View source for Alec Guinness

{{Short description|English actor (1914–2000)}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = [[Sir]]
| name               = Alec Guinness
| honorific_suffix   = {{postnom|country=GBR|size=100|CH|CBE}}
| image              = Sir Alec Guinness Allan Warren.jpg
| caption            = Portrait by [[Allan Warren]], 1973
| birth_name         = Alec Guinness de Cuffe
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1914|04|02|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Maida Vale]], London, England
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2000|08|05|1914|04|02|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Midhurst]], [[West Sussex]], England
| occupation         = Actor
| years_active       = 1934–1996
| works              = [[Alec Guinness on stage and screen|Full list]]
| spouse             = {{marriage|Merula Salaman|1938}}
| children           = [[Matthew Guinness]]
| relatives          = [[Nesta Guinness-Walker]] (great-grandson)
}}

'''Sir Alec Guinness''' (born '''Alec Guinness de Cuffe'''; 2 April 1914&nbsp;– 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the [[BFI|British Film Institute]] listing of 1999 of [[BFI Top 100 British films|the 100 most important British films]] of the 20th century, he was the single most noted actor, represented across nine films — six in starring roles and three in supporting roles — including five directed by [[David Lean]] and four from [[Ealing Studios]]. He won an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]], a [[BAFTA Award|BAFTA]], a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Golden Globe]] and a [[Tony Award]]. In 1959, he was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] by [[Queen Elizabeth II]] for services to the arts. He received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in 1960, the [[Academy Honorary Award]] for lifetime achievement in 1980 and the [[BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award]] in 1989.

Guinness began his stage career in 1934. Two years later, at the age of 22, he played the role of [[Characters in Hamlet#Osric|Osric]] in ''[[Hamlet]]'' in the [[West End theatre|West End]] and joined the [[Old Vic]]. He continued to play [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] roles throughout his career. He served in the [[Royal Naval Reserve]] during the [[Second World War]] and commanded a landing craft during the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invasion of Sicily]] and [[Invasion of Elba|Elba]]. Along with [[Laurence Olivier]], [[John Gielgud]] and [[Ralph Richardson]], he was one of the great British theatre actors who made the transition to films after the war, making his name in six [[Ealing comedies]], starting in 1949 with both ''[[A Run for Your Money]]'' and ''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]'' (in which he played eight different characters). He went on to lead roles in 1951 with ''[[The Man in the White Suit]]'' and ''[[The Lavender Hill Mob]]'' (for which he received his first Academy Award nomination), then in 1955 with [[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|''The Ladykillers'']], and culminating in 1957 with [[Barnacle Bill (1957 film)|''Barnacle Bill'']]. 

Guinness collaborated six times with director David Lean: as [[Herbert Pocket]] in ''[[Great Expectations (1946 film)|Great Expectations]]'' (1946); [[Fagin]] in ''[[Oliver Twist (1948 film)|Oliver Twist]]'' (1948); Col. Nicholson in ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'' (1957), for which he won both the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] and the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor]]; [[Faisal I of Iraq|Prince Faisal]] in ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (1962); General Yevgraf Zhivago in ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]'' (1965); and Professor Godbole in ''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]'' (1984). In 1970, Guinness played [[Jacob Marley]]'s ghost in [[Ronald Neame]]'s ''[[Scrooge (1970 film)|Scrooge]]''. He also portrayed [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]] in [[George Lucas]]'s original [[Star Wars original trilogy|''Star Wars'' trilogy]], which brought him further recognition; for his performance in [[Star Wars (film)|the original 1977 film]], he was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] at the [[50th Academy Awards]]. Guinness's later life was closely associated with his definitive depiction of the leading role of [[George Smiley]] in the [[BBC television]] series [[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TV series)|''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'']] and [[Smiley's People (TV series)|''Smiley's People'']] by [[John le Carré]].
{{TOC limit|3}}

==Early life==
[[File:Sir Alec Guinness house.jpg|thumb|155 [[Lauderdale Mansions South]] in [[Maida Vale]], west London where Guinness was born]]
Guinness was born Alec Guinness de Cuffe at 155 [[Lauderdale Mansions South]],<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|id=74513|title=Guinness, Sir Alec (1914–2000)}}</ref> [[Lauderdale Road]], in [[Maida Vale]], London.<ref>GRO Register of Births: June 1914 1a 39 Paddington – Alec Guinness De Cuffe, mmn = De Cuffe.</ref> His mother's maiden name was Agnes Cuff, born on 8 December 1890 to Edward Charles Cuff, a sometime lifeguard at Bournemouth who had served in the Royal Navy,<ref>{{Cite ODNB|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-74513|title=Guinness, Sir Alec (1914–2000), actor|date=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/74513 }}</ref> and Mary Ann, née Benfield, of a family of stonemasons and publicans. On Guinness's birth certificate, his mother's name is given as Agnes de Cuffe; the infant's name (where first names only are placed) is given as Alec Guinness, and there are no details for the father.<ref name="Hollywood Walk of Fame">[http://www.walkoffame.com/alec-guinness "Alec Guinness."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106230155/http://www.walkoffame.com/alec-guinness |date=6 November 2018 }} ''Hollywood Walk of Fame'' (Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Hollywood, California), 2011. Retrieved: 22 June 2011.</ref>

The identity of Guinness's father has never been officially confirmed.<ref>[http://movies.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=134772&mp=b "Alec Guinness biography."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026083915/http://movies.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=134772&mp=b |date=26 October 2007}} ''MSN Movies.'' Retrieved: 29 July 2007.</ref> Agnes Cuff had worked at Cowes on the Isle of Wight as a barmaid at the [[Royal Yacht Squadron]] clubhouse at the time of the [[Cowes Regatta]] in 1913, which was attended by several members of the [[Guinness family]] including [[Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh]], and his sons [[Ernest Guinness|Ernest]] and [[Walter Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne|Walter]]. Members of the Guinness family claimed a "distinct resemblance" between Alec and one or other of the Guinnesses at Cowes that year; [[Henry Channon#Relationships|Honor Guinness]], who made Alec's acquaintance in 1950 and invited him to tea with "his cousin", later visiting Alec's family with photo albums and diaries to point out the similarities she perceived, believed either her uncle Ernest or his brother Walter ("a celebrated seducer") was Alec's father, while her cousin [[Lindy Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava|Lindy]] considered Alec to closely resemble her father, [[Thomas Loel Guinness|Loel]].<ref>Alec Guinness- The Authorised Biography, Piers Paul Reid, Simon & Schuster, 2005, pp. 13-14</ref>

