Alec Guinness
- Highest Rated: The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
- Lowest Rated: The Comedians (1967)
- Birthday: Apr 2, 1914
- Birthplace: Marylebone, London, England, UK
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A member of a generation of British actors that included Sir Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson, Sir Alec Guinness possessed an astonishing versatility that was amply displayed over the course of his 66-year career. Dubbed "the outstanding poet of anonymity" by fellow actor Peter Ustinov, Guinness was a consummate performer, effortlessly portraying characters that ranged from eight members of the same family to an aging Jedi master. Synonymous throughout most of his career with old-school British aplomb and dry wit, the actor was considered to be second only to Olivier in his popularity on both sides of the Atlantic. Theater critic J.C. Trewin once described Guinness as possessing "a player's countenance, designed for whatever might turn up." The latter half of this description was an apt summation of the actor's beginnings, which were positively Dickensian. Born into poverty in London on April 2, 1914, Guinness was an illegitimate child who did not know the name on his birth certificate was Guinness until he was 14 (until that time he had used his stepfather's surname, Stiven). Guinness never met his biological father, who provided his son's private school funds but refused to pay for his university education. It was while working as an advertising copywriter that Guinness began going to the theatre, spending his pound-a-week salary on tickets. Determined to become an actor himself, he somehow found the money to pay for beginning acting lessons and subsequently won a place at the Fay Compton School of Acting. While studying there, he was told by his acting teacher Martita Hunt that he had "absolutely no talent." However, Sir John Gielgud apparently disagreed: as the judge of the end-of-term performance, he awarded Guinness an acting prize and further rewarded him with two roles in his 1934 production of Hamlet. Three years later, Guinness became a permanent member of Gielgud's London company and in 1938, playing none other than Hamlet himself. In 1939, Guinness' stage version of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, which featured the actor as Herbert Pocket, caught the attention of fledgling director David Lean. Seven years later, Lean would cast Guinness in the novel's screen adaptation; the 1946 film was the actor's second screen engagement, the first being the 1934 Evensong, in which he was an extra. It was in Lean's Oliver Twist (1948) that he had his first memorable onscreen role as Fagin, although his portrayal -- complete with stereotypically Semitic gestures and heavy makeup -- aroused charges of anti-Semitism in the United States that delayed the film's stateside release for three years. Guinness won bona fide international recognition for his work in Robert Hamer's Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), an Ealing black comedy that featured him as eight members of the d'Ascoyne family. He would subsequently be associated with a number of the classic Ealing comedies, including The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Detective (1954), and The Ladykillers (1955). In 1955, Guinness' contributions to the arts were recognized by Queen Elizabeth, who dubbed him Commander of the British Empire. Two years later, he received recognition on the other side of the Atlantic when he won a Best Actor Oscar for his role as Colonel Nicholson, a phenomenally principled and at times foolhardy British POW in The Bridge on the River Kwai. Ironically, Guinness turned down the role twice before being persuaded to take it by producer Sam Spiegel; his performance remained one of the most acclaimed of his career. In 1960, Guinness once again earned acclaim for his portrayal of another officer, in Tunes of Glory. Cast as hard-drinking, ill-mannered Scottish Lieutenant-Colonel Jock Sinclair, a role he would later name as his favorite, the actor gave a powerful performance opposite John Mills as the upper-crust British officer assigned to take over his duties. He subsequently became associated with David Lean's great epic
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Highest Rated Movies
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Damn the Defiant!
100% -
The Ladykillers
100% -
Oliver Twist
100%
Filmography
Movies
Rating |
Title |
Credit |
Box
|
Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
54% | The Ladykillers | Actor | — | 2004 |
83% | Mute Witness | The Reaper | — | 1995 |
A Foreign Field | Amos | — | 1994 | |
Tales from Hollywood | Actor | — | 1992 | |
52% | Kafka | Chief Clerk | — | 1991 |
Monsignor Quixote | Father Quixote | — | 1991 | |
Little Dorrit - Part Two: Little Dorrit's Story | William Dorrit | — | 1988 | |
Little Dorrit - Part One: Nobody's Fault | William Dorrit | — | 1988 | |
A Handful of Dust | Mr. Todd | — | 1988 | |
Little Dorrit (Nobody's Fault) (Little Dorrit's Story) | William Dorrit | — | 1988 | |
63% | Little Dorrit - Set | Actor | — | 1988 |
Grace Kelly: An American Princess | Actor | — | 1987 | |
83% | A Passage to India | Godbole | — | 1984 |
Edwin | Sir Fennimore Truscott | — | 1984 | |
81% | Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi | Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi | — | 1983 |
40% | Lovesick | Sigmund Freud | — | 1983 |
From Star Wars to Jedi - The Making of a Saga | Actor | — | 1983 | |
Little Lord Fauntleroy | Earl of Dorincourt | — | 1980 | |
43% | Raise the Titanic | John Bigalow | — | 1980 |
95% | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back | Ben `Obi-Wan' Kenobi | $4.6M | 1980 |
93% | Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope | Ben `Obi-Wan' Kenobi | — | 1977 |
To See Such Fun | Actor | — | 1977 | |
63% | Murder by Death | Bensonmum | — | 1976 |
Hitler: The Last Ten Days | Adolf Hitler | — | 1973 | |
42% | Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Fratello sole, sorella luna) | Pope Innocent III | — | 1972 |
72% | Scrooge | Marley's Ghost | — | 1970 |
33% | Cromwell | Charles I | — | 1970 |
27% | The Comedians | Maj. Jones | — | 1967 |
62% | The Quiller Memorandum | Pol | — | 1966 |
Hotel Paradiso | Benedict Boniface | — | 1966 | |
83% | Doctor Zhivago | Yevgraf/Gen. Zhivago | — | 1965 |
Situation Hopeless---But Not Serious | Herr Frick | — | 1965 | |
100% | The Fall of the Roman Empire | Marcus Aurelius | — | 1964 |
98% | Lawrence of Arabia | Prince Feisal | — | 1962 |
100% | Damn the Defiant! | Captain Crawford | — | 1962 |
60% | A Majority of One | Koichi Asano | — | 1961 |
71% | Tunes of Glory | Lt. Col. Jock Sinclair | — | 1960 |
The Scapegoat | John Bartlett/Count Jacques De Gue | — | 1959 | |
94% | Our Man in Havana | Jim Wormald | — | 1959 |
94% | The Horse's Mouth | Screenwriter Gully Jimson | — | 1958 |
Barnacle Bill | William Horatio Ambrose | — | 1957 | |
95% | The Bridge on the River Kwai | Col. Nicholson | — | 1957 |
The Swan | Prince Albert | — | 1956 | |
71% | The Prisoner | The Cardinal | — | 1955 |
100% | The Ladykillers | Prof. Marcus | — | 1955 |
To Paris With Love | Col. Sir Edgar Fraser | — | 1955 | |
The Detective | Father Brown | — | 1954 | |
80% | The Captain's Paradise | Capt. Henry St. James | — | 1953 |
Malta Story | Capt. Ross | — | 1953 | |
56% | Promoter | E.H. Machin | — | 1952 |
100% | Oliver Twist | Fagin | — | 1951 |
100% | The Lavender Hill Mob | Henry Holland | — | 1951 |
100% | The Man in the White Suit | Sidney Stratton | $4.4K | 1951 |
