Alec Guinness

Reportedly hated working on Star Wars so much, Guinness claims that Obi-Wans death was his idea as a means to limit his involvement in the film. Guinness also claims to throw away all Star Wars related fan mail without even opening them.

Father of actor Matthew Guinness and grandfather of Sally Guinness.

He was one of the last surviving members of a great generation of British actors, which included Sir Laurence Olivier , Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson.

"de Cuffe" is his mothers surname; he never knew the identity of his father (source: obituary, Daily Telegraph, 7 August 2000).

He was awarded the Companion of Honour in the 1994 Queens Birthday Honours List for his services to drama.

He was awarded the CBE in the 1955 Queens Birthday Honours List for his services to drama.

He was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 1959 Queens New Year Honours List for his services to drama.

He was a huge fan of the television series "Due South" .

Despite popular belief, he never uttered the line "May the force be with you" in any of the Star Wars films (the closest he came was "the force will be with you").

He was voted third in the Orange Film 2001 survey of greatest British film actors.

The qualities he claimed to most admire in an actor were "simplicity, purity, clarity of line".

He made his final stage appearance at the Comedy Theatre in London on May 30, 1989, in a production called "A Walk in the Woods", where he played a Russian diplomat.

His widow, Merula Salaman, died on October 17, 2000, just two months after her husband.

In his last book of memoirs, "A Positively Final Appearance", he expressed a devotion to the television series "The Simpsons" .

His films were studied by Ewan McGregor in preparation for his role as the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace to ensure accuracy in everything from his accent to the pacing of his words.

Received an honorary D.Litt degree from Oxford University in 1977 and an honorary D.Litt degree from Cambridge University in 1991.

Was a Grammy nominee in 1964, in the Spoken Word category, for the album "Alec Guinness: A Personal Choice" (RCA Victor Red Seal: 1964), on which he read a selection of his favorite poems.

Had starred as Eric Birling alongside Sir Ralph Richardson in the first-ever showing of "An Inspector Calls" at the New Theatre in London on October 1, 1946.

He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Special Award in 1989 (1988 season) for his outstanding contributions to West End Theatre.

Biography in: "Whos Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 198-199. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387.

Has been succeeded in two of his roles by actors from Trainspotting . Guinness portrayed Adolf Hitler in Hitler: The Last Ten Days . Robert Carlyle portrayed Adolf Hitler in "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" , while Ewan McGregor succeeded him in the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Ewan McGregor was not the only actor in the Star Wars prequels to study his performances. The voice for the character Watto was modeled after Guinnesss performance as Fagin in Oliver Twist .

Though he often spoke critically of Star Wars, the three leads, Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher , have always spoken very fondly of him, praising him as being a very professional actor who was always respectful to the people he worked with.

Reportedly answered one Star Wars fans boast that he had seen the first movie over a hundred times, with a nod and the words "Promise me youll never watch it again.". The boy was stunned, but his mother thanked Guinness.

His favourite hotel in London was the Connaught, in which he always stayed whenever visiting the city.

A heavy smoker for most of his life, he finally managed to give up the habit in his last years.

One of his last jobs was providing the voice (his first and only voice-over) for a cartoon character on a British television ad campaign by the Inland Revenue advising the public about the new tax return forms which were to be introduced. He said in his diary of the recording (made on March 30, 1995) "I did it feebly.".

George Lucas said Guinness was very patient and helpful to him during the filming of Star Wars , even to the point of getting the other actors to work more seriously.

Harrison Ford said that Guinness helped him find an apartment to stay at when he arrived in England to film Star Wars .

Won Broadways 1964 Tony Award as Best Actor for "Dylan", in which he played the title character, poet Dylan Thomas.

Both he and his wife, Merula Salaman, converted to the Roman Catholic Church in the 1950s.

Following his death, he was interred at Petersfield Cemetery in Petersfield, Hampshire, England.

Had appeared with Kay Walsh in five films: Oliver Twist , Last Holiday , The Horses Mouth , Tunes of Glory and Scrooge .

Despite being two of Britains most distinguished actors of their generation, he appeared in only two films with John Mills : Great Expectations and Tunes of Glory .

Celebrated his 62nd birthday during the filming of Star Wars in Tunisia, where the Tatooine scenes were filmed.

Was considered for the role of Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express , which went to Albert Finney.

In certain prints of The Bridge on the River Kwai , a film in which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, his last name is misspelled "Guiness".