From 1875, under [[English law]], when the birth of an illegitimate child was registered, the father's name could be entered on the certificate only if he were present and gave his consent. Guinness himself believed that his father was a Scottish banker, Andrew Geddes (1861–1928), who paid for Guinness's boarding-school education at Pembroke Lodge, in Southbourne, and Roborough, in [[Eastbourne]]. Geddes—who with a "round face and sticking-out ears" bore a resemblance to Guinness and believed himself to be his father—<ref>Alec Guinness- The Authorised Biography, Piers Paul Reid, Simon & Schuster, 2005, p. 14</ref> occasionally visited Guinness and his mother, posing as an uncle.{{sfn|Read|2005}} Guinness's mother later had a three-year marriage to a Scottish army captain named Stiven, whose behaviour was often erratic or even violent.<ref name="telegraphobit">{{cite web|title=Sir Alec Guinness |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/theatre-obituaries/5796800/Sir-Alec-Guinness.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=8 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811051431/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/theatre-obituaries/5796800/Sir-Alec-Guinness.html |archive-date= 11 August 2013 |location=UK |date=8 August 2000 |url-status=live |df=dmy }}</ref><ref name="Theblackstuff">[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/oct/19/biography.features1 "Guinness: The black stuff"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915104906/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/oct/19/biography.features1 |date=15 September 2018 }}, guardian.co; retrieved 8 April 2012.</ref>

==Early career==
[[File:Sir Alec Guinness - 1938 (1).tif|thumb|Guinness at the [[Old Vic]] theatre, London in 1938. Joining the company in 1936, early roles include Boyet in ''[[Love's Labour's Lost]]'', Le Beau in ''[[As You Like It]]'', and Osric in ''[[Hamlet]]''.{{sfn|Read|2005|p=61}} ]]

Guinness first worked writing advertising copy. His first job in the theatre was on his 20th birthday (2 April 1934), while he was a student at the [[Fay Compton|Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art]], in the play ''Libel'', which opened at the old King's Theatre, Hammersmith, and then transferred to the [[West End theatre|West End]]'s [[Playhouse Theatre|Playhouse]], where his status was raised from a walk-on to understudying two lines, and his salary increased to £1 a week.<ref>Extracts from Guinness's Journals, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 20 March 1999.</ref>{{sfn|Chambers|2002|page=334}} He appeared at the [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]] in 1936 at the age of 22, playing the role of [[Characters in Hamlet#Osric|Osric]] in [[John Gielgud]]'s successful production of ''[[Hamlet]]''. Also in 1936, Guinness signed on with the [[Old Vic]], where he was cast in a series of classic roles.<ref name="cambridge2000">'Guinness, Alec (1914–2000)', ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK; viewed 22 June 2011, from [http://www.credoreference.com/entry/cupthea/guinness_alec_1914 Credo reference]{{subscription required}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430104113/https://iden5.infobase.com/account/login?returnUrl=%2Fconnect%2Fauthorize%2Fcallback%3Fclient_id%3Dinfobase_auth%26scope%3DcustomAPI.read%2520openid%2520profile%26response_type%3Dcode%26redirect_uri%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fsearch.credoreference.com%252Fapi%252Fauth%252Fcallback%252Finfobase-identity-server%26app%3DCredo076%26base64ReturnUrl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly9zZWFyY2guY3JlZG9yZWZlcmVuY2UuY29tL2FwaS9hdXRoL2NhbGxiYWNrL2luZm9iYXNlLWlkZW50aXR5LXNlcnZlcg%253D%253D%26base64OriginUrl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly9zZWFyY2guY3JlZG9yZWZlcmVuY2UuY29tL3JlZGlyZWN0P3BhdGg9ZW50cnkmYm9va19hYmJyPWN1cHRoZWEmZW50cnlfaGVhZGluZz1ndWlubmVzc19hbGVjXzE5MTQmc2VxPTA%253D%26path%3Dentry%26book_abbr%3Dcupthea%26entry_heading%3Dguinness_alec_1914%26seq%3D0%26proxied%3Dfalse%26ip%3D207.241.225.159 |date=30 April 2024 }} </ref> In the later 1930s, he took classes at the [[London Theatre Studio]].<ref>[http://michelsaintdenis.net/the-london-theatre-studio-by-sophie-jump/ "The London Theatre Studio, by Sophie Jump"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514072726/http://michelsaintdenis.net/the-london-theatre-studio-by-sophie-jump/ |date=14 May 2021 }}, michelsaintdenis.net, accessed 14 December 2020</ref> In 1939, he took over for [[Michael Redgrave]] as Charleston in a road-show production of [[Robert Ardrey]]'s ''[[Thunder Rock (play)|Thunder Rock]]''.<ref name="Obit">Marshall, Herbert. "Obituary: Robert Ardrey (1907–1980)." ''Bulletin of the Center for Soviet & East European Studies'' Spring 1980. pp. 4–6. Print</ref> At the Old Vic, Guinness worked with many actors and actresses who became his friends and frequent co-stars in the future, including Gielgud, [[Ralph Richardson]], [[Peggy Ashcroft]], [[Anthony Quayle]], and [[Jack Hawkins]]. An early influence was film star [[Stan Laurel]], whom Guinness admired.<ref>On 3 June 1961, Guinness sent a [http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/html/news/hn24.html letter to Stan Laurel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211032902/http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/html/news/hn24.html |date=11 December 2006 }}, acknowledging that he must have unconsciously modeled his portrayal of Sir Andrew Aguecheek as he imagined Laurel might have done. Guinness was 23 at the time he was performing in ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', around 1937, by which time Laurel had become an international movie star.</ref>

