Sir Alec Guinness, (1914–2000) was an English actor. Known for his extensive roles on stage and film, he has earned acclaim for his numerous collaborations with David Lean and his work in the Ealing Comedies. He is also known for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars franchise starting from 1977. In the BFI Top 100 British films listing, Guinness was single most noted actor, represented across nine films — six in starring roles and three in supporting roles. He received several honors including an Academy Honorary Award, a BAFTA Fellowship and a BFI Fellowship.
After an early career on the stage, Guinness made a name for himself in six Ealing Comedies, starting in 1949 with both A Run for Your Money and Kind Hearts and Coronets — in which he played nine different characters — going on to lead roles in The Lavender Hill Mob and The Man in the White Suit both in 1951, The Ladykillers in 1955, and culminating with Barnacle Bill in 1957.
Guinness is known for his six collaborations with David Lean: Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations (1946), Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948), Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor), Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), General Yevgraf Zhivago in Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Professor Godbole in A Passage to India (1984).
Guinness is also known for his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas's original Star Wars trilogy; for his performance in the original 1977 film, he was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for the Academy Award and Golden Globe.
Guinness continued his acting in theatre throughout his working life, but his later life was closely associated with his definitive depiction of the leading role of George Smiley in the two BBC television series of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People by John le Carré.
Acting credits Film Year Title Role Director Notes 1934 Evensong N/A Victor Saville Uncredited extra 1946 Great Expectations Herbert Pocket (adult)David Lean 1948 Oliver Twist Fagin 1949 Kind Hearts and Coronets Various roles Robert Hamer Whimple Charles Frend 1950 Last Holiday George Bird Henry Cass Benjamin Disraeli Jean Negulesco 1951 Henry Holland Charles Crichton Sidney Stratton Alexander Mackendrick 1952 The Card Edward Henry 'Denry' Machin Ronald Neame 1953 Narrator Short subject Capt. Henry St. James Anthony Kimmins Malta Story Flight Lieutenant Peter Ross RAF Brian Desmond Hurst 1954 Father Brown Father Brown Robert Hamer Himself Morten Parker Short subject 1955 Rowlandson's England Narrator Robert Hamer To Paris with Love Col. Sir Edgar Fraser The Prisoner Peter Glenville Professor Marcus Alexander Mackendrick 1956 Prince Albert Charles Vidor 1957 Col. Nicholson David Lean Barnacle Bill Captain William Horatio Ambrose Charles Frend 1958 Gulley Jimson Ronald Neame 1959 John Barratt/Jacques De Gue Robert Hamer Our Man in Havana Jim Wormold Carol Reed 1960 Tunes of Glory Maj. Jock Sinclair, D.S.O., M.M. Ronald Neame 1961 A Majority of One Koichi Asano Mervyn LeRoy 1962 H.M.S. Defiant Captain Crawford Lewis Gilbert Lawrence of Arabia Prince Faisal David Lean 1964 Marcus Aurelius Anthony Mann 1965 Pasternak Himself Thomas Craven Short subject Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious Wilhelm Frick Gottfried Reinhardt Doctor Zhivago Yevgraf Andreyevich Zhivago David Lean 1966 Hotel Paradiso Benedict Boniface Peter Glenville Pol Michael Anderson 1967 HimselfPeter Glenville Short subject; Uncredited Major H.O. Jones 1970 Cromwell King Charles I Ken Hughes Scrooge Jacob Marley's ghost Ronald Neame 1972 Brother Sun, Sister Moon Pope Innocent III Franco Zeffirelli 1973 Hitler: The Last Ten Days Adolf Hitler Ennio De Concini 1976 Murder by Death Jamesir Bensonmum Robert Moore 1977 Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi George Lucas 1980 The Empire Strikes Back Irvin Kershner Raise the Titanic John Bigalow Jerry Jameson 1983 Lovesick Sigmund Freud Marshall Brickman Return of the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi Richard Marquand 1984 Professor Godbole David Lean 1987 Little Dorrit William Dorrit Christine Edzard 1988 Mr. Todd Charles Sturridge 1991 Kafka Steven Soderbergh 1994 Mute Witness Anthony Waller 2015Star Wars: The