Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson, Peggy Ashcroft and John Gielgud, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles. Late in his career, he had considerable success in television roles. His family had no theatrical connections, but Olivier's father, a clergyman, decided that his son should become an actor. After attending a drama school in London, Olivier learned his craft in a succession of acting jobs during the late 1920s. In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Coward's Private Lives, and he appeared in his first film. In 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Ashcroft, and by the end of the decade he was an established star. In the 1940s, together with Richardson and John Burrell, Olivier was the co-director of the Old Vic, building it into a highly respected company. There his most celebrated roles included Shakespeare's Richard III and Sophocles's Oedipus. In the 1950s Olivier was an independent actor-manager, but his stage career was in the doldrums until he joined the avant garde English Stage Company in 1957 to play the title role in The Entertainer, a part he later played on film. From 1963 to 1973 he was the founding director of Britain's National Theatre, running a resident company that fostered many future stars. His own parts there included the title role in Othello (1965) and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1970). Among Olivier's films are Wuthering Heights (1939), Rebecca (1940), and a trilogy of Shakespeare films as actor-director: Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), and Richard III (1955). His later films included The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), Sleuth (1972), Marathon Man (1976), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). His television appearances included an adaptation of The Moon and Sixpence (1960), Long Day's Journey into Night (1973), Love Among the Ruins (1975), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1976), Brideshead Revisited (1981) and King Lear (1983). Olivier's honours included a knighthood (1947), a life peerage (1970) and the Order of Merit (1981). For his on-screen work he received four Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, five Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. The National Theatre's largest auditorium is named in his honour, and he is commemorated in the Laurence Olivier Awards, given annually by the Society of London Theatre. He was married three times, to the actresses Jill Esmond from 1930 to 1940, Vivien Leigh from 1940 to 1960, and Joan Plowright from 1961 until his death.
136 movies · 22 shows
Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
2024·4.5
The Bannfoot Ferry
2024·0.0
Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
2023·6.4
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
2021·4.5
Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent
2021·7.4
Churchill and the Movie Mogul
2019·7.3
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018·5.9
Nothing Like a Dame
2018·6.8
The Vivien Leigh Archive at the V&A
2016·9.0
The Greats: Vivien Leigh
2016·7.0
Jornal Português (1938-1951)
2015·0.0
Marilyn Monroe: In The Movies
2012·7.0
Marilyn despite herself
2012·8.0
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
2012·7.2
Discovering Hamlet
2011·7.5
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2010·6.7
The Making of 'Rebecca'
2008·0.0
Marilyn, dernières séances
2008·7.0
Revisiting Brideshead
2005·8.0
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
2004·5.9
The Prince, The Showgirl and Me
2004·0.0
The Body of Marilyn Monroe
2004·8.0
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
2001·8.0
Sir John Mills' Moving Memories
2000·7.0
Vivien Leigh: A Delicate Balance
2000·9.0
The Filth and the Fury
2000·6.9
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
1999·7.8
Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell
1995·2.0
Korda: I Don't Grow on Trees: Part One
1993·0.0
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991·8.0
Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond
1990·8.5
War Requiem
1989·6.3
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988·8.2
Gregory Peck: His Own Man
1988·6.7
Directed by William Wyler
1986·0.0
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
1986·7.4
Marilyn Monroe
1986·10.0
Wild Geese II
1985·4.9
Night of 100 Stars II
1985·6.8
To Be Hamlet
1985·0.0
The Bounty
1984·6.8
A Voyage Round My Father
1984·7.4
The Ebony Tower
1984·0.0
A Talent for Murder
1983·6.9
The Jigsaw Man
1983·5.0
Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson
1983·3.8
King Lear
1983·6.7
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983·7.0
Laurence Olivier: A Life
1982·10.0
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
1982·6.0
Clash of the Titans
1981·6.9
Inchon
1981·3.9
At the Haunted End of the Day
1981·0.0
The Jazz Singer
1980·5.9
Dracula
1979·6.4
A Little Romance
1979·6.8
The Boys from Brazil
1978·6.7
The Betsy
1978·4.8
Daphne Laureola
1978·7.5
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
1978·7.0
Come Back, Little Sheba
1977·7.0
A Bridge Too Far
1977·7.2
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1976·5.0
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
1976·6.2
The Gentleman Tramp
1976·7.1
Marathon Man
1976·7.2
The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People
1976·7.0
Love Among the Ruins
1976·7.0
The Collection
1976·4.4
The Rehearsal
1974·5.4
The Merchant of Venice
1973·8.5
Long Day's Journey Into Night
1973·7.0
Sleuth
1972·7.7
Lady Caroline Lamb
1972·5.9
Nicholas and Alexandra
1971·7.0
Tree of Life
1971·0.0
Three Sisters
1970·4.3
David Copperfield
1969·5.6
Battle of Britain
1969·6.8
The Dance of Death
1969·6.7
Oh! What a Lovely War
1969·6.6
Male of the Species
1969·5.5
The Shoes of the Fisherman
1968·6.8
Romeo and Juliet
1968·7.4
Great Acting: Laurence Olivier
1966·10.0
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe
1966·6.7
Khartoum
1966·6.3
Othello
1965·6.4
Bunny Lake Is Missing
1965·7.2
Olivier Talks About Othello
1965·0.0
Uncle Vanya
1963·5.5
The Power and the Glory
1963·9.0
Term of Trial
1962·6.1
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
1961·4.4
Spartacus
1960·7.5
The Entertainer
1960·6.2
The Moon and Sixpence
1959·7.0
The Devil's Disciple
1959·6.7
The Prince and the Showgirl
1957·6.3
Richard III
1955·7.2
The Beggar's Opera
1953·5.1
A Queen Is Crowned
1953·7.1
The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci
1953·0.0
Carrie
1952·6.4
The Magic Box
1952·6.5
Rebecca
1950·0.0
Hamlet
1948·7.4
Henry V
1944·6.7
This Happy Breed
1944·7.1
The Volunteer
1944·5.0
The Demi-Paradise
1943·6.6
Malta G.C.
1942·7.0
49th Parallel
1941·7.0
That Hamilton Woman
1941·7.1
Words for Battle
1941·6.5
Private Lives
1940·0.0
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940·6.3
Pride and Prejudice
1940·6.9
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940·5.8
Rebecca
1940·7.9
21 Days
1940·6.1
Wuthering Heights
1939·7.2
Q Planes
1939·6.0
The Divorce of Lady X
1938·5.9
Fire Over England
1937·6.2
As You Like It
1936·5.4
Moscow Nights
1934·5.9
No Funny Business
1933·10.0
Perfect Understanding
1933·6.6
Westward Passage
1932·6.3
The Conquest of the Air
1931·5.4
The Yellow Ticket
1931·5.1
Friends and Lovers
1931·4.9
Potiphar's Wife
1931·8.0
Too Many Crooks
1930·9.0
The Temporary Widow
1930·7.0