Guinness continued playing [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] roles throughout his career. In 1937, he played Aumerle in ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]'' and Lorenzo in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' under the direction of John Gielgud. He starred in a 1938 production of ''Hamlet'' which won him acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic.<ref name="cambridge2000"/> He also appeared as [[Romeo Montague|Romeo]] in a production of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1939), [[Malvolio]] in ''Twelfth Night'', and as Exeter in ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'' in 1937, both opposite Laurence Olivier, and Ferdinand in ''[[The Tempest]]'', opposite Gielgud as [[Prospero]]. In 1939, he adapted [[Charles Dickens]]'s novel ''[[Great Expectations]]'' for the stage, playing Herbert Pocket. The play was a success. One of its viewers was a young British film editor, [[David Lean]], who later had Guinness reprise his role in Lean's [[Great Expectations (1946 film)|1946 film adaptation]] of the novel.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/20656/Great-Expectations/details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221041810/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/20656/Great-Expectations/details |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 February 2009 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2009 |title=NY Times: Great Expectations |access-date=26 October 2017 }}</ref>

==Second World War==
Guinness served in the [[Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve]] in the Second World War, initially as a seaman in 1941, before receiving a commission as a temporary [[Sub-lieutenant]] on 30 April 1942 and a promotion to Temporary [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]] the following year.<ref>Houterman, J.N. [http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RNVR_officersC.html "Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) Officers 1939–1945"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226213626/http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RNVR_officersC.html |date=26 December 2017 }}, Unithistories.com; retrieved 7 March 2010.</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35561 |date=15 May 1942 |page=2127}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=36096 |date=16 July 1943 |page=3235}}</ref> Guinness then commanded a [[Landing Craft Infantry]] at the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]], and later ferried supplies and agents to the [[Yugoslav Partisans|Yugoslav partisans]] in the eastern Mediterranean theatre.<ref>{{cite news|title='Fleming': 10 Famous Brits Who Were Heroes In World War II|url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/01/10-famous-brits-heroes-world-war-ii|publisher=BBC America|date=25 October 2017|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-date=1 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101023749/http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/01/10-famous-brits-heroes-world-war-ii|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the war, Guinness was granted leave to appear in the Broadway production of [[Terence Rattigan]]'s stage play ''[[Flare Path]]'', about [[RAF Bomber Command]], with Guinness playing the role of Flight Lieutenant Teddy Graham.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/theatre-obituaries/5796800/Sir-Alec-Guinness.html "Theatre Obituaries: Sir Alec Guinness"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811051431/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/theatre-obituaries/5796800/Sir-Alec-Guinness.html |date=11 August 2013 }}, Telegraph.co.uk, 8 August 2000; retrieved 22 February 2011.</ref>

==Postwar stage career==
Guinness returned to [[the Old Vic]] in 1946 and stayed until 1948, playing Abel Drugger in [[Ben Jonson]]'s ''[[The Alchemist (play)|The Alchemist]]'', the Fool in ''[[King Lear]]'' opposite [[Laurence Olivier]] in the title role, DeGuiche in ''[[Cyrano de Bergerac (play)|Cyrano de Bergerac]]'' opposite [[Ralph Richardson]] in the title role, and finally starring in an Old Vic production as Shakespeare's [[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]. After leaving the Old Vic, he played Eric Birling in [[J. B. Priestley]]'s ''[[An Inspector Calls]]'' at the New Theatre in October 1946. He played the Uninvited Guest in the Broadway production of [[T. S. Eliot]]'s ''[[The Cocktail Party]]'' (1950, revived at the [[Edinburgh International Festival|Edinburgh Festival]] in 1968). He played ''Hamlet'' under his own direction at the [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]] in the [[West End theatre|West End]] in 1951.<ref>{{cite journal<!--citation bot bypass--> |author=McCarten, John |author-link=John McCarten |date=February 4, 1950 |title=Eliot and Guinness |journal=The New Yorker |volume=25 |issue=50 |pages=25–26}}</ref>

Invited by his friend [[Tyrone Guthrie]] to join the premiere season of the [[Stratford Shakespeare Festival|Stratford Festival of Canada]], Guinness lived for a brief time in [[Stratford, Ontario]]. On 13 July 1953, Guinness spoke the first lines of the first play produced by the festival, Shakespeare's ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'': "Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this sun<!-- Please do not change this to son. Shakespeare wrote it as sun. See the talk page for further explanation --> of York."<ref>J. Alan B. Somerset. 1991. ''The Stratford Festival Story'', 1st edition. Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|978-0-313-27804-4}}</ref><ref>[[Tom Patterson (theatre producer)|Tom Patterson]]. 1987. ''First Stage''. McClelland and Stewart. {{ISBN|978-0-7710-6949-9}}</ref>

Guinness won a [[Tony Award]] for his [[Broadway theatres|Broadway]] performance as Welsh poet [[Dylan Thomas]] in ''[[Dylan (1964 play)|Dylan]]''. He next played the title role in ''[[Macbeth]]'' opposite [[Simone Signoret]] at the [[Royal Court Theatre]] in 1966.{{sfn|Taylor|2000|pp=133–134}} Guinness made his final stage performance at the [[Comedy Theatre]] in the West End on 30 May 1989, in the play ''[[A Walk in the Woods (play)|A Walk in the Woods]]''. In all, between 2 April 1934 and 30 May 1989, he played 77 parts in the theatre.<ref>Alec Guinness, Journals, November 1998.</ref>