In his autobiographical volumes, Guinness wrote about an incident at the Old Vic when, in the company of National Theater (which originally played at the Old Vic) artistic director Laurence Olivier in the basement of the theater, he asked where a certain tunnel went. Olivier did not really know but confidently decided to take the tunnel as it must come out somewhere nearby, it being part of the Old Vic. In reality, the tunnel went under the Thames, and they were rescued after several hours of fruitless navigation of the dark, damp corridor. Guinness remarked that Oliviers willingness to plunge into the dark and unknown was characteristic of the type of person (and actor) he was. As for himself as an actor, Guinness lamented at times that he did not take enough chances.

Went bald on top, and according to his Time magazine cover story of April 21, 1958, he was embarrassed by it but chose not to wear a hairpiece in private life. He told the Time writer that he had shaved the top of his head as a young man in his first professional acting engagement, playing a coolie. It never grew back properly after that, he lamented.

Had played the Fool to Laurence Olivier s first King Lear under the direction of Tyrone Guthrie in 1946 when he was 31 and Olivier was 39. Olivier was generally considered less-than-successful in the part due to his youth and relative lack of maturity in classical parts (though his contemporaneous "Henry V" was a smash and hinted at his future greatness as an interpreter of William Shakespeare ). However, Guinness received raves for his acting. Both actors went on to knighthoods and Best Actor Oscars in their long and distinguished careers.

Was the subject of a cover story in Time magazine for the week of April 21, 1958, shortly after he won the Best Actor Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai .

In the last year of his life, Sir Alec had been receiving hospital treatment for failing eyesight due to glaucoma, and he had been diagnosed with inoperable prostate cancer in January 2000. By the time his liver cancer was discovered in July 2000, it was at an extremely advanced stage, making surgery impossible.

Had his first speaking role on the professional stage in the melodrama "Queer Cargo" (he did not appear in the film). At age 20, the tyro actor played a Chinese coolie in the first act, a French pirate in Act 2 and a British sailor in Act 3, a foreshadowing of the shapeshifting he would do in his cinema career, where he once played as many as eight roles in a single film ( Kind Hearts and Coronets ).

Is the only person to receive a best acting nomination in any of the Star Wars movies.

Contrary to popular rumors, he did not hate working on the Star Wars films. What he hated was the fact that many of the Star Wars fans would only ever remember him as Obi-Wan Kenobi despite all the success of his previous roles.

Guinness was a member of the Old Vic group organized by John Gielgud in the early 1930s, which also included, among others, Jack Hawkins , Anthony Quayle and Peggy Ashcroft.

He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.

Had played the role of Osric in John Gielgud s theatrical production of "Hamlet" in 1934. In Laurence Olivier s 1948 film version, this role was played by Peter Cushing , with whom Guinness appeared years later in Star Wars . The film was also Cushings first collaboration with future Star Wars cast member Christopher Lee.

While filming The Swan in Hollywood, he met James Dean , just days before the young actors death. Sir Alec later recalled predicting that Dean would die in a car crash: when Dean showed Guinness his newly-bought Porsche, Guinness advised him to "Get rid of that car, or youll be dead in a week!". Guinness unfortunately proved right.

According to playwright Neil Simon , Alec was reading the script for Star Wars while on set filming Murder by Death and commented that Star Wars may be a "good one".

Favorite actor of both David Lean and Ronald Neame. Had worked on many of both directors films.

During his service in the Royal Navy, he commanded a landing craft invading Sicily and Elba, and helped to supply soldiers in Yugoslavia.

Upon notification that he was to achieve a lifetime achievement Oscar, he was not keen but expressed thanks. He informed the Academy that there was no way he would even consider flying to California to pick up this award. Academy President Fay Kanin, asked Dustin Hoffman who was doing promotional work from Kramer vs. Kramer in London, to meet with Guinness and persuade him to attend. As both men had very similar attitudes to their past work, Guinness warmed up to the idea and agreed to attend.

Was considered by producer Hal B. Wallis for the lead role in Visit to a Small Planet at the same time with Danny Kaye and Jerry Lewis , the last one eventually getting the role.

Has appeared in several of David Lean s movies. In them, he has portrayed Englishmen, an Arab, a Russian and an Indian.

He preferred working on stage to appearing in films. He also preferred appearing in newer plays rather than the classics, so that his performance would not be compared to how previous actors had played the role.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1559 Vine Street in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

Though knighted, he did not like being referred to as Sir Alec Guinness.

His stepfather fought in the Anglo-Irish War.

At a young age, Guinness received acting lessons from Martita Hunt , who dismissed him after two lessons, telling him he would never be an actor although lessons were resumed at a later date.

After Guinness won a two year scholarship from a dramatic academy, John Gielgud , one of the competition judges, offered him a role in his production of "Hamlet" in 1934.

His experiences with the Royal Navy involved shipping supplies to Yugoslav partisans during World War II.

