Laurence Olivier (1907–1989) was an English actor who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson 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. From 1935 he performed in radio broadcasts and, from 1956, had considerable success in television roles.
After attending drama school, Olivier began his professional career with small touring companies before being taken on in 1925 by Sybil Thorndike and her husband, Lewis Casson, as a bit-part player, understudy and assistant stage manager for their London company. In 1926 he joined the Birmingham Repertory Company, where he was given the chance to play a wide range of key roles. In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Coward's Private Lives, and in 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Peggy 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. 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 (1964) and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1970).
In 1930, to gain money for his forthcoming marriage, Olivier began his film career with small roles in two films. In 1939 he appeared as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights in a role that saw him nominated 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 Henry V of England in Henry V. There were Oscar nominations for the film, including Best Picture and Best Actor, but it won none and the film instead won a "Special Award". He won the Best Actor award for the 1948 film Hamlet, which became the first non-American film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. He later received Oscar nominations for roles in Richard III (1955), The Entertainer (1960), Othello (1965), Sleuth (1972), Marathon Man (1976) and The Boys from Brazil (1978). In 1979 he was also presented with an Honorary Award, at the Academy Awards, to recognise his lifetime of contribution to the art of film. He was nominated for nine other acting Oscars and one each for production and direction. Throughout his career Olivier appeared in radio dramas and poetry readings, and made his television debut in 1956.
After being ill for the last twenty-two years of his life, Olivier died of kidney failure on 11 July 1989. Reflecting on Olivier's pioneering of Britain's National Theatre, the broadcaster Melvyn Bragg wrote: "[N]o one doubts that the National is perhaps his most enduring monument". Olivier's claim to theatrical greatness lay not only in his acting, but by being, in the words of the English theatre director Peter Hall, "the supreme man of the theatre of our time".
This table contains Olivier's known professional theatrical roles. It also contains the occasions when he both acted and directed. It does not contain those productions where he was a director but did not appear on stage. It also omits the amateur productions in which he performed at school, mostly Shakespeare, playing, among other roles, Brutus, Puck and also female roles, including Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew.
| Production | Date | Role | Theatre (London, unless otherwise noted) | Number of performances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unfailing Instinct | Brighton Hippodrome and tour | ||||
| Policeman | Brighton Hippodrome and tour | ||||
| Antonio | Century Theatre and London area tour | ||||
| Julius Caesar | Century Theatre and London area tour | ||||
| Henry VIII | – 20 March 1926 | First Serving Man | Empire Theatre | 127 | |
| Oedipus Tyrannus | Suppliant, Guard and Servant | New Scala Theatre | 1 | ||
| –19 March 1926 | Servant to Orsino | Empire Theatre | 4 | ||
| – 12 June 1926 | Minstrel | Kingsway Theatre | 76 | ||
| Gentleman | Theatre Royal, Haymarket | 1 | |||
| Royal Court Theatre | 1 | ||||
| Minor role | Clacton | ||||
| –November 1926 | Tour | ||||
| Birmingham Repertory Theatre | |||||
| Something to Talk About | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | ||||
| Well of the Saints | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | ||||
