Sir alec guinness biography
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ISBN 9780670888009
There were miscalculations too; he would have agreed that the heroes of such romantic comedies as The Captain's Paradise (d. He was survived by his wife and one son.
Religion
Alec Guinness was a practising Christian and converted to Catholicism shortly after his role as Obi Wan Kenobi.
Invited by his friend Tyrone Guthrie to join in the premier season of the Stratford Festival of Canada, Guinness lived for a brief time in Stratford, Ontario.
Guinness consulted Tarot cards for a time, but came to the conclusion that the symbols of the cards mocked Christianity and Christ. He belonged to a generation of British actors who, honored at home and acclaimed abroad, succeeded in making the step from theatre to the “big screen.’[1]
Shy in private, he played roles that dominated the stage and screen.
David Lean, 1957), for which he won the Oscar; the hard-drinking extroverted Jock in Tunes of Glory (d. His initial minor appearance caught Gielgud's attention, leading to significant roles. In fact, Lucas credited him with inspiring fellow cast and crew to work harder, saying he was instrumental in helping to complete filming of the movies.
True, he began on the stage in 1934, having trained with the Fay Compton School (and privately with Martita Hunt), and would return to it regularly, with laudable results.
Prewar he joined the Old Vic, playing a wide range of supporting roles and a famous modern-dress Hamlet in 1938. Mackendrick, 1955), as the unctuous, snaggle-toothed leader of a gang of incompetent crooks.
On the other hand, he played a very convincing Godbole, an Indian, in the stage adaptation of E. M. Forster's A Passage to India, part of his acclaimed collaboration with David Lean and which skillfully exposed British colonial attitudes towards their subject peoples. One of its viewers was a young British film editor named David Lean, who had Guinness reprise his role in the former's 1946 film adaptation of the play.
However, despite his dislike of the films, fellow cast members Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher (as well as Lucas) have always spoken highly of his courtesy and professionalism on and off the set; he did not let his distaste for the material show to his co-stars. With joy in my heart, and in a state of almost sexual excitement, I ran until I reached the little Catholic church there … which I had never entered before; I knelt; caught my breath, and for 10 minutes was lost to the world.”
– Alec Guinness
Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan.
Early life
Guinness was born on April 2, 1914 in Paddington, London as Alec Guinness de Cuffe.[2] Under the column for name (where the first names only are usually stated) his birth certificate says 'Alec Guinness.' There is nothing written in the column for name and surname of father. Critics hailed him as a "cinema chameleon" and a "one-man troupe" for his ability to embody diverse aristocratic satires.
Iconic Roles and Critical Acclaim
Guinness's portrayal of Colonel Nicholson in 1957's "The Bridge on the River Kwai" earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Guinness agreed to take the part on the condition that he would not have to do publicity to promote the film.
Alec Guinness
| British theatre and film actor. Date of Birth: 02.04.1914 Country: Great Britain |
Content:
- Early Life and Formative Influences
- Theatrical Career Breakthrough
- Film Career and International Recognition
- Ascendancy as a Character Actor
- Iconic Roles and Critical Acclaim
- Global Popularity and Later Works
- Personal Life and Legacy
Early Life and Formative Influences
Alec Guinness, born in London on April 2, 1914, endured a troubled childhood marked by the absence of a father and emotional neglect from his mother.
In 1977, he starred in George Lucas’ box office smash – The Star Wars trilogy. At the outbreak of war, Alec applied to join the navy; after initially failing, he was eventually accepted and ended up leading a landing craft in the Mediterranean theatre of war.
After the war, Alec’s big breakthrough came with his role in two David Leon film’s – Great Expectations and as Fagan in Oliver Twist.
However, Guinness was never happy with being identified with the part, and expressed great dismay at the fan following the Star Wars trilogy attracted.
In his autobiography, Blessings In Disguise, Guinness tells an imaginary interviewer "Blessed be Star Wars!," while in the final volume of the book A Positively Final Appearance (1997), he recounts grudgingly giving an autograph to a young fan who claimed to have watched Star Wars over 100 times, on the condition that the fan promised to stop watching the film, because as Guinness put it "this is going to be an ill effect on your life." The fan was stunned at first, but later thanked him.
On July 13, 1953, Guinness spoke the first lines of the first play produced by the festival (Shakespeare's Richard III): "Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this son of York."
Guinness won particular acclaim for his work with director David Lean.