==Film career==
{{main|Alec Guinness on stage and screen}}
[[File:Alec Guinnes 1957.jpg|thumb|upright|Drawing by [[Nicholas Volpe]] after Guinness won an Oscar in 1957 for his role in ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'']]
Guinness made his speaking debut in film in the drama [[Great Expectations (1946 film)|''Great Expectations'']] (1946). He was initially mainly associated with the [[Ealing comedies]], and particularly for playing eight characters in ''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]'' (1949).<ref>{{cite web |last=Fahy |first=Patrick |title=Alec Guinness: 10 essential performances |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-best-alec-guinness-performances |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |date=21 August 2015 |access-date=13 February 2017 |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812095049/https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-best-alec-guinness-performances |url-status=live }}</ref> His other films from this period included ''[[Oliver Twist (1948 film)|Oliver Twist]]'' (1948), ''[[The Lavender Hill Mob]]'', ''[[The Man in the White Suit]]'' (both 1951) and ''[[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|The Ladykillers]]'' (1955), with all four ranked among the Best British films.<ref>[https://www.timeout.com/london/film/100-best-british-films#tab_panel_4 "The 100 best British films"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20190403073405/https://www.timeout.com/london/film/100-best-british-films%23tab_panel_4 |date=3 April 2019 }}. ''Time Out''. Retrieved 24 October 2017</ref> In 1950, he portrayed 19th-century British prime minister [[Benjamin Disraeli]] in ''[[The Mudlark]]'', which included delivering an uninterrupted seven-minute speech in Parliament.<ref>{{cite book |last=Capua |first=Michelangelo |title=Jean Negulesco: The Life and Films |publisher=McFarland |date=2017 |page=65}}</ref> In 1952, director [[Ronald Neame]] cast Guinness in his first romantic lead role, opposite [[Petula Clark]] in ''[[The Card (1952 film)|The Card]]''. In 1951, a poll of British exhibitors identified Guinness as the top box office attraction in British films and fifth in international films, based on box office returns.<ref name="Leigh">[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63397098 "Vivien Leigh Actress of the Year."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212201125/http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63397098 |date=12 December 2019 }} ''[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]]'', via National Library of Australia, 29 December 1951, p. 1. Retrieved: 24 April 2012.</ref> Guinness was idolised by [[Peter Sellers]]—who himself became famous for inhabiting a variety of characters in a film—with Sellers's first major film role starring alongside his idol in ''The Ladykillers''.<ref>Derek Malcolm, Ian Nathan, Wendy Mitchell, Neil Norman. (2017) "Discovering Peter Sellers". [[Sky Arts]]. Retrieved 27 April 2020</ref>

Guinness's other notable film roles of this period included ''[[The Swan (1956 film)|The Swan]]'' (1956) with [[Grace Kelly]], in her penultimate film role, and''[[The Horse's Mouth (film)|The Horse's Mouth]]'' (1958), in which Guinness played the part of drunken painter Gulley Jimson, and for which he also wrote the screenplay, which was nominated for an [[Academy Award]]. Guiness' desire to make ''The Horse's Mouth'' led to a break with the Rank Organisation who refused to fund it, with the actor claiming John Davis, head of Rank, “told me that I was a funny man and if I ever made a serious film it would finish me off.”<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Evening Standard|date=15 February 1958|page=5|title=I do what I want says Mr Guinness|first=Thomas|last=Wiseman}}</ref>

He played  the lead in [[Carol Reed]]'s ''[[Our Man in Havana (film)|Our Man in Havana]]'' (1959); [[Marcus Aurelius]] in ''[[The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)|The Fall of the Roman Empire]]'' (1964);	Lieutenant General Yevgraf Andreyevich Zhivago in ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]'' (1965),''[[The Quiller Memorandum]]'' (1966); Marley's Ghost in ''[[Scrooge (1970 film)|Scrooge]]'' (1970); [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] in ''[[Cromwell (film)|Cromwell]]'' (1970); [[Pope Innocent III]] in [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s ''[[Brother Sun, Sister Moon]]'' (1972); and the title role in ''[[Hitler: The Last Ten Days]]'' (1973), which he considered his best film performance, though critics disagreed.<ref>Canby, Vincent. [https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B01E4DE1330E63ABC4852DFB3668388669EDE "Screen: 'Last Ten Days': Guinness Plays Hitler in Bunker Episode, The Cast."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013024352/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B01E4DE1330E63ABC4852DFB3668388669EDE |date=13 October 2012 }} ''The New York Times'', 10 May 1973.</ref> Another role that is sometimes referred to as one he considered his best, and is also considered so by many critics, is that of Major Jock Sinclair in ''[[Tunes of Glory]]'' (1960). Guinness also played the role of Jamessir Bensonmum, the blind butler, in the 1976 [[Neil Simon]] film ''[[Murder by Death]]''.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Murder By Death (1976) Simon's Breezy 'Murder by Death'|author=Canby, Vincent|author-link=Vincent Canby|date=June 24, 1976|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9501E5DE1E38E53BBC4C51DFB066838D669EDE|access-date=24 June 2022|archive-date=12 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212032012/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9501E5DE1E38E53BBC4C51DFB066838D669EDE|url-status=live}}</ref>

