Born: April 14, 1904 – Died: May 21, 2000
John Gielgud, a renowned actor best known for his captivating Shakespearean performances, was born in London, England. Having trained at Lady Benson's Acting School and RADA in London, he exhibited his exceptional talent from a young age. Gielgud's illustrious career flourished as he worked alongside prestigious figures such as Laurence Olivier and Lilian Bayliss at the "Old Vic" in London. His remarkable debut on screen occurred in 1924, marking the beginning of a journey that would lead him to become one of the most revered actors of his time. With numerous accolades to his name, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Gielgud's contributions to the entertainment industry remain legendary.
Early Life and Career
John Gielgud was born on April 14, 1904, in London, England. He attended Lady Benson's Acting School and later studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
Gielgud'sprofessional career began at a young age. His first significant role was playing Hamlet at the age of 26, which showcased his tremendous talent and marked the start of his Shakespearean repertoire. He further honed his skills working with esteemed actors like Laurence Olivier and Lilian Bayliss at the "Old Vic" Theater in London.
In 1924, Gielgud made his screen debut, starting a successful career in film and television. Throughout, he portrayed a diverse range of characters, displaying his versatility as an actor. He received critical acclaim for his role as Cassius in the 1953 film adaptation of "Julius Caesar" and gained further recognition for his performance as Hamlet in the 1964 film.
One of Gielgud's most notable roles came in 1981 when he portrayed Hobson, the butler, in the film "Arthur". His portrayal earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, solidifying his status as a celebrated actor.
In addition to his acting prowess, Gielgud also dabbled in writing, directing, and contributing to soundtracks for various projects. He was a multifaceted artist with a passion for the creative arts.
Gielgud was never married and had no children.
Throughout his career, Gielgud received numerous awards and nominations for his outstanding performances. In addition to his Academy Award win, he won multiple Tony Awards, Olivier Awards, and Emmy Awards for his work on stage and screen.
John Gielgud left an indelible mark on Hollywood and the entertainment industry through his impeccable acting skills and commitment to the craft. He is considered an icon and a legend in the theater and film world, with his Shakespearean performances and diverse film roles leaving a lasting impact. His contributions to the arts earned him a revered place in the annals of entertainment history.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Catastrophe (Short) | The Protagonist |
| 1998 | Elizabeth | The Pope |
| 1998 | The Tichborne Claimant | Cockburn |
| 1998 | Quest for Camelot | Merlin (voice, as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1998 | Merlin (TV Mini Series) | King Constant |
| 1997 | A Dance to the Music of Time (TV Mini Series) | St. John Clarke |
| 1997 | The English Programme (TV Series) | Professor of Sunlight (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1997 | David (TV Mini Series) | God (voice, uncredited) |
| 1996 | Hamlet | Priam |
| 1996 | The Portrait of a Lady | Mr. Touchett |
| 1996 | DragonHeart | King Arthur (voice, uncredited) |
| 1996 | Gulliver's Travels (TV Mini Series) | Professor of Sunlight (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1996 | Shine | Cecil Parkes |
| 1995 | Stick with Me, Kid (TV Series) | Grandpa |
