laurence olivier

     

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (IPA: /ˈlɒrəns əˈlɪvieɪ/; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor, irector, and producer and the recipient of scores of awards. 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. Olivier played a wide variety of roles on stage and screen from Greek tragedy, Shakespeare and Restoration comedy to modern American and British drama. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. He is generally regarded to be the greatest actor of the 20th century, in the same category as David Garrick, Richard Burbage, Edmund Kean and Henry Irving in their own centuries. Olivier's Academy acknowledgments are considerable—fourteen Oscar nominations, with two wins for Best Actor and Best Picture for the 1948 film Hamlet, and two honorary awards including a statuette and certificate. He was also awarded five Emmy awards from the nine nominations he received. Additionally, he was a three-time Golden Globe and BAFTA winner.

Trivia about laurence olivier

  • In 1970 he became the first professional actor to be named a lord
  • The first time Vivien Leigh saw him onstage, she said, "That's the man I'm going to marry" (she was right)
  • His remains? "Is it safe?" Yes, this 1948 Best Actor Oscar winner for "Hamlet" is safe at Westminster Abbey
  • He was Heathcliff to Merle Oberon's Cathy in 1939's "Wuthering Heights"

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