If, for whatever reason, you’re not familiar with Peter O’Toole, now is the time to rectify that situation. O’Toole’s most famous film, Lawrence of Arabia, is about to be re-released in the UK, and who could ask for a better reason to look back at the star’s filmography?
To catch you up: O’Toole is considered one of the best British actors of all time, with amazing performances on stage and screen. Between the 1960’s and 2000’s, he racked up a total eight Oscar nominations and zero wins — yes, that is a record. He did receive an honorary award in 2003, but he still holds the title of the most nominated actor with no wins.
The reason behind that might be his behind-the-scenes persona: he was a total lush and an infamous hot mess. But even that doesn’t get in the way of raw talent, which O’Toole definitely possessed. So let’s take a look back at his five best performances over a five-decade long career.
But first! The honourable mentions: The Ruling Class, Goodbye Mr. Chips and Ratatouille (yes I’m serious. Don’t @ me).
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. Lawrence of Arabia is a masterpiece, one of the best and most influential movies of all time. O’Toole stars as T.E. Lawrence, the British archaeologist and military officer who, during WW1, ends up joining the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. It is a historical drama/epic, inspired by films like Ben-Hur and The Searchers, and was also O’Toole’s first real introduction to audiences. He had come up on the London stage prior and had a few small supporting roles before this. Despite that, O’Toole was able to do a lot with the role.
This is as far away as you can get from the bland, personality-less leading man roles in action films today. Lawrence was often described as more of a poet than a fighter, and O’Toole brings his inner conflicts, impulsiveness and yearning through in the role.
Becket (1964)
O’Toole immediately followed up Lawrence of Arabia with Becket, the first of two films where he plays King Henry II (the second is also on this list — what can I say, I love a medieval drama!). The movie is based on a play by Jean Anilouh, which O’Toole was set to star in on the London stage before dropping out to take Lawrence of Arabia (Christopher Plummer took over). The dramatised take on real English history follows King Henry II and his longtime friend Thomas Becket (played here by Richard Burton) on opposite sides of a dispute with the church.
It’s two peers/drinking buddies working side by side, and they just happen to be some of the best actors of the decade.
My Favorite Year (1982)
While Lawrence of Arabia and Becket are the kind of epic, historical British drama you might first associate with O’Toole, My Favorite Year is completely the opposite. The American comedy follows a young man (Perfect Strangers’ Mark Linn-Baker) working as an assistant on set of a sketch comedy show, tasked with spending the week taking care of a washed up, alcoholic movie star (O’Toole). The more into Old Hollywood you are, the better this performance is. On the one level, you get Peter O’Toole playing an ageing, drunk movie star (maybe a little too real) in a lighthearted comedy. O’Toole gets to be hilarious, wild and insane, but still human and humane.
The second level? This character, a former swashbuckling leading man, was allegedly based on Errol Flynn. One of the greats brilliantly sending up a major movie star like this definitely makes My Favourite Year a must-see.
Venus (2006)
While Venus wasn’t technically O’Toole’s last film, it has an air of finality about it. It was his last Oscar nomination (another loss, of course) and sees O’Toole as Maurice, an elderly former actor, in sort of the last ‘hurrah’ of his life. Maurice is brash and a cad, in a bit of a wink to O’Toole’s own notorious past. He’s dying of prostate cancer when he befriends a teenager (Jodie Whittaker, our new Doctor) and the two have a tumultuous, confusing, inappropriate, heartwarming and charming relationship.
O’Toole is funny, lively and charming, and despite the sometimes raunchy humour the film never falls into a “dirty old man” cliche.
The Lion in Winter (1968)
Peter O’Toole’s second time around as King Henry II is in The Lion in Winter opposite the great Katherine Hepburn. Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton also pop up in this one, both making their film debut! The Lion in Winter takes place during Christmas Court in 1183, where King Henry II and his estranged wife Eleanor (Hepburn) battle over which of their children should inherit the throne. It’s basically a period piece melodrama version of an awkward family Christmas dinner, with long held rivalries and resentments coming to a head.
O’Toole and Hepburn are two of the greats, and watching them go head to head is enthralling, even if other aspects of the film haven’t aged as well.
Are you a fan of Peter O’Toole? What would you rank as his greatest performance? Let us know!