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Peter Seamus O'Toole (County Galway (Ireland), 2 August 1932) is an Irish actor. Born in Ireland, he grew up in Leeds, England. He left school at a young age and worked for the Yorkshire Evening News as a journalist. After military service he was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he studied with Albert Finney and Richard Harris. He made a name for himself as an actor in several Shakespearean plays at the Bristol Old Vic. His television debut was in 1954, but he really became known for his role as Lawrence in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia in 1962. He built on the success of this film, receiving seven other Oscar nominations. He also appeared in many unsuccessful films, and his drinking almost took his life in the late 1970s. In 2003, he received an honorary Oscar, which he initially declined - he wrote to the Academy a letter explaining that he was not finished yet and that he needed more time to actually win one.
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