===David Lean===
[[File:Trailer-Doctor Zhivago-Yevgraf and Tonya Komarovskaya.jpg|thumb|left|Guinness with [[Rita Tushingham]] in ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]'' (1965)]]
Guinness won particular praise for his collaborations with director [[David Lean]], which today represent his most critically acclaimed work. After appearing in Lean's ''[[Great Expectations (1946 film)|Great Expectations]]'' and ''[[Oliver Twist (1948 film)|Oliver Twist]]'', he was given a starring role opposite [[William Holden]] in ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]''. For his performance as Colonel Nicholson, the unyielding British [[POW]] commanding officer, Guinness won both the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] and [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|BAFTA Award for Best Actor]]. 
[[File:Lawrence-of-Arabia-2.png|thumb|Guinness (foreground, third from right) with [[Peter O'Toole]] (left) and [[Omar Sharif]] in ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'']]
Despite a difficult and often hostile relationship, Lean, referring to Guinness as "my good luck charm", continued to cast Guinness in character roles in his later films: [[Arab]] leader [[Faisal I of Iraq|Prince Faisal]] in ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (1962); the title character's half-brother, Bolshevik leader Yevgraf, in ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]'' and Indian mystic Professor Godbole in ''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]''. He was also offered a role in Lean's ''[[Ryan's Daughter]]'' (1970) but declined. At that time, Guinness "mistrusted" Lean and considered the formerly close relationship to be strained—although he recalled, at Lean's funeral, that the famed director had been "charming and affable".{{sfn|Guinness|1998|pages=90–91}} Guinness appeared in five Lean films that were ranked in the [[British Film Institute]]'s [[BFI Top 100 British films|50 greatest British films of the 20th century]]: 3rd (''Lawrence of Arabia''), 5th (''Great Expectations''), 11th (''The Bridge on the River Kwai''), 27th (''Doctor Zhivago'') and 46th (''Oliver Twist'').<ref>[http://www.cinemarealm.com/best-of-cinema/top-100-british-films/ ''British Film Institute – Top 100 British Films''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112022753/http://www.cinemarealm.com/best-of-cinema/top-100-british-films/ |date=12 January 2018 }} (1999). Retrieved 27 August 2016</ref>

===''Star Wars''===

Guinness's role as [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]] in the original ''[[Star Wars]]'' trilogy, beginning in 1977 with ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'', brought him worldwide recognition to a new generation, as well as Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. In letters to his friends, Guinness described the film as "fairy-tale rubbish" but the film's sense of moral good – and the studio's doubling of his initial salary offer – appealed to him and he agreed to take the part of Kenobi on the condition that he would not have to do any publicity to promote the film.<ref>Selim, Jocelyn. [http://www.cancertodaymag.org/Spring2012/Pages/alec-guinness-liver-cancer.aspx "Alec Guinness: Reluctant Intergalactic Icon."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509092802/http://www.cancertodaymag.org/Spring2012/Pages/alec-guinness-liver-cancer.aspx |date=9 May 2012 }} ''Cancer Today magazine'', Spring 2012.</ref>

He initially negotiated a deal for 2% of the film's royalties paid to the director, [[George Lucas]], who, upon the warm reception of the film with the press and film critics, and as a gesture of good-will for the positive amendments and suggestions Guinness proposed to the screenplay for the film, offered Guinness an additional 0.5%, bringing his share to 2.5%. When Guinness enquired about the share with the film's producer [[Gary Kurtz]], and asked for a written agreement so as to codify his earnings, Kurtz revised Lucas's offering down by 0.25%, bringing Guinness's final, agreed-upon share of royalties paid to the director to 2.25% (Lucas received one-fifth of the overall box office takings, which would take Guinness's share of the overall box office to 1.80%).<ref>{{cite web |title=How Star Wars Producers Screwed Alec Guinness Out Of Millions |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/How-Star-Wars-Producers-Screwed-Alec-Guinness-Out-Millions-67483.html |website=CINEMABLEND |date=1 October 2014 |access-date=17 December 2020 |archive-date=18 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018130343/https://www.cinemablend.com/new/How-Star-Wars-Producers-Screwed-Alec-Guinness-Out-Millions-67483.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Alec Guinness on Star Wars in 1977, interviewed by Michael Parkinson – YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qxcEBI1iKI |website=www.youtube.com | date=13 April 2017 |access-date=17 December 2020 |archive-date=22 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222144752/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qxcEBI1iKI&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

Upon his first viewing of the film, Guinness wrote in his diary, "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."{{sfn|Read|2005|p=507}}

Guinness soon became unhappy with being identified with the part and expressed dismay at the fan following that the ''Star Wars'' trilogy attracted. In the DVD commentary of the original ''Star Wars'', Lucas says that Guinness was not happy with the script rewrite in which Obi-Wan is killed. Guinness said in a 1999 interview that it was actually his idea to kill off Obi-Wan, persuading Lucas that it would make him a stronger character and that Lucas agreed to the idea. Guinness stated in the interview, "What I didn't tell Lucas was that I just couldn't go on speaking those bloody awful, banal lines. I'd had enough of the mumbo jumbo." He went on to say that he "shrivelled up" every time ''Star Wars'' was mentioned to him.<ref>[https://archive.today/20000817083824/http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/guinness.html "Alec Guinness Blasts Jedi 'Mumbo Jumbo'"], 8 September 1999.</ref>

Although Guinness disliked the fame that followed and he did not hold the work in high esteem,{{sfn|Read|2005|p=507}} Lucas and fellow cast members [[Mark Hamill]], [[Harrison Ford]], [[Carrie Fisher]], [[Kenny Baker (English actor)|Kenny Baker]], and [[Anthony Daniels]] have spoken highly of his courtesy and professionalism, on and off the set. Lucas credited him with inspiring the cast and crew to work harder, saying that Guinness contributed significantly to achieving completion of the filming. Guinness was quoted as saying that the royalties he obtained from working on the films gave him "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." In his autobiography, ''Blessings in Disguise'', Guinness tells an imaginary interviewer "Blessed be ''Star Wars''", regarding the income it provided.{{sfn|Guinness|1986|pages=214}} Guinness appeared in the film's sequels ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' (1980) and ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' (1983), as a [[Force Ghost|force ghost]] apparition to the trilogy's main character [[Luke Skywalker]].

