Peter O'Toole

Biography

Peter Seamus O'Toole (August 2, 1932 – December 14, 2013) was a British-Irish actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic and with the English Stage Company. In 1959 he made his West End debut in The Long and the Short and the Tall, and played the title role in Hamlet in the National Theatre's first production in 1963. Excelling on the London stage, O'Toole was known for his "hellraiser" lifestyle off it. Making his film debut in 1959, O'Toole achieved international recognition playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) for which he received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was nominated for this award another seven times – for playing King Henry II in both Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), The Ruling Class (1972), The Stunt Man (1980), My Favorite Year (1982), and Venus (2006) – and 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. O'Toole was the recipient of four Golden Globe Awards, one BAFTA Award for Best British Actor and one Primetime Emmy Award. Other performances include What's New Pussycat? (1965), How to Steal a Million (1966), Supergirl (1984), and minor roles in The Last Emperor (1987) and Troy (2004). He also voiced Anton Ego, the restaurant critic in Pixar's Ratatouille (2007).

Known For

The Daily Show

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Late Show with David Letterman

The View

Die Harald Schmidt Show

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

The Tudors

The Merv Griffin Show

All Movies (100)

• Love Left the Masquerade: Peter Medak's Cinema of Pretenders2025 · as Archive
• Henry Fonda for President2025 · as Self (archive footage)
• Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba2022 · as Self (archive footage)
• Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony2021 · as Self (archive footage)
• Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World2020 · as Self - Actor (archive footage)
• Hangover in Death Valley2018 · as Narrator (voice)
• Diamond Cartel2015 · as Tugboat
• Katherine of Alexandria2014 · as Gallus
• Outlaws - For Greater Glory2012 · as Father Christopher
• Peter O'Toole: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival2012 · as Self
• Eldorado2012 · as Narrator (voice)
• Eager to Die2010 · as Lord Pelican
• Iron Road2009 · as Relic
• Behind The Scenes of Caligula2009
• Dean Spanley2008 · as Fisk Senior
• Christmas Cottage2008 · as Glen
• Stardust2007 · as King
• Ratatouille2007 · as Anton Ego (voice)
• One Night with the King2006 · as Samuel, the Prophet
• Venus2006 · as Maurice
• Lassie2005 · as The Duke
• Mystic India2005 · as Narrador
• Troy2004 · as Priam
• Augustus: The First Emperor2003 · as Augustus Caesar
• Bright Young Things2003 · as Colonel Blount
• The Final Curtain2002 · as JJ Curtis
• Global Heresy2002 · as Lord Foxley
• The Making of Lawrence of Arabia2001 · as Self (archive footage)
• Hellraisers2000 · as Self
• The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt Man2000
• Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell1999 · as Jeffrey Bernard
• Molokai: The Story of Father Damien1999 · as William Williamson
• The Manor1999 · as Mr. Ravenscroft
• Coming Home1998 · as Colonel Edgar Carey-Lewis
• Phantoms1998 · as Dr. Timothy Flyte
• FairyTale: A True Story1997 · as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• An Evening with Spike Milligan1996 · as Himself
• Heavy Weather1995 · as Clarence, Earl of Emsworth
• The Rainbow Thief1994 · as Prince Meleagre
• The Seventh Coin1993 · as Emil Saber
• Rebecca's Daughters1992 · as Lord Sarn
• Isabelle Eberhardt1991 · as Maj. Lyautey
• King Ralph1991 · as Sir Cedric Charles Willingham
• The Nutcracker Prince1990 · as Pantaloon (voice)
• Crossing to Freedom1990 · as John Sidney Howard
• Wings of Fame1990 · as Cesar Valentin
• On a Moonlit Night1989 · as Prof. Yan McShoul
• High Spirits1988 · as Peter Plunkett
• Bernardo Bertolucci and the Making of 'The Last Emperor'1988 · as Self
• The Last Emperor1987 · as Reginald Johnston (R.J.)
• The Dark Angel1987 · as Uncle Silas Ruthyn
• Club Paradise1986 · as Anthony Cloyden Hayes
• Supergirl: The Making of the Movie1985 · as Self / Zaltar
• Creator1985 · as Dr. Harry Wolper
• Supergirl1984 · as Zaltar
• Kim1984 · as Lama
• Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four1983 · as Sherlock Holmes (voice)
• Sherlock Holmes and a Study in Scarlet1983 · as Sherlock Holmes (voice)
• Pygmalion1983 · as Professor Henry Higgins
• Is There One Who Understands Me? The World of James Joyce1983
• Svengali1983 · as Anton Bosnyak
• Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear1983 · as Sherlock Holmes (voice)
• Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Curse1983 · as Sherlock Holmes (voice)
• Man and Superman1982 · as Jack Tanner
• My Favorite Year1982 · as Alan Swann
• The Stunt Man1980 · as Eli Cross
• Caligula1979 · as Tiberius
• Zulu Dawn1979 · as Lord Chelmsford
• Power Play1978 · as Colonel Zeller
• Rogue Male1976 · as Sir Robert Thorndyke
• Foxtrot1976 · as Liviu
• Rosebud1975 · as Larry Martin
• Man Friday1975 · as Robinson Crusoe
• The Public's Right to Know1974 · as Self
• Man of La Mancha1972 · as Don Quixote De La Mancha / Miguel de Cervantes / Alonso Quijana
• The Ruling Class1972 · as Jack 14th Earl of Gurney
• Under Milk Wood1972 · as Captain Tom Cat
• Murphy's War1971 · as Murphy
• Wind, Sand and Star: The Making of a Classic1970
• Brotherly Love1970 · as Sir Charles Ferguson
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips1969 · as Arthur Chipping
• Stiletto1969 · as Man at the Premiere (uncredited)
• Great Catherine1968 · as Capt. Charles Edstaston
• The Lion in Winter1968 · as Henry II
• Casino Royale1967 · as Scottish Piper (uncredited)
• Present Laughter1967 · as Garry Essendine
• The Night of the Generals1967 · as General Tanz
• The Bible: In the Beginning...1966 · as The Three Angels
• How to Steal a Million1966 · as Simon Dermott
• The Sandpiper1965 · as (voice) (uncredited)
• What's New Pussycat?1965 · as Michael James
• Lord Jim1965 · as Lord Jim
• Becket1964 · as King Henry II of England
• Wind Sand and Star1963
• The Greatest All-Star Advertial of All Time1963 · as Self
• Lawrence of Arabia1962 · as T.E. Lawrence
• The Day They Robbed the Bank of England1960 · as Capt. Monty Fitch
• The Savage Innocents1960 · as First Trooper
• Kidnapped1960 · as Robin MacGregor
• The Castiglioni Brothers1958 · as Mario