| Birmingham Repertory Theatre | |||||
| Birmingham Repertory Theatre | |||||
| Walk on parts | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | ||||
| Uncle Vanya | Vanya | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | |||
| All's Well That Ends Well | Parolles | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | |||
| Young Man | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | ||||
| She Stoops to Conquer | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | ||||
| Quality Street | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | ||||
| Bird in Hand | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | ||||
| Advertising April | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | ||||
| Young Man | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | ||||
| Birmingham Repertory Theatre | |||||
| Aren't Women Wonderful | Birmingham Repertory Theatre | ||||
| Birmingham Repertory Theatre | |||||
| – 4 February 1928 | Young Man | Royal Court Theatre | 32 | ||
| Macbeth | –13 March 1928 | Malcolm | Royal Court Theatre | 32 | |
| Back to Methuselah | –31 March 1928 | Martellus | Royal Court Theatre | 11 | |
| Harold | –24 April 1928 | Harold | Royal Court Theatre | 25 | |
| – 26 May 1928 | Lord | Royal Court Theatre | 32 | ||
| Bird in Hand | Royalty Theatre | ||||
| Paul Among the Jews (Paulus unter den Juden) | –9 July 1928 | Chanan | Prince of Wales Theatre | 2 | |
| Royalty Theatre | 1 | ||||
| Journey's End | –10 December 1928 | Apollo Theatre | 2 | ||
| Beau Geste | – 4 March 1929 | His Majesty's Theatre | 39 | ||
| Prize Giving at Woodside House School (sketch) | McTavish VI | Queen's Theatre | 1 | ||
| – 20 April 1929 | New Theatre | 48 | |||
| Paris Bound | –27 April 1929 | Golders Green Hippodrome | 8 | ||
| Paris Bound | – 25 May 1929 | Lyric Theatre | 31 | ||
| Garrick Theatre | 53 | ||||
| –10 August 1929 | Golders Green Hippodrome | 8 | |||
| Murder on the Second Floor | Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre, New York | ||||
| Fortune Theatre | 97 | ||||
| 100 Not Out (sketch) | Helen the nurse | Queen's Theatre | 1 | ||
| After All | – 6 April 1930 | Ralph | Arts Theatre | 9 | |
| Private Lives | – 20 September 1930 | On tour: Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester and Southsea | 32 | ||
| Private Lives | – 20 December 1930 | Phoenix Theatre | 101 | ||
| Some Other Private Lives (sketch) | Alf | Hippodrome | 1 | ||
| Private Lives | Times Square Theater, New York | 150 | |||
| – 8 July 1933 | Playhouse Theatre | 107 | |||
| Cort Theatre, New York | 116 | ||||
| Biography | – 2 June 1934 | Globe Theatre | 45 | ||
| Queen of Scots | – 8 September 1934 | Bothwell | New Theatre | 106 | |
| Theatre Royal | –20 October 1934 | On tour: Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester | 24 | ||
| Theatre Royal | – 23 December 1934 | Lyric Theatre | |||
| Journey's End | Adelphi Theatre | 1 | |||
| Policeman Prince | His Majesty's Theatre | 1 | |||
| November Afternoon (sketch) | Man | Comedy Theatre | 1 | ||
| Adelphi Theatre | 1 | ||||
| Top Hat | 1935 | Italian Officer (uncredited) | |||
| Ringmaster | – 22 March 1935 | Tour: Oxford and Birmingham | 15 | ||
| Ringmaster | Shaftesbury Theatre | 8 | |||
| November Afternoon (sketch) | Man | Hippodrome | 1 | ||
| Notices (sketch) | Comedy Theatre | 1 | |||
| Reader | Gaiety Theatre | 1 | |||
| Golden Arrow | –18 May 1935 | Also director | New Theatre, Oxford | 7 | |
| Golden Arrow | – 15 June 1935 | Also director | Whitehall Theatre | 19 | |
| Footman | Grosvenor House | 1 | |||
| Romeo and Juliet | – 28 March 1936 | Romeo and Mercutio | New Theatre | 186 | |
| Bees on the Boat Deck | – 6 June 1936 | Lyric Theatre | 37 | ||
| Hamlet | – 20 February 1937 | Hamlet | 42 | ||
| Twelfth Night | – 3 April 1937 | 42 | |||
| Henry V | – 22 May 1937 | Henry V | 50 | ||
| Shakespeare Birthday Festival | Romeo and Henry V | 1 | |||
| Midnight with the Stars | Personal appearance | Empire Theatre | 1 | ||