In 2003, Obi-Wan Kenobi as portrayed by Guinness was selected as the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains|37th-greatest hero in cinema history]] by the [[American Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Good and Evil Rival for Top Spots in AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains |url=http://www.afi.com/100Years/handv.aspx |url-status=dead |publisher=American Film Institute |date=4 June 2003 |access-date=20 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082823/http://afi.com/100years/handv.aspx |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Digitally altered archival audio of Guinness's voice was used in the films ''[[Star Wars: The Force Awakens]]'' (2015) and ''[[Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker]]'' (2019).<ref>{{cite web |last=Frank |first=Allegra |title=You might have missed these classic characters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens |url=https://www.polygon.com/2015/12/21/10636442/star-wars-the-force-awakens-cameos-voice |website=Polygon |date=21 December 2015 |access-date=22 March 2022 |archive-date=6 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206110446/https://www.polygon.com/2015/12/21/10636442/star-wars-the-force-awakens-cameos-voice |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Fullerton |first=Huw |title=Who were the Jedi voices in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/film/2019-12-20/rise-of-skywalker-jedi-voices/ |magazine=[[Radio Times]] |date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725020427/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/film/2019-12-20/rise-of-skywalker-jedi-voices/ |archive-date=25 July 2020}}</ref>

==Television appearances==
Guinness was reluctant to appear on television, but accepted the part of [[George Smiley]] in the [[BBC Television]] serialisation of [[John le Carré]]'s ''[[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TV series)|Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy]]'' (1979) after meeting the author.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=le Carré, John |title=Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: A Conversation with John le Carré |date=8 March 2002 |location=Disc 1 |medium=DVD}}</ref> Guinness reprised the role in ''[[Smiley's People (TV series)|Smiley's People]]'' (1982), and twice won the [[British Academy Television Award for Best Actor]] for his portrayal of the character.<ref>{{cite news |title=Le Carré adaptations: six of the best |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/11078039/Le-Carre-adaptations-six-of-the-best.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/11078039/Le-Carre-adaptations-six-of-the-best.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=30 March 2020 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He received another nomination for best actor for his role in ''[[Monsignor Quixote (1985 TV film)|Monsignor Quixote]]'' in 1987.<ref>{{cite news |title=BAFTA Awards Search. Alec Guinness |url=http://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=alec%20guinness |access-date=16 July 2021 |agency=BAFTA |archive-date=16 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716120739/http://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=alec%20guinness |url-status=live }}</ref> One of Guinness's last appearances was in the BBC drama ''[[Eskimo Day]]'' (1996).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1361887/ |title=BFI Screenonline: Eskimo Day (1996) |publisher=Screenonline.org.uk |access-date=13 May 2014 |archive-date=13 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413131925/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1361887/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gq60w |title=BBC Four – Eskimo Day |publisher=BBC |date=11 January 2009 |access-date=13 May 2014 |archive-date=10 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410171325/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gq60w |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Awards, nominations and honours==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| header =
| width = 210
| image1 = Sir Alec Guinness (3984601277).jpg
| width1 =
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = Plaque installed by the [[British Film Institute]] in the City of Westminster, London in recognition of Guinness's contribution to British cinema
| image2 = Sir Alec Guinness plaque.jpg
| width2 =
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = A [[blue plaque]] commemorates his birthplace in [[Maida Vale]], London
}}
Guinness received an [[Academy Honorary Award]] for lifetime achievement in 1980. In 1985 the [[Hamburg]]-based [[Alfred Toepfer Foundation]] awarded Guinness its annual [[Shakespeare Prize]] in recognition of his life's work. He received the [[BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award]] for lifetime achievement in 1989.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120306070913/http://www.bafta.org/awards/academy-fellows%2C125%2CBA.htm "Fellowship"], British Academy of Film and Television Arts</ref>

For his theatre work, Guinness received an [[Evening Standard Award]] for his performance as [[T. E. Lawrence]] in ''Ross'' and a [[Tony Award]] for his Broadway turn as Dylan Thomas in ''Dylan''.{{sfn|Taylor|2000|p=131}} He received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 1559 Vine Street on 8 February 1960.<ref name="Hollywood Walk of Fame"/>

Guinness was appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[1955 Birthday Honours]],<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=40497 |date=3 June 1955 |pages=3268 |supp=y}}</ref> was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] by [[Elizabeth II]] in the [[1959 New Year Honours]],<ref>United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |issue=41589 |date=30 December 1958 |pages=1   |supp=y}}</ref> and was made a [[Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour]] in the [[1994 Birthday Honours]] for services to drama.{{sfn|Chambers|2002|page=334}}<ref name="cambridge2000"/><ref>United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |date=10 June 1994 |supp=y |issue=53696 |pages=5 }}</ref> In 1991, he received an [[honorary doctorate]] from [[Cambridge University]].<ref>[http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/degrees/honorary/list.xls "Honorary Degrees conferred from 1977 till present."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091128043311/http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/degrees/honorary/list.xls |date=28 November 2009 }} ''Cambridge University'', 18 December 2008.</ref> In 2014, Guinness was among the ten people [[Great Britain commemorative stamps 2010–2019#2014|commemorated on a UK postage stamp]] issued by the [[Royal Mail]] in their "Remarkable Lives" issue.<ref>{{cite news |title=Royal Mail's 'remarkable lives' stamp series – in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/mar/24/royal-mail-remarkable-lives-stamps-in-pictures |access-date=29 September 2022 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=29 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929141740/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/mar/24/royal-mail-remarkable-lives-stamps-in-pictures |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Academy Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
!Ref.
|-
! colspan="5" |[[Academy Awards]]
|-
|[[25th Academy Awards|1953]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
|[[The Lavender Hill Mob|''The Lavender Hill Mob'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-04 |title=The 25th Academy Awards {{!}} 1953 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1953 |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[30th Academy Awards|1958]]
|[[The Bridge on the River Kwai|''The Bridge on the River Kwai'']]
|{{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-04 |title=The 30th Academy Awards {{!}} 1958 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1958 |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[31st Academy Awards|1959]]
|[[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
|[[The Horse's Mouth (film)|''The Horse's Mouth'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-19 |title=The 31st Academy Awards {{!}} 1959 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1959 |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[50th Academy Awards|1978]]
|[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
|[[Star Wars (film)|''Star Wars'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-05 |title=The 50th Academy Awards {{!}} 1978 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978 |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[52nd Academy Awards|1980]]
|[[Academy Honorary Award]]
|{{n/a}}
|{{honoured}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-01 |title=The 52nd Academy Awards {{!}} 1980 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1980 |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[61st Academy Awards|1989]]
|[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
|[[Little Dorrit (1987 film)|''Little Dorrit'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-05 |title=The 61st Academy Awards {{!}} 1989 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>
|}