| 1995 | Haunted | Doctor Doyle |
| 1995 | First Knight | Oswald |
| 1994 | Performance (TV Series) | Stephen Dawlish |
| 1994 | Scarlett (TV Mini Series) | Pierre Robillard |
| 1994 | Under the Hammer (TV Series) | Hugo Lunt |
| 1994 | Alleyn Mysteries (TV Series) | Percival Pyke Period |
| 1993 | Lovejoy (TV Series) | Lord Wakering |
| 1993 | Inspector Morse (TV Series) | Lord Hinksey |
| 1992 | The Power of One | St. John |
| 1992 | Swan Song (Short) | Svetlovidov |
| 1992 | Shining Through | Sunflower |
| 1991 | Strauss Dynasty (TV Mini Series) | Drechsler |
| 1991 | A TV Dante (TV Series) | Virgil (voice) |
| 1991 | The Best of Friends (TV Movie) | Sydney Cockerell |
| 1991 | Prospero's Books | Prospero |
| 1990 | Rabbit Ears: The Emperor's New Clothes (Video) | Unknown |
| 1990 | Strike It Rich | Herbert Dreuther |
| 1989 | Summer's Lease (TV Mini Series) | Haverford Downs |
| 1988–1989 | War and Remembrance (TV Mini Series) | Aaron Jastrow |
| 1989 | Getting It Right | Sir Gordon Munday |
| 1988 | A Man for All Seasons (TV Movie) | Cardinal Wolsey (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1988 | Arthur 2: On the Rocks | Hobson |
| 1988 | Appointment with Death | Colonel Carbury |
| 1987 | Barbablù, Barbablù | Barbablù |
| 1986–1987 | Screen Two (TV Series) | Eddie Loomis | Jasper Swift |
| 1986 | The Whistle Blower | Sir Adrian Chapple |
| 1986 | The Canterville Ghost (TV Movie) | Sir Simon de Canterville |
| 1986 | The Theban Plays by Sophocles (TV Series) | Teiresias |
| 1985 | Leave All Fair | John Middleton Murry |
| 1985 | Plenty | Sir Leonard Darwin |
| 1985 | Romance on the Orient Express (TV Movie) | Theodore Woodward |
| 1984 | The Shooting Party | Cornelius Cardew |
| 1984 | Camille (TV Movie) | Duke de Charles |
| 1984 | Frankenstein (TV Movie) | De Lacey |
| 1984 | The Master of Ballantrae (TV Movie) | Lord Durrisdeer (as John Gielud) |
| 1984 | Scandalous | Uncle Willie |
| 1984 | The Far Pavilions (TV Mini Series) | Cavagnari |
| 1983 | Wagner (TV Mini Series) | Pfistermeister |
| 1983 | Invitation to the Wedding | Reverend Clyde Ormiston |
| 1983 | The Wicked Lady | Hogarth |
| 1983 | The Scarlet and the Black (TV Movie) | Pope Pius XII (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1982 | Marco Polo (TV Mini Series) | Doge of Venice |
| 1982 | Gandhi | Lord Irwin |
| 1967–1982 | BBC Play of the Month (TV Series) | Lord Burleigh | Captain Shotover | Lord Henry Wotton ... |
| 1982 | Inside the Third Reich (TV Movie) | Albert Speer Sr. |
| 1982 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame (TV Movie) | Charmolue |
| 1981 | Brideshead Revisited (TV Mini Series) | Edward Ryder |
| 1981 | Priest of Love | Herbert G. Muskett |
| 1981 | Arthur | Hobson |
| 1981 | Chariots of Fire | Master of Trinity (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1981 | Seven Dials Mystery (TV Movie) | Marquis of Caterhan |
| 1981 | Sphinx | Abdu-Hamdi (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1980 | The Lion of the Desert | Sharif El Gariani |
| 1980 | The Formula | Dr. Esau |
| 1979–1980 | Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) | Cyril Boggis | Jelks |
| 1980 | The Elephant Man | Carr Gomm |
| 1980 | Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (TV Movie) | Reverend Jones |
| 1980 | The Conductor | John Lasocki |
| 1979 | The Human Factor | Brigadier Tomlinson |
| 1979 | Caligula | Nerva |
| 1979 | Murder by Decree | Prime Minister Lord Salisbury |
| 1978 | Les Miserables (TV Movie) | Gillenormand |
| 1978 | The BBC Television Shakespeare (TV Series) | John of Gaunt | Chorus |
