' is the first children's novel written by England?United States playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was originally published as a serial in the St....	Earl of Dorincourt
1982	Smiley's People Smiley's People *Smiley's People* is a spy novel by John le Carr?, published in 1979. Featuring British master-spy George Smiley, it is the third and final novel of the "Karla Trilogy," following Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy....	George Smiley George Smiley George Smiley is a fictional character created by John le Carr?. Smiley is an intelligence officer working for MI6 , the British overseas intelligence agency....
1983	Lovesick Lovesick *Lovesick* is a 1983 in film romantic comedy film. It was written and directed by Marshall Brickman. It stars Dudley Moore, Elizabeth McGovern and guest stars Alec Guinness as the ghost of Sigmund Freud....	Sigmund Freud
1983	Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi *Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi* is a 1983 in film space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan....	Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi
1984	A Passage to India A Passage to India (film) *A Passage to India* is a 1984 in film adventure film-drama film directed by David Lean, based on the A Passage to India by E. M. Forster....	Professor Godbole
1988	Little Dorrit Little Dorrit *Little Dorrit* is a Serial by Charles Dickens published originally between 1855 and 1857. It is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period....	William Dorrit	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry.... Nomination
1988	A Handful of Dust A Handful of Dust A Handful of Dust is a novel by Evelyn Waugh published in 1934. It is included in Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels, and Time Magazine's 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.....	Mr. Todd
1991	Kafka Kafka (film) *Kafka* is a mystery Thriller 1991 in film film based on the life and work of writer Franz Kafka. The film attempted to blur the lines between the surreal and the real, creating a very Kafkaesque atmosphere....	The Chief Clerk
1993	A Foreign Field A Foreign Field *A Foreign Field* is a motion picture about Great Britain and United States of America World War II veterans returning to the beaches of Normandy as old men....	Amos
1994	Mute Witness Mute Witness *Mute Witness*, is a 1994 thriller film/Horror film shot in Moscow, Russia written, directed and produced by Anthony Waller. Although made in 1994, it was not released in the USA until the fall of 1995 ....	The Reaper
1996	Eskimo Day	James

Alec Guinness

Biography

Early years

Early career and war service

Post-war career

Star Wars

Personal life

Love of animals

Death

Encounter with James Dean

Awards and honours

Writings

Filmography

Further reading

External links