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In his autobiographical volumes, Guinness wrote about an incident at the Old Vic when, in the company of National Theater (which originally played at the Old Vic) artistic director Laurence Olivier in the basement of the theater, he asked where a certain tunnel went. Olivier didn't really know but confidently decided to take the tunnel as it must come out somewhere nearby, it being part of the Old Vic. In reality, the tunnel went under the Thames, and they were rescued after several hours of fruitless navigation of the dark, damp corridor. Guinness remarked that Olivier's willingness to plunge into the dark and unknown was characteristic of the type of person (and actor) he was. As for himself as an actor, Guinness lamented at times that he didn't take enough chances.Played The Fool to Laurence Olivier's first Lear under the direction of Tyrone Guthrie in 1938 when he was 24 and Olivier was 31. Olivier was generally considered less-than-successful in the part due to his youth and relative lack of maturity in classical parts (though his contemporaneous "Henry V" was a smash and hinted at his future greatness as an interpreter of William Shakespeare). Guinness, however, received raves for his acting. Both actors went on to knighthoods and Best Actor Oscars in their long and distinguished careers.Was the subject of a cover story in "Time" magazine for the week of April 21, 1958, shortly after he won the Best Actor Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).In the last year of his life, Sir Alec had been receiving hospital treatment for failing eyesight due to glaucoma, and he had been diagnosed with inoperable prostate cancer in January 2000. By the time his liver cancer was discovered in July 2000 it was at an extremely advanced stage, making surgery impossible.Had his first speaking role on the professional stage in the melodrama "Queer Cargo" (he did not appear in the film). At the age of 20, the tyro actor played a Chinese coolie in the first act, a French pirate in Act 2 and a British sailor in Act 3, a foreshadowing of the shape-shifting he would do in his cinema career, where he once played as many as eight roles in a single film (Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)).Is the only person to receive a best acting nomination in any of the Star Wars movies.Operated a British Royal Navy landing craft on D-Day.His name is an anagram of "genuine class".Contrary to popular rumors, he did not hate working on the Star Wars films. What he hated was the fact that many of the Star Wars fans would only ever remember him as Obi-Wan Kenobi despite all the success of his previous roles.Personal Quotes
[On how much he disliked working on Star Wars (1977) and his attempts to encourage George Lucas to kill off Obi-Wan Kenobi]: And he agreed with me. What I didn't tell him was that I just couldn't go on speaking those bloody awful, banal lines. I'd had enough of the mumbo jumbo.I shrivel up every time someone mentions Star Wars (1977) to me.Failure has a thousand explanations. Success doesn't need one.We live in an age of apologies. Apologies, false or true, are expected from the descendants of empire builders, slave owners, persecutors of heretics and from men who, in our eyes, just got it all wrong. So, with the age of 85 coming up shortly, I want to make an apology. It appears I must apologize for being male, white and European.In 1985 he told the Guardian newspaper that he hoped by the end of his life to have put everything in order -- "a kind of little bow, tied on life. And I can see myself drifting off into eternity, or nothing, or whatever it may be, with all sorts of bits of loose string hanging out of my pocket. Why didn't I say this or do that, or why didn't I reconcile myself with someone? Or make sure that someone whom I like was all right in every way, either financially or, I don't know..."He once sent a script back with a polite rejection. The writer came back with, "We tailored it just for you." He simply replied: But no one came to take measurements.I gave my best performances during the war, trying to be an officer and a gentleman.I prefer full-length camera shots because the body can act better than the face.I don't know what else I could do but pretend to be an actor.Once I've done a film, it's finished. I never look at it again.Getting to the theater on the early side, usually about seven o'clock, changing into a dressing-gown, applying make-up, having a chat for a few minutes with other actors and then, quite unconsciously, beginning to assume another personality which would stay with me (but mostly tucked inside) until curtain down, was all I required of life. I thought it bliss.An actor is an interpreter of other men's words, often a soul which wishes to reveal itself to the world but dare not, a craftsman, a bag of tricks, a vanity bag, a cool observer of mankind, a child and at his best a kind of unfrocked priest who, for an hour or two, can call on heaven and hell to mesmerize a group of innocents.Personally, I have only one great regret - that I never *dared* enough. If at all.