Force AwakensObi-Wan Kenobi (voice)J.J. Abrams Posthumous release; archival audio2019Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Television +YearTitleRoleNotes1955Baker's DozenThe MajorTelevision film1959Ford StartimeJebal DeeksEpisode: The Wicked Scheme of Jebal Deeks1969Thirty-Minute TheatreThe ExecutionerEpisode: Conversation at Night1970ITV Sunday Night TheatreMalvolioEpisode: Twelfth Night1974ITV PlayhouseJocelyn BroomeEpisode: The Gift of Friendship 1976Caesar and CleopatraJulius CaesarTelevision film1979Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyGeorge SmileyMiniseries1980Little Lord FauntleroyEarl of DorincourtTelevision film1982Smiley's PeopleGeorge SmileyMiniseries1984EdwinSir Fennimore TruscottTelevision film1985https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO4XWTYrFQUMonsignor QuixoteMonsignor Quixote1992PerformanceHeinrich MannEpisode: Tales from Hollywood1993Screen OneAmosEpisode: A Foreign Field1996Eskimo DayJamesTelevision film
Theatre + Stage credits of Guinness Year Production Role Theatre(London, unless otherwise noted) Notes 1934 Libel! Junior Counsel (non-speaking role) Playhouse Theatre Queer Cargo Various roles Piccadilly Theatre Hamlet Osric and Third Player New Theatre 1935 Noé/Noah Wolf Romeo and Juliet Sampson and Apothecary 1936 The Seagull Workman then Yakov Love's Labour's Lost Boyet The Old Vic As You Like It Le Beau and William The Witch of Edmonton Old Thorney 1937 Hamlet Osric and Reynaldo Twelfth Night Sir Andrew Aguecheek Henry V Exeter Hamlet Osric, Player Queen and Reynaldo Elsinore Castle, Helsingør, Denmark Richard II Aumerle and The Groom Queen's Theatre The School for Scandal Snake 1938 The Three Sisters Fedotik The Merchant of Venice Lorenzo The Doctor's Dilemma Louis Dubedat Richmond Theatre Trelawny of the 'Wells' Arthur Gower The Old Vic Hamlet Hamlet The Rivals Bob Acres 1939 Hamlet Hamlet Henry V Chorus Tour The Rivals Bob Acres Libel! Emile Flordan Macbeth Macbeth Sheffield Playhouse, Sheffield The Ascent of F6 Michael Ransom The Old Vic Romeo and Juliet Romeo Perth Theatre, Perth, Scotland Great Expectations Herbert Pocket Rudolf Steiner Hall 1940 Cousin Muriel Richard Meilhac Globe Theatre Saint Joan The Dauphin Palace Theatre The Tempest Ferdinand The Old Vic Thunder Rock Charleston Tour of England Flare Path Fl. Lt. Graham Henry Miller's Theatre, Broadway 1946 The Brothers Karamazov Mitya Lyric Theatre The Vicious Circle Garcin Arts Theatre King Lear The Fool New Theatre An Inspector Calls Eric Birling Cyrano De Bergerac De Guiche 1947 The Alchemist Abel Drugger Richard II Richard II Saint Joan The Dauphin 1948 The Government Inspector Khlestakov Coriolanus Menenius Agrippa Twelfth Night - 1949 The Human Touch Dr. James Simpson Savoy Theatre The Cocktail Party Sir Henry Harcourt-Reilly Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh 1950 The Cocktail Party Sir Henry Harcourt-Reilly Henry Miller's Theatre, Broadway 1951 Hamlet Hamlet New Theatre 1952 Under the Sycamore Tree The Ant Scientist Aldwych Theatre 1953 Richard III Richard III Stratford Festival, Stratford, Ontario, Canada All's Well That Ends Well King of France Stratford Festival, Stratford, Ontario, Canada 1954 The Prisoner The Cardinal Globe Theatre 1956 Hotel Paradiso Boniface Winter Garden Theatre 1960 Ross Aircraftman Ross / T. E. Lawrence Theatre Royal Haymarket 1963 Exit the King Berenger the First Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh and RCT 1964 Dylan Dylan Thomas Plymouth Theatre, Broadway 1966 Incident at Vichy Von Berg Phoenix Theatre 1966 Macbeth Macbeth Royal Court Theatre 1967 Wise Child Jock Masters/Mrs. Artminster Wyndham's Theatre 1968 The Cocktail Party Sir Henry Harcourt-Reilly Chichester Festival Theatre, Sussex Wyndham's Theatre, Royal Haymarket 1970 Time out of Mind John Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, Surrey. 1971 A Voyage Round My Father Father Theatre Royal Haymarket 1973 Habeas Corpus Dr. Wickstead Lyric Theatre 1975 A Family and a Fortune Dudley Apollo Theatre 1976 Yahoo Dean Swift Queen's Theatre 1977 The Old Country Hilary 1984 Merchant of Venice Shylock Chichester Festival Theatre 1988 A Walk in the Woods Andrey Botvinnik Comedy Theatre
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References
Sources
External links Alec Guinness at the British Film Institute