=== BAFTA Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
!Ref.
|-
! colspan="5" |[[British Academy Film Awards]]
|-
|[[9th British Academy Film Awards|1956]]
| rowspan="2" |[[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best British Actor]]
|[[The Prisoner (1955 film)|''The Prisoner'']]
|{{nom}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=British Actor |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/film/british-actor |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[11th British Academy Film Awards|1958]]
|[[The Bridge on the River Kwai|''The Bridge on the River Kwai'']]
|{{won}}
|-
|[[13th British Academy Film Awards|1960]]
|[[BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay|Best British Screenplay]]
|[[The Horse's Mouth (film)|''The Horse's Mouth'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=British Screenplay |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/film/british-screenplay |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[14th British Academy Film Awards|1961]]
|[[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best British Actor]]
|[[Tunes of Glory|''Tunes of Glory'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|[[42nd British Academy Film Awards|1989]]
|[[BAFTA Fellowship]]
|{{n/a}}
|{{honoured}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fellowship |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/film/fellowship |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref>
|-
! colspan="5" |[[British Academy Television Awards]]
|-
|1980
| rowspan="3" |[[British Academy Television Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
|[[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TV series)|''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'']]
|{{won}}
| rowspan="3" |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Actor |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/television/actor-television |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|1983
|[[Smiley's People (TV series)|''Smiley's People'']]
|{{won}}
|-
|1986
|[[Monsignor Quixote (1985 TV film)|''Monsignor Quixote'']]
|{{nom}}
|}

=== Laurence Olivier Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
!Ref.
|-
! colspan="5" |[[Laurence Olivier Awards]]
|-
|[[1977 Laurence Olivier Awards|1977]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a New Play|Actor of the Year in a New Play]]
|''The Old Country''
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olivier Winners 1977 |url=https://officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/winners/olivier-winners-1977/ |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Olivier Awards |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[1988 Laurence Olivier Awards|1988]]
|[[A Walk in the Woods (play)|''A Walk in the Woods'']]
|{{nom}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olivier Winners 1988 |url=https://officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/winners/olivier-winners-1988/ |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Olivier Awards |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|-
|[[Society of London Theatre Special Award]]
|{{n/a}}
|{{honoured}}
|}

=== Golden Globe Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
!Ref.
|-
! colspan="5" |[[Golden Globe Awards]]
|-
|[[15th Golden Globe Awards|1958]]
|[[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
|[[The Bridge on the River Kwai|''The Bridge on the River Kwai'']]
|{{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winners & Nominees |url=https://goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/ |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Golden Globes |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|[[35th Golden Globe Awards|1978]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]
|[[Star Wars (film)|''Star Wars'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winners & Nominees |url=https://goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/ |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Golden Globes |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|[[46th Golden Globe Awards|1989]]
|[[Little Dorrit (1987 film)|''Little Dorrit'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-01 |title=Winners & Nominees 1989 {{!}} Golden Globes |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1989 |access-date=2025-02-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080818/https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1989 |archive-date=1 December 2017 }}</ref>
|}

=== Emmy Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
!Ref.
|-
! colspan="5" |[[Primetime Emmy Awards]]
|-
|[[12th Primetime Emmy Awards|1960]]
|[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor]]
|[[Startime (American TV series)|''Startime: The Wicked Scheme of Jebal Deeks'']]
|{{nom}}
|
|-
|[[35th Primetime Emmy Awards|1983]]
|[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special]]
|[[Smiley's People (TV series)|''Smiley's People'']]
|{{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or A Special 1983 - Nominees & Winners |url=https://www.televisionacademy.com/awards/nominees-winners/1983/outstanding-lead-actor-in-a-miniseries-or-a-movie |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Television Academy |language=en}}</ref>
|}

=== Tony Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
!Ref.
|-
! colspan="5" |[[Tony Awards]]
|-
|[[18th Tony Awards|1964]]
|[[Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play|Best Actor in a Play]]
|[[Dylan (play)|''Dylan'']]
|{{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Tony Award Nominations |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/1964/category/any/show/any/ |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.tonyawards.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
|}

=== Evening Standard Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
!Ref.
|-
! colspan="5" |[[Evening Standard Theatre Awards]]
|-
|1960
|Best Actor
|[[Ross (play)|''Ross'']]
|{{won}}
|
|-
! colspan="5" |[[Evening Standard British Film Awards]]
|-
|1978
|Best Actor
|[[Star Wars (film)|''Star Wars'']]
|{{won}}
|
|-
|1994
|Special Award
|{{n/a}}
|{{honoured}}
|
|}