Great-grandfather of Natasha Guinness-Taylor and Otis Guinness-Walker.

Had appeared in two Best Picture Academy Award winners: The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia . Jack Hawkins also appeared in both films.

The 2003 book "Alec Guinness: The Authorised Biography" reprints several letters that Guinness wrote to his longtime friend and correspondent Anne Kaufman in which he expressed his displeasure with and dubiousness about the quality of Star Wars as it was in production. Before filming started, he wrote: "I have been offered a movie (20th Century Fox) which I may accept, if they come up with proper money. London and North Africa, starting in mid-March. Science fiction--which gives me pause--but is to be directed by Paul [sic] Lucas who did American Graffiti, which makes me feel I should. Big part. Fairy-tale rubbish but could be interesting perhaps. Then after filming started, he wrote to Kaufman again to complain about the dialogue and describe his co-stars: new rubbish dialogue reaches me every other day on wadges of pink paper--and none of it makes my character clear or even bearable. I just think, thankfully, of the lovely bread, which will help me keep going until next April. I must off to studio and work with a dwarf (very sweet--and he has to wash in a bidet) and your fellow countrymen Mark Hamill and Tennyson (that cant be right) Ford. Ellison (?--No!)--well, a rangy, languid young man who is probably intelligent and amusing. But oh God, God, they make me feel ninety--and treat me as if I was 106. Oh, [the actors name is] Harrison Ford--ever heard of him?".

Although he played Christopher Plummer s father in The Fall of the Roman Empire , he was only fifteen years his senior in real life.

His name is an anagram for "genuine class", a fact which was mentioned in "The Simpsons" {Lisas Rival (#6.2)} .

Guinness had a 2.25% interest in the revenue from Star Wars , which would be the highest grossing movie at the time (and second only to Gone with the Wind when adjusted for inflation). Guinness had agreed to a 2% interest to make the film, but he reported that just before release during a telephone conversation George Lucas had offered an additional 0.5% because of how supportive and helpful Guinness had been (with dialogue, other actors, etc.). After the release and stunning results at the box office, Guinness asked to confirm the additional 0.5% in writing, but was told it was (reduced to) 0.25%, although it is not clear who had decided this. This was revealed by Guinness in the 1977 interview with BBCs Michael Parkinson on the series "Talking Pictures". It was in general supported by many public comments by Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher all speaking highly of Guinness professionalism and impact on the set. Apparently, Guinness did not quibble the 1977 worldwide revenue for Star Wars of $400+ million making Guinness 2.25% probably around $9m for that year alone, with additional revenue well into 1979. In comparison, that exceeds other British actor high-water marks for Sean Connery and Roger Moore in the 1970s playing James Bond ($1m salary + $3-5m depending on revenue interests per film e.g. 5-12%).

He appeared in six films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Great Expectations , The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia , Doctor Zhivago , Star Wars and A Passage to India . With the exception of Star Wars , all the other five films were directed by David Lean. And of those six, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia are winners in the category.

Although Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins each had top billings in The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia , they only shared one scene together in each film. Both coincidentally near the end of each film. Both films also won Best Picture Oscars.

I shrivel up every time someone mentions Star Wars (1977) to me.

We live in an age of apologies. Apologies, false or true, are expected,from the descendants of empire builders, slave owners, persecutors of,heretics and from men who, in our eyes, just got it all wrong. So with,the age of 85 coming up shortly, I want to make an apology. It appears,I must apologize for being male, white and European.

[replying to a writer whose script he rejected, who sent him a note,saying "We tailored it just for you"] But no one came to take,measurements.

I gave my best performances during the war, trying to be an officer and,a gentleman.

I prefer full-length camera shots because the body can act better than,the face.

Personally, I have only one great regret - that I never dared enough.

If at all.

The conversation was divided culturally by 8,000 miles and 30 years;,but I think we might understand each other if I can get past his,intensity.

An actor is at his best a kind of unfrocked priest who, for an hour or,two, can call on heaven and hell to mesmerize a group of innocents.

An actor is totally vulnerable. His total personality is exposed to,critical judgment - his intellect, his bearing, his diction, his whole,appearance. In short, his ego.

[Asked if he was a rich man]: No, not rich. Compared to striking miners,and workless actors very rich: compared to successful stockbrokers and,businessmen I expect I would be considered nearly poor.

I can walk through a crowd and nobody would notice at all.

Acting is happy agony.

Acting is happy agony.

Acting is happy agony.

Acting is happy agony.

Acting is happy agony.

Acting is happy agony.

Acting is happy agony.

Acting is happy agony.

Acting is happy agony. .