All TV Shows (35)

• TFI Unplugged2026 · as Self (Archive Footage)
• Talking Pictures2013 · as Self (archive footage)
• Iron Road2009 · as Lionel Relic
• The Tudors2007 · as Pope Paul III
• Casanova2005 · as Giacomo Casanova
• Augustus: The First Emperor2003 · as Augustus Caesar
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show2003 · as Self
• Hitler: The Rise of Evil2003 · as President Paul von Hindenburg
• The Early Show1999 · as Self
• Joan of Arc1999 · as Bishop Cauchon
• Coming Home1998 · as Colonel Edgar Carey-Lewis
• The View1997 · as Self
• The Daily Show1996 · as Self
• Gulliver's Travels1996 · as King of Lilliput
• Die Harald Schmidt Show1995 · as Self
• Late Show with David Letterman1993 · as Self - Guest
• Civvies1992 · as Barry Newman
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno1992 · as Self
• The Dark Angel1989 · as Silas Ruthyn
• North and South1985 · as Sam Trump
• The Ray Bradbury Theater1985 · as John Hampton
• Wogan1982 · as Self
• Masada1981 · as General Cornelius Flavius Silva
• Wetten, dass..?1981 · as Self
• Strumpet City1980 · as Jim Larkin
• The American Film Institute Salute to ...1973 · as Self
• The Dick Cavett Show1968 · as Self - Guest
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson1962 · as Self
• The Merv Griffin Show1962 · as Self
• Armchair Theatre1956 · as Paddy
• The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel1955 · as First Soldier
• The Oscars1953 · as Self
• Today1952 · as Self
• Sunday Night Theatre1950 · as Rene Latour
• The Ed Sullivan Show1948 · as Self