100% | Last Holiday | George Bird | — | 1950 |
The Mudlark | Benjamin Disraeli | — | 1950 | |
A Run for Your Money | Whimple | — | 1949 | |
100% | Kind Hearts and Coronets | Duke | — | 1949 |
100% | Great Expectations | — | 1947 | |
Evensong | Actor | — | 1934 |
TV
Rating |
Title |
Credit |
Year |
---|---|---|---|
100% |
Smiley's People
1982
|
George Smiley |
|
100% |
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
1979
|
George Smiley |
|
QUOTES FROM Alec Guinness CHARACTERS
- Ben `Obi-Wan' Kenobi
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Use the Force, Luke.
- Ben "Obi-Wan" Kenobi
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These aren't the droids you're looking for.
- Ben "Obi-Wan" Kenobi
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They'll soon be back, and in greater numbers.
- Duke of Chalfont
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It had to be said that Henry was no longer to take part in activities.
- Sibella
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Louis, I think I've married the most boring man in London!
- Duke of Chalfont
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England?
- Sibella
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In Europe!
- Prince Feisal
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I long for the gardens of Cordoba...but first must come the fighting...
- Prince Feisal
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I long for the gardens of Cordoba... but first must come the fighting...
- Ben "Obi-Wan" Kenobi
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Luke, don't give in to hate! That leads to the Dark Side!
- Yoda
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Strong is Vader. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.
- Luke Skywalker
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I will, and I'll return. I promise.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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Move along...
- Han Solo
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You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon!?
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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Should I have?
- Han Solo
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Its the ship that made The Kessel Run in less then 12 parsecs!
- Jamessir Bensonmum the Butler
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I'm afraid he's a very angry cat, sir. Mr. Twain had him fixed, and he didn't want to be.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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That's no moon
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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That's no moon.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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You don't need to see his identification
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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[with a small wave of his hand] You don't need to see his identification.
- Yoda
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Told you I did, reckless is he. Now... matters are worse.
- Ben "Obi-Wan" Kenobi
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That boy is our last hope.
- Yoda
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No, there is another.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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Only a master of evil Darth.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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You can't win Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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You can't win Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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The force will be with you, always.
- Prince Feisal
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With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me, it is merely good manners.
- T.E. Lawrence
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So long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people--greedy, barborous and cruel.
- Darth Vader (voice)
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You're powers are weak, old man. Obi wan: You can't win , Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
- Darth Vader (voice)
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You're powers are weak, old man.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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You can't win , Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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Who's the more foolish? The fool or the one that follows him?
- Prince Feisal
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You are an Englishman. Are you not loyal to England?
- T.E. Lawrence
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To England, and to other things.
- Darth Vader (voice)
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When I left you, I was, but, a learner. Now, I am the master.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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Only a master of evil, Darth.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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From my point of view there's no such a thing as luck.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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In my experience, there's no such thing as luck.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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These aren't the droids you're looking for.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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(To Luke Skywalker) Remember Luke the Force will be with you always.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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(To Luke Skywalker) Remember Luke, the force will be with you, always.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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Who is more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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Who's the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?
- Prince Feisal
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With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me, it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.
- Prince Feisal
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There's nothing further here for a warrior. We drive bargains. Old men's work. Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men. Courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men. Mistrust and caution. It must be so.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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These aren't the droids your looking for.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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These aren't the droids you're looking for.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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The Force will be with you. always.
- Darth Vader (voice)
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The Force will be with you. Always.
- Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
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That's no moon. It's a space station.