Peter O'Toole
Known for: Acting
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).
Filmography
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Series
The Daily Show
Self
1996
Series
Late Show with David Letterman
Self - Guest
1993
Series
The View
Self
1997
Series
Die Harald Schmidt Show
Self
1995
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Self
1992
Series
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
2003
Series
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968
Series
Wogan
Self
1982
Series
The Tudors
Pope Paul III
2007
Series
Wetten, dass..?
Self
1981
Series
The South Bank Show
1978
Film '72
Self
1971
Series
Today
Self
1952
Series
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
Film
Ratatouille
Anton Ego (voice)
2007
Series
The Oscars
Self
1953
Film
Troy
Priam
2004
Series
TFI Friday
1996
Series
Sunday Night Theatre
Rene Latour
1950
Series
North and South
Sam Trump
1985
Series
The Ray Bradbury Theater
John Hampton
1985
Series
Parkinson
Self - Guest
2004
Film
Lawrence of Arabia
T.E. Lawrence
1962
Film
The Last Emperor
Reginald Johnston (R.J.)
1987
Film
Casino Royale
Scottish Piper (uncredited)
1967
Film
Caligula
Tiberius
1979
Series
Hitler: The Rise of Evil
President Paul von Hindenburg
2003
Film
Stardust
King
2007
Series
The Early Show
Self
1999
Series
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self
1973
Series
Talking Pictures
Self (archive footage)
2013
Series
TFI Unplugged
Self (Archive Footage)
2026
Series
The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel
First Soldier
1955
Series
Joan of Arc
Bishop Cauchon
1999
Film
The Bible: In the Beginning...
The Three Angels
1966
Series
Gulliver's Travels
King of Lilliput
1996
Film
How to Steal a Million
Simon Dermott
1966
Film
The Lion in Winter
Henry II
1968
Film
Supergirl
Zaltar
1984
Series
Masada
General Cornelius Flavius Silva
1981
Series
Casanova
Giacomo Casanova
2005
Series
Coming Home
Colonel Edgar Carey-Lewis
1998
Series
Iron Road
Lionel Relic
2009
Film
The Night of the Generals
General Tanz
1967
Film
King Ralph
Willingham
1991
Film
High Spirits
Peter Plunkett
1988
Film
One Night with the King
Samuel, the Prophet
2006
Film
Club Paradise
Anthony Cloyden Hayes
1986
Series
Armchair Theatre
Paddy
1956
Film
What's New Pussycat?
Michael James
1965
Film
Outlaws - For Greater Glory
Father Christopher
2012
Film
Phantoms
Dr. Timothy Flyte
1998
Series
Augustus: The First Emperor
Augustus Caesar
2003
Film
FairyTale: A True Story
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1997
Series
Civvies
Barry Newman
1992
Film
Zulu Dawn
Lord Chelmsford
1979
Film
The Sandpiper
(voice) (uncredited)
1965
Film
The Nutcracker Prince
Pantaloon (voice)
1990
Film
Lassie
The Duke
2005
Film
Bright Young Things
Colonel Blount
2003
Series
The Dark Angel
Silas Ruthyn
1989
Series
Strumpet City
Jim Larkin
1980
Film
Becket
King Henry II of England
1964
Film
Man of La Mancha
Don Quixote De La Mancha / Miguel de Cervantes / Alonso Quijana
1972
Film
Murphy's War
Murphy
1971
Film
Iron Road
Relic
2009
Film
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Arthur Chipping
1969
Film
Christmas Cottage
Glen
2008
Film
The Ruling Class
Jack 14th Earl of Gurney
1972
Film
Coming Home
Colonel Edgar Carey-Lewis
1998
Film
The Stunt Man
Eli Cross
1980
Film
Lord Jim
Lord Jim
1965
Film
My Favorite Year
Alan Swann
1982
Film
Creator
Dr. Harry Wolper
1985
Film
The Rainbow Thief
Prince Meleagre
1994
Film
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
Self (archive footage)
2021
Film
Venus
Maurice
2006
Film
Dean Spanley
Fisk Senior
2008
Film
Molokai: The Story of Father Damien
William Williamson
1999
Film
Man Friday
Robinson Crusoe
1975
Film
Rosebud
Larry Martin
1975
Film
Kidnapped
Robin MacGregor
1960
Film
Isabelle Eberhardt
Maj. Lyautey
1991
Film
Henry Fonda for President
Self (archive footage)
2025
Film
Wings of Fame
Cesar Valentin
1990
Film
Brotherly Love
Sir Charles Ferguson
1970
Film
Eldorado
Narrator (voice)
2012
Film
The Manor
Mr. Ravenscroft
1999
Film
The Savage Innocents
First Trooper
1960
Film
On a Moonlit Night
Prof. Yan McShoul
1989
Film
Hollywood Invasion
Self (archive footage)
2011
Film
Rebecca's Daughters
Lord Sarn
1992
Film
The Final Curtain
JJ Curtis
2002
Film
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
Self (archive footage)
2022
Film
Power Play
Colonel Zeller
1978
Film
Mystic India
Narrador
2005
Film
Behind The Scenes of Caligula
2009
Film
Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2020
Film
Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell
Jeffrey Bernard
1999
Film
The Making of Lawrence of Arabia
Self (archive footage)
2001
Film
Hangover in Death Valley
Narrator (voice)
2018
Film
Present Laughter
Garry Essendine
1967
Film
The Dark Angel
Uncle Silas Ruthyn
1987
Film
Supergirl: The Making of the Movie
Self / Zaltar
1985
Film
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England
Capt. Monty Fitch
1960
Film
The Public's Right to Know
Self
1974
Film
Under Milk Wood
Captain Tom Cat
1972
Film
Augustus: The First Emperor
Augustus Caesar
2003
Film
Global Heresy
Lord Foxley
2002
Film
Rogue Male
Sir Robert Thorndyke
1976
Film
Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear
Sherlock Holmes (voice)
1983
Film
Diamond Cartel
Tugboat
2015
Film
An Evening with Spike Milligan
Himself
1996
Film
Bernardo Bertolucci and the Making of 'The Last Emperor'
Self
1988
Film
Sherlock Holmes and a Study in Scarlet
Sherlock Holmes (voice)
1983
Film
Love Left the Masquerade: Peter Medak's Cinema of Pretenders
Archive
2025
Film
Wind, Sand and Star
1963
Film
Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four
Sherlock Holmes (voice)
1983
Film
Katherine of Alexandria
Gallus
2014
Film
Stiletto
Man at the Premiere (uncredited)
1969
Film
Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Curse
Sherlock Holmes (voice)
1983
Film
Kim
Lama
1984
Film
The Greatest All-Star Advertial of All Time
Self
1963
Film
Great Catherine
Capt. Charles Edstaston
1968
Film
The Seventh Coin
Emil Saber
1993
Film
Crossing to Freedom
John Sidney Howard
1990
Film
Heavy Weather
Clarence, Earl of Emsworth
1995
Film
Peter O'Toole Réalta & Rógaire
Self (archive footage)
2021
Film
The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt Man
2000
Film
Foxtrot
Liviu
1976
The Castiglioni Brothers
Mario
1958
Film
Pygmalion
Professor Henry Higgins
1983
Film
Man and Superman
Jack Tanner
1982
Film
Svengali
Anton Bosnyak
1983
Film
Peter O'Toole: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival
Self
2012
Film
Hellraisers
Self
2000
Film
Is There One Who Understands Me? The World of James Joyce
1983
Film
Wind, Sand and Star: The Making of a Classic
1970
Eager to Die
Lord Pelican
2010