| Hamlet | –6 June 1937 | Hamlet | Elsinore, Denmark | 5 | |
| Macbeth | – 15 January 1938 | Macbeth | then New Theatre | 55 | |
| Othello | – 12 March 1938 | Iago | 35 | ||
| – 16 April 1938 | Vivaldi | 34 | |||
| Coriolanus | – 21 May 1938 | 35 | |||
| Here's to Our Enterprise | Lyceum Theatre | 1 | |||
| No Time for Comedy | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York | 72 | |||
| Romeo and Juliet | – June 1940 | Romeo Also director | 51st Street Theatre, New York | 36 | |
| All Star Concert in aid of the Russian Relief Fund (scene from Romeo and Juliet) | Romeo | Empire Theatre, York | 1 | ||
| Esmond Knight Matinée (scene from Henry V) | Henry V | London Palladium | 1 | ||
| Elsie Fogerty Jubilee Matinée | Poetry reader | New Theatre | 1 | ||
| Arms and the Man | –12 August 1944 | Opera House, Manchester | 9 | ||
| Peer Gynt | – 14 April 1945 | New Theatre | 83 | ||
| Arms and the Man | – 13 April 1945 | New Theatre | 67 | ||
| Richard III | –11 April 1945 | Richard III | New Theatre | 83 | |
| Uncle Vanya | – 12 April 1945 | New Theatre | 25 | ||
| Arms and the Man | ENSA Garrison Theatre, Antwerp | ||||
| Richard III | Richard III | ENSA Garrison Theatre, Antwerp | |||
| Henry IV, Part 1 | – 13 April 1946 | Hotspur | New Theatre | 69 | |
| Henry IV, Part 2 | – 13 April 1946 | New Theatre | 59 | ||
| Oedipus and The Critic | – 27 April 1946 | Oedipus and Mr Puff | New Theatre | 76 | |
| Uncle Vanya | – 14 June 1946 | New Century Theatre, New York | 8 | ||
| Henry IV, Part 1 | – 13 June 1946 | Hotspur | New Century Theatre, New York | 18 | |
| Henry IV, Part 2 | – 13 June 1946 | New Century Theatre, New York | 9 | ||
| Oedipus and The Critic | – 15 June 1946 | Oedipus and Mr Puff | New Century Theatre, New York | 15 | |
| King Lear | – 4 January 1947 | Lear | New Theatre | 42 | |
| King Lear | – 1 December 1946 | Lear | Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris | 7 | |
| – 30 March 1948 | Also director | Capitol Theatre, Perth | |||
| Richard III | – 17 April 1948 | Richard III | Theatre Royal, Adelaide | ||
| – 17 April 1948 | Also director | Theatre Royal, Adelaide | |||
Richard III The Skin of Our Teeth | – 12 June 1948 | Richard III Mr Antrobus | Princess Theatre Melbourne | ||
| – 19 June 1948 | Theatre Royal, Hobart | ||||
Richard III The Skin of Our Teeth | – August 1948 | Richard III Mr Antrobus | New Tivoli Theatre, Sydney | ||
| – September 1948 | His Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane | ||||
| St. James Theatre, Auckland | |||||
| St. James Theatre, Christchurch | |||||
| His Majesty's Theatre, Dunedin | |||||
| St. James Theatre, Wellington | |||||
| – 4 June 1949 | Also director | New Theatre | 74 | ||
| Richard III | – 2 June 1949 | Richard III | New Theatre | 35 | |
| Antigone | – 1 June 1949 | Chorus | New Theatre | 39 | |
| RADA Cabaret | Personal appearance | Lyceum Theatre | 1 | ||
| Venus Observed | – 5 August 1950 | Also director | St James's Theatre | 229 | |
| Caesar and Cleopatra | – 28 April 1951 | Opera House, Manchester | 7 | ||
| Antony and Cleopatra | – 6 May 1951 | Opera House, Manchester | 7 | ||
| Caesar and Cleopatra | – 21 September 1951 | St James's Theatre | 77 | ||
| Antony and Cleopatra | – 22 September 1951 | St James's Theatre | 76 | ||
| Appearance | London Palladium | 1 | |||
| Caesar and Cleopatra | –17 November 1951 | Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool | 7 | ||
| Antony and Cleopatra | –24 November 1951 | Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool | 7 | ||
| Caesar and Cleopatra | – 11 April 1952 | Ziegfeld Theatre, New York | 67 | ||
| Antony and Cleopatra | – 12 April 1952 | Ziegfeld Theatre, New York | 66 | ||
| – 24 October 1953 | Also director | Tour: Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle | 32 | ||
| – 3 July 1954 | Also director | Phoenix Theatre | 274 | ||
| Midnight Cavalcade | Appeared with Jack Buchanan | London Palladium | 1 | ||
| All Star RADA Jubilee Matinée: Henry VIII | Reader, Epilogue only | Her Majesty's Theatre | 1 | ||