[To a group of reporters upon winning his Oscar, 1958]: No doorstop shenanigans for me, boys. I have a nice mantel where I'm going to display it.[during filming of Star Wars (1977)]: Apart from the money, I regret having embarked on the film. I like them well enough, but it's not an acting job, the dialogue - which is lamentable - keeps being changed and only slightly improved, and I find myself old and out of touch with the young.[on media reports of his income from the "Star Wars" films]: The Times reports I've made £4.5 million in the past year. Where do they get such nonsense?[on the performances in Star Wars (1977)]: The only really disappointing performance was Anthony Daniels as the robot - fidgety and over-elaborately spoken. Not that any of the cast can stand up to the mechanical things around them.[while considering doing Star Wars (1977)]: Science fiction - which gives me pause - but it is to be directed by George Lucas, who did American Graffiti (1973), which makes me think I should. Big part. Fairytale rubbish, but could be interesting.[on his first lunch meeting with George Lucas]: I liked him. The conversation was divided culturally by 8,000 miles and 30 years; but I think we might understand each other if I can get past his intensity.The stage was my prime interest. I had no ambition to be a film actor, and a screen career seemed unlikely to come my way. I'd done a stage adaption of "Great Expectations" before the war and this had been seen by David Lean and Ronald Neame. I went into the navy during the war, and when I came out they were preparing their film [Great Expectations (1946)]. They remembered my performance on the stage and asked me if I'd go into their film as Herbert Pocket. I'd thought of film as a much greater mystery than the theater and I felt a need to begin in films with a character I knew something about.[on The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)]: The original script was ridiculous, with elephant charges and girls screaming round in the jungle. When David Lean arrived, with a new screenwriter, it became a very different thing. I saw Nicholson as an effective part, without ever really believing in the character. However, it paid off; it was a huge success and I got an Oscar for it, though I don't think it made an enormous difference in my career.Essentially I'm a small part actor who's been lucky enough to play leading roles for most of his life.Flamboyance doesn't suit me. I enjoy being elusive.I am always ashamed of the slowness of my reading. I think it stems from the fact that when I come across dialogue in a novel, I can't resist treating it as the text of a play and acting it out, with significant pauses and all.[On Laurence Olivier after the death of the only acting peer of the realm]: "Olivier made me laugh more as an actor (in eccentric comedy parts) more than anyone else. In my case, I love him in comedy and am not always sure about him in tragedy.[His diary entry after viewing Star Wars (1977) for the first time]: It's a pretty staggering film as spectacle and technically brilliant. Exciting, very noisy and warm-hearted. The battle scenes at the end go on for five minutes too long, I feel, and some of the dialogue is excruciating and much of it is lost in noise, but it remains a vivid experience. The only really disappointing performance was Anthony Daniels as the robot, fidgety and over-elaborately spoken. Not that any of the cast can stand up to the mechanical things around them.An actor is at his best a kind of unfrocked priest who, for an hour or two, can call on heaven and hell to mesmerize a group of innocents.An actor is totally vulnerable. His total personality is exposed to critical judgment - his intellect, his bearing, his diction, his whole appearance. In short, his ego.[Asked if he was a rich man]: No, not rich. Compared to striking miners and work-less actors very rich: compared to successful stockbrokers and businessmen I expect I would be considered nearly poor.[Asked if Star Wars (1977) had made him a fortune]: Yes, blessed be "Star Wars". But two-thirds of that went to the Inland Revenue and a sizable sum on VAT. No complaints. Let me leave it by saying I can live for the rest of my life in the reasonably modest way I am now used to, that I have no debts and I can afford to refuse work that doesn't appeal to me.
