Peter-OToole-in-Lawrence-of-ArabiaPeter O’Toole, best known for his leading role in Lawrence of Arabia, has died, aged 81. He was being treated at London’s Wellington Hospital after a long illness, and passed away on Saturday, his agent has said.

The Irish actor started his career on the stage, and his Hamlet at the Bristol Old Vic back in 1952 was acclaimed by critics. Within a few years, he was chosen to take the part of T.E. Lawrence in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, and the rest, as they say, is history.

His performance earned him his first of eight Oscar nominations, and brought him recognition on screens around the world.

In the next twenty years, he would go on to earn a further six nominations for Best Actor, and ultimately go on to accept his Honorary Oscar in 2003, before his eighth and final nomination for Roger Michell’s Venus.

His decades-spanning career saw him work with Woody Allen, Richard Burton, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, playwright Keith Waterhouse, Bernardo Bertolucci, and many, many more.

And though the Oscar statuette ultimately may have eluded him outright, amongst the many awards in his name are four Golden Globes, an Emmy, a BAFTA, and two Irish Film and Television Awards.

He is survived by his three children, Kate, Patricia, and Lorcan.

 

O’Toole’s daughter Kate said the family was overwhelmed “by the outpouring of real love and affection being expressed towards him, and to us”.

The Irish President, Michael D Higgins, said Ireland, and the world, had lost “one of the giants of film and theatre”.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “My thoughts are with Peter O’Toole’s family and friends. His performance in my favourite film, Lawrence of Arabia, was stunning.”

Higgins added: “Ireland, and the world, has lost one of the giants of film and theatre.

“I was privileged to know him as a friend since 1969. I spent part of 1979 in Clifden where we met almost daily and all of us who knew him in the West will miss his warm humour and generous friendship.”

Broadcaster Michael Parkinson told Sky News it was hard to be too sad about the news of his passing, and smiled as he said: “Peter didn’t leave much of life unlived, did he?”