Sir Alec Guinness appeared in 60-some films, including those below. He won an Oscar for Best Actor for Bridge on the River Kwai at the 1958 Academy Awards.
He detested Star Wars, some sources say - thought he was far too classy an actor to be playing in such movies. He took the money though, and it was Star Wars which insured his wealth in later life. Maybe he didn't think he was too good for Star Wars. Maybe he was just tired of them.
Other UK actors winning Oscars for Best Actor include:
(1960s)
Rex Harrison (England) for My Fair Lady
Paul Scofield (England) for A Man for All Seasons
(1980s)
Ben Kingsley (England) for Ghandi
Daniel Day-Lewis (England) for My Left Foot
(1990s)
Jeremy Irons (England) Reversal of Fortune
Anthony Hopkins (Wales) Silence of the Lambs
(2000s)
Daniel Day-Lewis (England) There Will Be Blood
(2010s)
Colin Firth (England) The King's Speech
Many winners before 1960, and many from Commonweath nations. Also, many more were nominated but robbed. (Like Peter O'Toole and Albert Finney and several more.)
Who cares? Movies are a waste of space, read a book instead. Actors are all broken people on the make.
ReplyDeleteI care, at least a little. The British film industry has produced some great films and actors and I think it's a shame that it's in decline. Sadly, though, I don't care enough to go and watch the films. That probably makes me far more two-faced than Sir Alec Guinness who, as you point out, was probably just tired of being remembered for Star Wars when he had done so much else.
ReplyDeleteA, if you care then so do I! I will watch a black and white film immediately.
ReplyDeleteI like movies, but, with small children, especially now that I'm pretty much the only one watching them, "going to the movies" is all but precluded.
ReplyDeleteBut I rent and watch on-line movies (legally).
However, I am not in sync, generally, with much of the reviewing world, what the world populace really likes and have largely lost interest in awards shows that seem to focus only on the most depressing possible films.