Laurence Olivier
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). Among Olivier's films are Wuthering Heights (1939), Rebecca (1940), and a trilogy of Shakespeare films as actor-director: Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), and Richard III (1955). His later films included The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), Sleuth (1972), Marathon Man (1976), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). His television appearances included an adaptation of The Moon and Sixpence (1960), Long Day's Journey into Night (1973), Love Among the Ruins (1975), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1976), Brideshead Revisited (1981) and King Lear (1983). Olivier's honours included a knighthood (1947), a life peerage (1970) and the Order of Merit (1981). For his on-screen work he received four Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, five Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. The National Theatre's largest auditorium is named in his honour, and he is commemorated in the Laurence Olivier Awards, given annually by the Society of London Theatre. He was married three times, to the actresses Jill Esmond from 1930 to 1940, Vivien Leigh from 1940 to 1960, and Joan Plowright from 1961 until his death.
151 acting credits · 7 directing credits
Acting · 151
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
Golden Globe Awards
1944
Great Performances
1971
Tony Awards
1956
The Carol Burnett Show
1967
The Dick Cavett Show
1968
Omnibus
1967
The Oscars
1953
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948
ABC Stage 67
1966
Jesus of Nazareth
1977
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
Spartacus
1960
The World at War
1973
Brideshead Revisited
1981
Clash of the Titans
1981
Rebecca
1940
A Bridge Too Far
1977
Talking Pictures
2013
Wuthering Heights
1939
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
2004
Laurence Olivier Presents
1976
Romeo and Juliet
1968
The Bounty
1984
Battle of Britain
1969
Peter the Great
1986
Wagner
1983
Marathon Man
1976
Night of 100 Stars II
1985
The Last Days of Pompeii
1984
Richard III
1955
Dracula
1979
Lost Empires
1986
Nicholas and Alexandra
1971
Khartoum
1966
The Boys from Brazil
1978
Male of the Species
1969
Hamlet
1948
Pride and Prejudice
1940
The Prince and the Showgirl
1957
Sleuth
1972
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2010
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018
49th Parallel
1941
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
2021
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
1976
The Jazz Singer
1980
This Happy Breed
1944
The Shoes of the Fisherman
1968
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940
Inchon
1981
Henry V
1944
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
2015
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988
That Hamilton Woman
1941
The Jigsaw Man
1983
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
Oh! What a Lovely War
1969
Wild Geese II
1985
A Little Romance
1979
Othello
1965
The Betsy
1978
David Copperfield
1969
Discovering Hamlet
2011
Fire Over England
1937
Q Planes
1939
Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
2023
Bunny Lake Is Missing
1965
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
1986
A Voyage Round My Father
1984
Term of Trial
1962
Love Among the Ruins
1976
War Requiem
1989
The Divorce of Lady X
1938
Nothing Like a Dame
2018
Sir John Mills' Moving Memories
2000
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940
The Devil's Disciple
1959
King Lear
1983
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
1999
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
1978
Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond
1990
Carrie
1952
The Entertainer
1960
The Magic Box
1952
The Gentleman Tramp
1976
Male of the Species
1969
The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People
1976
The Power and the Glory
1963
Directed by William Wyler
1986
The Bannfoot Ferry
2024
Three Sisters
1970
Gregory Peck: His Own Man
1988
To Be Hamlet
1985
The Yellow Ticket
1931
The Filth and the Fury
2000
At the Haunted End of the Day
1981
Lady Caroline Lamb
1972
Come Back, Little Sheba
1977
The Rehearsal
1974
As You Like It
1936
Jornal Português (1938-1951)
2015
21 Days
1940
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
2012
The Beggar's Opera
1953
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe
1966
The Merchant of Venice
1973
Revisiting Brideshead
2005
The Moon and Sixpence
1959
Perfect Understanding
1933
The Collection
1976
The Conquest of the Air
1931
The Dance of Death
1969
Potiphar's Wife
1931
Words for Battle
1941
The Demi-Paradise
1943
Korda: I Don't Grow on Trees: Part One
1993
Long Day's Journey Into Night
1973
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1976
Marilyn, dernières séances
2008
Westward Passage
1932
The Ebony Tower
1984
Moscow Nights
1934
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
1982
Daphne Laureola
1978
Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent
2021
Marilyn Monroe
1986
Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
2024
The Prince, The Showgirl and Me
2004
A Talent for Murder
1983
The Temporary Widow
1930
A Queen Is Crowned
1953
Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson
1983
The Volunteer
1944
Uncle Vanya
1963
Olivier Talks About Othello
1965
Laurence Olivier: a life
1982
Marilyn Monroe: In The Movies
2012
Friends and Lovers
1931
Too Many Crooks
1930
Rebecca
1950
No Funny Business
1933
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
2001
Marilyn despite herself
2012
The Body of Marilyn Monroe
2004
The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci
1953
Great Acting: Laurence Olivier
1966
Private lives
1940
Malta G.C.
1942
Tree of Life
1971