| Night of a Hundred Stars | Appeared with Jack Buchanan | London Palladium | 1 | ||
| Twelfth Night | – 26 November 1955 | Malvolio | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | 81 | |
| Macbeth | – 23 November 1955 | Macbeth | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | 56 | |
| Titus Andronicus | – 25 November 1955 | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | 29 | ||
| Green Room Cavalcade | London Coliseum | 1 | |||
| Night of 100 Stars | Evening host and Performer in White Tie and Tails | London Palladium | 1 | ||
| Central School Jubilee | Edwardian soirée guest | Saville Theatre | 1 | ||
| Evening for Hungary Relief | Speaker | Royal Festival Hall | 1 | ||
| – 11 May 1957 | Royal Court Theatre | 36 | |||
| Titus Andronicus | – 21 June 1957 | Tour: Paris, Venice, Belgrade, Zagreb, Vienna and Warsaw | 26 | ||
| Titus Andronicus | – 3 August 1957 | Stoll Theatre | 35 | ||
| Son et Lumière | Greenwich Royal Naval College | 1 | |||
| – 18 January 1958 | Palace Theatre | 116 | |||
| – 30 November 1957 | Tour: Edinburgh, Oxford and Brighton | 24 | |||
| – 10 May 1958 | Royale Theatre, New York | 97 | |||
| Night of 100 Stars | – | London Palladium | 1 | ||
| Coriolanus | – 27 November 1959 | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | 48 | ||
| Night of 100 Stars | London Palladium | 1 | |||
| Gala for Fréjus disaster victims | Speaker | Lyric Theatre | 1 | ||
| Rhinoceros | – 4 June 1960 | Rhinoceros | Royal Court Theatre | ||
| Rhinoceros | – 30 July 1960 | Rhinoceros | Strand Theatre | 105 | |
| Night of 100 Stars | London Palladium | 1 | |||
| Becket | – 25 March 1961 | St. James Theatre, New York | 193 | ||
| Becket | – | Henry II | Tour: Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia and New York | 193 | |
| – 8 September 1962 | Bassanes Also director | Chichester Festival Theatre | 28 | ||
| Uncle Vanya | – 8 September 1962 | Chichester Festival Theatre | 28 | ||
| Semi-Detached | – 1 December 1962 | Tour: Edinburgh and Oxford | 16 | ||
| Semi-Detached | – 30 March 1963 | Saville Theatre | 137 | ||
| Uncle Vanya | – 31 August 1963 | Also director | Chichester Festival Theatre | 28 | |
| Night of 100 Stars | Host | London Palladium | 1 | ||
| Uncle Vanya | – 1 August 1964 | Also director | 61 | ||
| – 12 December 1964 | 69 | ||||
| Uncle Vanya | – 30 March 1964 | Also director | Tour: Newcastle and Edinburgh | ||
| Othello | – 8 April 1964 | Othello | Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham | 3 | |
| Othello | – 2 June 1964 | Othello | |||
| Othello | – 29 August 1964 | Othello | Chichester Festival Theatre | ||
| Night of 100 Stars | Presenter and speaker | London Palladium | 1 | ||
| – 12 November 1964 | Tour: Manchester, Leeds and Oxford | 12 | |||
| – 9 July 1965 | 73 | ||||
| Narrator | Royal Albert Hall | 73 | |||
| – 20 March 1965 | Tour: Glasgow and Coventry | 6 | |||
| Othello | – 30 November 1965 | Othello | Tour: Moscow, Berlin, Edinburgh and Newcastle | ||
| Love for Love | – 27 November 1965 | Tattle | Tour: Moscow, Berlin, Edinburgh and Newcastle | ||
| Love for Love | – 9 June 1967 | Tattle | 97 | ||
| Performance in aid of George Devine Award | Archie Rice | 1 | |||
| Othello | – 3 October 1965 | Othello | Queen's Theatre | ||
| Love for Love | – 27 November 1965 | Tattle | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | ||
| Italy, My Italy | Speaker | Theatre Royal, Haymarket | 1 | ||
| – 25 July 1969 | Edgar | 108 | |||
| – 9 March 1968 | Edgar | Tour: Brighton, Liverpool, Montreal, Toronto, Edinburgh and Oxford | |||
| – 24 July 1969 | 30+ | ||||
| Home and Beauty | – 22 March 1969 | Tour: Norwich, Bradford and Nottingham | |||
| Home and Beauty | – 6 July 1970 | 89 | |||
| Three Sisters | Chebutikin Also director | ||||
| – 8 January 1971 | Shylock | 138 | |||
| – 1 August 1971 | Shylock | Cambridge Theatre | |||
| Three Sisters | – 1 October 1970 | Chebutikin Also director | Theatre Royal, Brighton | ||