| 1978 | No Man's Land (TV Movie) | Spooner |
| 1977 | A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | The Preacher |
| 1977 | The Grand Inquisitor (TV Movie) | The Grand Inquisitor |
| 1977 | Joseph Andrews | The Doctor |
| 1977 | Providence | Clive Langham |
| 1976 | Aces High | Headmaster |
| 1976 | Peter Pan (TV Movie) | Narrator |
| 1975 | Shades of Greene (TV Series) | Mr. Ferraro |
| 1975 | Edward the King (TV Mini Series) | Benjamin Disraeli |
| 1975 | Galileo | The Old Cardinal |
| 1974 | Murder on the Orient Express | Beddoes |
| 1974 | Gold | Farrell |
| 1974 | 11 Harrowhouse | Meecham |
| 1974 | QB VII (TV Mini Series) | Clinton-Meek |
| 1973 | Frankenstein: The True Story (TV Movie) | Chief Constable |
| 1973 | Menace (TV Series) | Frederick William Densham |
| 1973 | Lost Horizon | Chang |
| 1973 | ABC Afterschool Specials (TV Series) | Various |
| 1972 | Probe (TV Movie) | Harold L. Streeter (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1972 | Eagle in a Cage | Lord Sissal |
| 1972 | Play for Today (TV Series) | Harry (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1970 | ITV Saturday Night Theatre (TV Series) | The Ghost |
| 1970 | Julius Caesar | Julius Caesar (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1970 | Hassan (TV Movie) | Caliph Haroun al Raschid |
| 1969 | Thirty-Minute Theatre (TV Series) | The Writer |
| 1969 | Oh! What a Lovely War | Count Leopold von Berchtold |
| 1968 | The Shoes of the Fisherman | The Elder Pope (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1968 | Assignment to Kill | Curt Valayan |
| 1968 | The Charge of the Light Brigade | Lord Raglan |
| 1968 | NET Playhouse (TV Series) | Harry |
| 1968 | From Chekhov with Love (TV Movie) | Anton Chekhov |
| 1968 | Sebastian | Head of Intelligence |
| 1966 | Alice in Wonderland (TV Movie) | Mock Turtle (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1966 | The Wednesday Play (TV Series) | Gabriel Quantara |
| 1966 | ABC Stage 67 (TV Series) | Rich Man |
| 1965 | Treasure Island (Short) | Squire Trelawney |
| 1965 | Chimes at Midnight | Henry IV |
| 1965 | The Loved One | Sir Francis Hinsley |
| 1964 | Hamlet | Ghost (voice) |
| 1964 | Becket | King Louis of France | King Louis VII of France |
| 1959–1963 | ITV Play of the Week (TV Series) | The Count | Julian Anson |
| 1962 | The Cherry Orchard (TV Movie) | Leonid Andreyevich Gaev, Lyubov's brother |
| 1959 | The Ed Sullivan Show (TV Series) | Shakespearean Reader (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1959 | The DuPont Show of the Month (TV Series) | Andrew Crocker-Harris |
| 1957 | Saint Joan | Earl of Warwick |
| 1957 | The Barretts of Wimpole Street | Edward Moulton-Barrett |
| 1956 | Nude with Violin (TV Movie) | Sebastien |
| 1956 | Around the World in 80 Days | Foster - Fogg's Ex-Valet (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1955 | Richard III (TV Short) | George, Duke of Clarence (as Sir John Gielgud) |
| 1955 | Richard III | George, Duke of Clarence |
| 1955 | ITV Opening Night at the Guildhall (TV Movie) | John Worthing, JP |
| 1954 | Romeo and Juliet | Chorus |
| 1953 | Julius Caesar | Cassius |
| 1948 | Hamlet | King Hamlet's Ghost (uncredited) |
| 1941 | An Airman's Letter to His Mother (Short) | Narrator |
| 1941 | The Prime Minister | Benjamin Disraeli |
| 1937 | Full Fathom Five (Short) | (voice) |
| 1936 | Secret Agent | Richard Ashenden | Edgar Brodie |
| 1933 | The Good Companions | Inigo Jollifant |
| 1932 | Insult | Henri Dubois |
| 1929 | The Clue of the New Pin | Rex Trasmere |
| 1924 | Who Is the Man? | Daniel |
General:
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