Laurence Olivier

Actor

Born May 22, 1907 in Dorking, Surrey, England, UK

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson, Peggy Ashcroft and John Gielgud, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles. Late in his career, he had considerable success in television roles. His family had no theatrical connections, but Olivier's father, a clergyman, decided that his son should become an actor. After attending a drama school in London, Olivier learned his craft in a succession of acting jobs during the late 1920s. In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Coward's Private Lives, and he appeared in his first film. In 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Ashcroft, and by the end of the decade he was an established star. In the 1940s, together with Richardson and John Burrell, Olivier was the co-director of the Old Vic, building it into a highly respected company. There his most celebrated roles included Shakespeare's Richard III and Sophocles's Oedipus. In the 1950s Olivier was an independent actor-manager, but his stage career was in the doldrums until he joined the avant garde English Stage Company in 1957 to play the title role in The Entertainer, a part he later played on film. From 1963 to 1973 he was the founding director of Britain's National Theatre, running a resident company that fostered many future stars. His own parts there included the title role in Othello (1965) and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1970).

Filmography

Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration

Self (archive footage)

The Bannfoot Ferry

Self (archive footage)

Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

Self (archive footage)

Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony

Self (archive footage)

Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent

Self (archive footage)

Churchill and the Movie Mogul

Self (archive footage)

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

Self (archive footage)

Nothing Like a Dame

Self (archive footage)

Jornal Português (1938-1951)

Self (archive footage)

Iconic Couples of Hollywood

Self (archive footage)

Talking Pictures

Self (archive footage)

Marilyn despite herself

Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe

Self (archive footage)

Discovering Hamlet

Hamlet (archive footage)

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

Self (archive footage)

The Making of 'Rebecca'

Self (archive footage)

Marilyn, dernières séances

Self(archive footage)

Revisiting Brideshead

Self (archive footage)

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Dr. Totenkopf (archive footage)

Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love

Self (archive footage)

Sir John Mills' Moving Memories

Self (archive footage)

The Filth and the Fury

Richard III (archive footage)

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

Superintendent Newhouse (archive footage) (uncredited)

Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond

Self (archive footage)

War Requiem

The Old Soldier

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

Self (archive footage)

Gregory Peck: His Own Man

Self (archive footage)

Lost Empires

Harry Burrard

Directed by William Wyler

Self

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

archive footage

Peter the Great

King William III of Orange

Marilyn Monroe

archive footage

Wild Geese II

Rudolf Hess

Night of 100 Stars II

Self

To Be Hamlet

Self

The Last Days of Pompeii

Gaius

The Bounty

Admiral Hood

A Voyage Round My Father

Clifford Mortimer

The Ebony Tower

Henry Breasley

A Talent for Murder

Dr. Anthony Wainwright

The Jigsaw Man

Adm. Sir Gerald Scaith

Wagner

Pfeuffer

King Lear

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Laurence Olivier: a life

Self

Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady

Brideshead Revisited

Alexander Flyte

Clash of the Titans

Zeus

Inchon

Gen. Douglas MacArthur

At the Haunted End of the Day

Self

The Jazz Singer

Cantor Rabinovitch

Dracula

Prof. Abraham Van Helsing

A Little Romance

Julius

The Boys from Brazil

Ezra Lieberman

The Betsy

Loren Hardeman

Daphne Laureola

Sir Joseph

Saturday, Sunday, Monday

Antonio

Come Back, Little Sheba

Doc Delaney

A Bridge Too Far

Dr. Jan Spaander

Jesus of Nazareth

Nicodemus

Hindle Wakes

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Big Daddy

Laurence Olivier Presents

Big Daddy

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

Professor James Moriarty

The Gentleman Tramp

Narrator

Marathon Man

Dr. Christian Szell

The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People

Self

Love Among the Ruins

Sir Arthur Glanville-Jones

The Collection

Harry

The Rehearsal

Self

The World at War

Narrator

The Merchant of Venice

Shylock

Long Day's Journey Into Night

James Tyrone Sr.

Sleuth

Andrew Wyke

Lady Caroline Lamb

Duke of Wellington

Nicholas and Alexandra

Count Witte

Great Performances

Harry

Three Sisters

Dr. Ivan Chebutikin

David Copperfield

Mr. Creakle

Battle of Britain

Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding

The Dance of Death

Edgar

Oh! What a Lovely War

Field Marshal Sir John French

Male of the Species

Self - Presenter

ITV Saturday Night Theatre

Narrator

Male of the Species

Presenter

The Shoes of the Fisherman

Piotr Ilyich Kamenev

The Dick Cavett Show

Self - Guest

Romeo and Juliet

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Omnibus

Self (archive footage)

The Carol Burnett Show

Self - Audience Member

The Legend of Marilyn Monroe

ABC Stage 67

Self

Khartoum

Mahdi

Othello

Bunny Lake Is Missing

Newhouse

Uncle Vanya

Dr. Astrov

The Power and the Glory

Priest

Term of Trial

Graham Weir

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

Self - Maxim de Winter (archive footage) (uncredited)

The Mike Douglas Show

Self

Spartacus

Marcus Licinius Crassus

The Entertainer

Archie Rice

The Moon and Sixpence

Charles Strickland

The Devil's Disciple

Gen. Burgoyne

The Prince and the Showgirl

The Regent

Tony Awards

Self - Recipient

Richard III

The Beggar's Opera

MacHeath

A Queen Is Crowned

Narrator

The Oscars

Self

Carrie

George Hurstwood

The Magic Box

Police Constable 94-B

Rebecca

Maxim de winter

Hamlet

Hamlet - Prince of Denmark / Voice of Ghost

The Ed Sullivan Show

Self

Henry V

King Henry

This Happy Breed

Narrator (voice)

Golden Globe Awards

Self - Nominee

The Volunteer

Self

The Demi-Paradise

Ivan Kouznetsoff

Malta G.C.

Narrator

49th Parallel

Johnnie, the Trapper

That Hamilton Woman

Lord Horatio Nelson

Words for Battle

Narrator (voice)

Private Lives

Elyot Chase

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

Self

Pride and Prejudice

Mr. Darcy

Hollywood: Style Center of the World

Self

Rebecca

Maxim de Winter

21 Days

Larry Durrant

Wuthering Heights

Heathcliff

Q Planes

Tony McVane

The Divorce of Lady X

Everard Logan

Fire Over England

Michael Ingolby

As You Like It

Orlando

Moscow Nights

Captain Ivan Ignatoff

No Funny Business

Clive Dering

Perfect Understanding

Nicholas Randall

Westward Passage

Nicholas 'Nick' Allen

The Conquest of the Air

Vincent Lunardi

The Yellow Ticket

Julian Rolfe

Friends and Lovers

Lieutenant Ned Nichols

Potiphar's Wife

Straker

Too Many Crooks

The Boy

The Temporary Widow

Peter Bille