Laurence Olivier (1907–1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud and Michael Redgrave, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his six-decade career, playing more than fifty cinema roles. From 1956 he performed in television roles, for which he won several awards.
In 1939 Olivier appeared in the film Wuthering Heights in the quintessential role of Heathcliff, which garnered him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. The following year, he was again nominated for the same award for his portrayal of Maxim de Winter in Rebecca. In 1944, he produced, directed, and appeared as King Henry V of England in Henry V. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, although it failed to win in any competitive category; instead Olivier received a "Special Award" for his work on the film. His next film, Hamlet (1948), became the first non-American film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and he also received the award for Best Actor. In 1979 Olivier was presented with an Academy Honorary Award to recognise his lifetime of contribution to the art of film. In total, he was nominated for nine other acting Academy Awards, plus one for the direction of Hamlet. For his stage work, Olivier won three Evening Standard Theatre Awards and was nominated for a Tony Award. He made his television debut in 1956 and was subsequently nominated nine times for an Emmy Award, winning on five occasions; he was also nominated for two British Academy Television Awards for his work in the medium.
In 1947 Olivier was appointed a Knight Bachelor, and in 1970 he was given a life peerage; the Order of Merit was conferred on him in 1981. He also received honours from foreign governments. In 1949 he was made Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog by the Danish government; the French appointed him Officier, Legion of Honour, in 1953; the Italian government created him Sardinian Grande Ufficiale, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, in 1953; and in 1971 he was granted the Order of Yugoslav Flag with Golden Wreath.
From academic and other institutions, Olivier received honorary doctorates from the university of Tufts, Massachusetts (1946), Oxford (1957) and Edinburgh (1964). He was also awarded the Danish Sonning Prize for outstanding contributions to European culture in 1966, the Gold Medallion of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities in 1968; and the Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts in 1976. In February 1960 for his contribution to the film industry, Olivier was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with a star at 6319 Hollywood Boulevard; he is also included in the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 1977 Olivier was awarded a British Film Institute Fellowship.
In addition to the naming of the National Theatre's largest auditorium in his honour, Olivier is commemorated in the Laurence Olivier Awards, bestowed annually since 1984 by the Society of London Theatre. In 1991 Olivier's friend, the actor Gielgud, unveiled a memorial stone commemorating Olivier in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey. In 2007, the centenary of Olivier's birth, a life-sized statue of him was unveiled on the South Bank, outside the National Theatre; the same year the British Film Institute held a retrospective season of his film work.
Film
+ Awards and nominations for Olivier's film work Film Year Award Category Result Wuthering Heights Academy Award Best Actor Rebecca Academy Award Best Actor Henry V National Board of Review Award Best Actor Henry V New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Actor Henry V Academy Award Best Actor Henry V Academy Honorary Award Honorary award: "To Laurence Olivier for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen" Hamlet Venice Film Festival Grand International Prize of Venice (Best Film) Hamlet New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Actor Hamlet Golden Globe Award Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Hamlet Academy Award Best Actor Hamlet Academy Award Best Directing Hamlet Bodil Awards Best European Film Henry V Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Nastro d'Argento for Best Director (Silver Ribbon) Carrie British Academy Film Award Best British Actor Richard III British Academy Film Award Best Actor in a Leading Role Richard III Silver Bear International Prize Richard III Academy Award Best Actor Richard III David di Donatello Awards Best Foreign Actor Richard III David di Donatello Awards Best Foreign Producer Jussi Awards Best Foreign Actor British Academy Film Award Best British Actor British Academy Film Award Best British Actor Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Best Actor Spartacus Golden Globe Award Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama British Academy Film Award Best British Actor Academy Award Best Actor Term of Trial British Academy Film Award Best British Actor Othello Academy Award Best Actor Othello National Society of Film Critics Best Actor Oh! What a Lovely War British Academy Film Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role Sleuth New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Actor Sleuth Golden Globe Award Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Sleuth Academy Award Best Actor Sleuth David di Donatello Awards Best Foreign Actor Sleuth British Academy Film Award Best Actor – British Academy Film Award Academy Fellowship Award Marathon Man Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Marathon Man Academy Award Best Supporting Actor National Board of Review Award Best Actor Saturn Award Best Actor Academy Award Best Actor – Academy Honorary Award Honorary award: "To Laurence Olivier for the full body of his work, for the unique achievements of his entire career and his lifetime of contribution to the art of film." – Filmex Trustees Award Filmex Trustees Award: "Laurence Olivier was given the Filmex Trustees Award to honor his monumental lifetime contributions to the "art form of the century" Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Golden Raspberry Award Worst Supporting Actor Golden Raspberry Award Worst Actor – Golden Globe Award Cecil B. DeMille Award – Film Society of Lincoln Center Gala Tribute
Stage
+ Awards and nominations for Olivier's stage work Show Year Award Category Result Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Actor Tony Award Best Actor in a Play Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Actor Long Day's Journey into Night Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Actor scope="row" Society of West End Theatre Awards Society Special Award
Television
+ Awards and nominations for Olivier's television work Show Year Award Category Result Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Uncle Vanya Emmy Award Outstanding Drama Series David Copperfield Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Long Day's Journey into Night Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Long Day's Journey into Night British Academy Television Award Best Television Actor Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Love Among the Ruins Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Brideshead Revisited Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie British Academy Television Award Best Television Actor King Lear Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson CableACE Award Best Actor – Banff Television Festival Lifetime Achievement Award Lost Empires Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
State and academic honours
+ State and academic honours for Olivier's Award Year Country or institution Honorary doctorate Tufts University Honorary doctorate University of Massachusetts Knight Bachelor UK Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog Denmark Officier, Legion of Honour France Grande Ufficiale, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Italy Honorary doctorate University of Oxford Honorary doctorate University of Edinburgh Sonning Prize Denmark Honorary doctorate University of London Honorary doctorate Victoria University of Manchester Gold Medallion Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, Sweden Life peerage UK Order of Yugoslav Flag with Golden Wreath Yugoslavia Albert Medal Royal Society of Arts, UK Order of Merit UK
See also Laurence Olivier on stage and screen
Notes and references
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