| – 8 May 1971 | Shylock | King's Theatre, Edinburgh | |||
| Reader | St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden | 1 | |||
| Long Day's Journey into Night | – 8 September 1972 | New Theatre and The Old Vic (from 23 August 1972) | 122 | ||
| Sybil | Reader | Theatre Royal, Haymarket | 1 | ||
| Fanfare | Reader | Royal Opera House | |||
| Twelfth Night | Speaker and prologue | ||||
| Gala performance | Appearance | Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guilford | 1 | ||
| Saturday, Sunday, Monday | – 16 February 1974 | Antonio | 42 | ||
| – 21 March 1974 | 36 | ||||
| Tribute to the Lady | Narrator | 1 | |||
| Royal opening by the Queen | Speech of Welcome | Royal National Theatre | 1 | ||
| Tribute Gala for the South Atlantic Fund | Speaker and salutes, Falklands Task Force | London Coliseum | 1 | ||
| Blondel (Gala Performance) | Spoke prologue | 1 | |||
| Night of 100 Stars | Personal appearance | Radio City Music Hall, New York | 1 | ||
| 57th Academy Awards | Presents award | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles | 1 | ||
| Bob Hope birthday gala | Akash | Lyric Theatre | |||
| Time | Akash (as a projection) | Dominion Theatre |
This table contains Olivier's stage work as a director. It does not include the 15 productions in which he also appeared, which are shown in the table above.
| Production | Opening night | Theatre (London, unless otherwise noted) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Theatre | Soon after opening, the play went on a four-week tour of the UK, then a six-week tour of Europe | |||
| Born Yesterday | Garrick Theatre | |||
| New Theatre | ||||
| Aldwych Theatre | ||||
| Theatre Royal Newcastle, and tour | ||||
| Captain Carvallo | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh | |||
| Captain Carvallo | Garrick Theatre | |||
| Venus Observed | New Century Theatre, New York | |||
| Shubert Theatre, Boston; Helen Hayes Theatre, New York | At the Helen Hayes Theatre from 24 February 1960 | |||
| Chichester Festival Theatre | ||||
| Hamlet | The Old Vic | First National Theatre Company production; ran for 27 performances until 4 December 1963 | ||
| The Old Vic | ||||
| Juno and the Paycock | The Old Vic | |||
| Three Sisters | The Old Vic | |||
| Tour: Montreal & Toronto | Co-director with Donald MacKechnie | |||
| Love's Labour's Lost | The Old Vic | |||
| Amphitryon | New Theatre | |||
| Eden End | The Old Vic | |||
| Filumena | St. James Theatre, New York City |
All the productions shown were for BBC radio.
| Programme | Year | Role | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Alexander Korda (1893–1956) | Participant | ||||
| John Gabriel Borkman | |||||
| First shown on US television | |||||
| Priest | Originally produced for American television | ||||
| Great Acting: "Laurence Olivier" | Contributor | ||||
| Male of the Species | Narrator | First shown on US television | |||
| David Copperfield | First shown on US television | ||||
| Parkinson | Guest | ||||
| Long Day's Journey into Night | First shown on US television | ||||
| Shylock | First shown on US television | ||||
| – 8 May 1974 | Narrator | 26 episodes | |||
| Guest | |||||
| Guest | |||||
| Love Among the Ruins | First shown on US television | ||||
| Arena "Theatre" | Interviewee | ||||
| Laurence Olivier Presents | Harry | ||||
| Laurence Olivier Presents | Big Daddy | ||||
| Laurence Olivier Presents | – | Co-director only | |||
| Jesus of Nazareth | Nicodemus | ||||
| Laurence Olivier Presents "Saturday, Sunday, Monday" | Antonio | ||||
| Laurence Olivier Presents | |||||
| Laurence Olivier Presents | Sir Joseph | ||||
| Brideshead Revisited "Home and Abroad" | |||||
| Brideshead Revisited "Brideshead Revisited" | |||||
| Interviewee | |||||
| King Lear | |||||
| Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson | |||||
| Wagner | |||||
| Gaius | First shown on US television | ||||
| Peter the Great | William of Orange | Third episode of four | |||
| Lost Empires |