=== Other Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Awards
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
!Ref.
|-
| rowspan="2" |1950
|[[National Board of Review]]
|[[National Board of Review Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Kind Hearts and Coronets|''Kind Hearts and Coronets'']]
|{{won}}
|
|-
|[[New York Film Critics Circle]]
|[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
|{{nom}}
|
|-
|1951
|[[Nastro d'Argento]]
|Best Foreign Actor
|[[The Lavender Hill Mob|''The Lavender Hill Mob'']]
|{{won}}
|
|-
|1956
|[[Sant Jordi Awards]]
|Best Foreign Actor
|[[The Prisoner (1955 film)|''The Prisoner'']] 
|{{won}}
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |1958
|[[Laurel Awards]]
|Top Male Dramatic Performance
| rowspan="4" |[[The Bridge on the River Kwai|''The Bridge on the River Kwai'']]
|{{nom}}
|
|-
|[[National Board of Review]]
|[[National Board of Review Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
|{{won}}
|
|-
|[[New York Film Critics Circle]]
|[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
|{{won}}
|
|-
|[[Sant Jordi Awards]]
|Best Foreign Actor
|{{won}}
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |1959
|[[Laurel Awards]]
|Top Male Comedy Performance
| rowspan="3" |[[The Horse's Mouth (film)|''The Horse's Mouth'']] 
|{{nom}}
|
|-
|[[New York Film Critics Circle]]
|[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
|{{nom}}
|
|-
|[[Sant Jordi Awards]]
|Best Foreign Actor
|{{won}}
|
|-
|1964
|[[Drama League Award]]
|Distinguished Performance
|[[Dylan (play)|''Dylan'']]
|{{won}}
|
|-
|1968
|Kansas City Film Critics Circle
|Best Supporting Actor
|[[The Comedians (1967 film)|''The Comedians'']] 
|{{won}}
|
|-
|1978
|[[Saturn Awards]]
|[[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
|[[Star Wars (film)|''Star Wars'']]
|{{won}}
|
|-
|1980
|[[Broadcasting Press Guild]]
|Best Actor
|[[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TV series)|''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'']]
|{{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-12-31 |title=1980 |url=http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpg-awards/1980-2/ |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Broadcasting Press Guild |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" |1988
|[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]]
|[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| rowspan="3" |[[Little Dorrit (1987 film)|''Little Dorrit'']]
|{{won}}
|
|-
|[[National Society of Film Critics]]
|[[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
|{{nom}}
|
|-
|[[New York Film Critics Circle]]
|[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
|{{nom}}
|
|}

==Personal life==
Guinness married the artist, playwright and actress Merula Silvia Salaman (1914–2000) in 1938; in 1940, they had a son, [[Matthew Guinness]], who later became an actor. From the 1950s the family lived at Kettlebrook Meadows, near [[Steep Marsh]] in Hampshire. The house itself was designed by Merula's brother Eusty Salaman.{{sfn|Read|2005|pages=256–258}}<ref name="Obituary: Lady Guinness">{{cite news|title=Obituary: Lady Guinness|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1371479/Lady-Guinness.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1371479/Lady-Guinness.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> His great-grandson [[Nesta Guinness-Walker]] is a professional footballer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Sam |date=30 August 2019 |title=Exclusive interview with AFC Wimbledon prospect Nesta Guiness-Walker on looking to perform on a football pitch – not a stage or the big screen |url=https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/exclusive-interview-with-afc-wimbledon-prospect-nesta-guiness-walker-on-looking-to-perform-on-a-football-pitch-not-a-stage-or-the-big-screen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211195915/https://www.londonnewsonline.co.uk/exclusive-interview-with-afc-wimbledon-prospect-nesta-guiness-walker-on-looking-to-perform-on-a-football-pitch-not-a-stage-or-the-big-screen/ |archive-date=11 December 2019 |access-date=26 June 2021 |website=London News Online}}</ref>

A biography claimed that Guinness was arrested and fined 10 [[Guinea (coin)|guinea]]s (£10.50) for a [[homosexual]] act in a public lavatory in [[Liverpool]] in 1946. Piers Paul Read, who wrote his authorised biography, did not believe it happened.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Concealed Genius of Alec Guinness |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-concealed-genius-of-alec-guinness |access-date=18 November 2023 |work=Daily Beast |archive-date=18 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118194522/https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-concealed-genius-of-alec-guinness |url-status=live }}</ref> Another biography suggests: "The rumour is possibly a conflation of stories about Alec's '[[cottaging]]' and the arrest of John Gielgud, in October 1953, in a public lavatory in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], after dining with the Guinnesses at St. Peter's Square."{{sfn|Read|2005|p=249}} This suggestion was not made until April 2001, eight months after his death, when a [[BBC News Online]] article related that new books claimed that Guinness was [[bisexual]], that he had kept his sexuality private from the public eye and that only his closest friends and family members knew about his sexual orientation.<ref name="autogenerated1">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1280093.stm "Sir Alec Guinness was bisexual."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929093008/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1280093.stm |date=29 September 2009 }} ''BBC News'', 16 April 2001. Retrieved: 24 August 2009.</ref>

While serving in the [[Royal Navy]], Guinness had planned to become an [[Anglican]] [[Priest#Anglican or Episcopalian|priest]]. In 1954, while he was filming ''[[Father Brown (1954 film)|Father Brown]]'' in [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundy]], Guinness, who was in costume as a Catholic priest, was mistaken for a real priest by a local child. Guinness was far from fluent in French, and the child apparently did not notice that Guinness did not understand him but took his hand and chattered while the two strolled; the child then waved and trotted off.{{sfn|Pearce|2006|p=301}} The confidence and affection the clerical attire appeared to inspire in the boy left a deep impression on the actor.<ref name="telegraph">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/theatre-obituaries/5796800/Sir-Alec-Guinness.html "Sir Alec Guinness."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811051431/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/theatre-obituaries/5796800/Sir-Alec-Guinness.html |date=11 August 2013 }} ''Telegraph (Obituaries)'', 8 August 2000. Retrieved: 26 August 2009.</ref> When their son was ill with polio at the age of 11, Guinness began visiting a church to pray.<ref>[[Tom Sutcliffe (opera critic)|Sutcliffe, Tom]].[http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Guardian/0,4029,351452,00.html "Sir Alec Guinness (1914–2000)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016080823/http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Guardian/0,4029,351452,00.html |date=16 October 2007 }} ''The Guardian'', 7 August 2000. Retrieved: 26 August 2009.</ref> A few years later, in 1956, Guinness converted to the [[Catholic Church]]. His wife, who was of paternal [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi Jewish]] descent,<ref>{{cite book |last=O'Connor |first=Garry |title=Alec Guinness: A Life |url=https://archive.org/details/alecguinesslife00garr |publisher=Applause Theatre & Cinema Books |edition=illustrated |date=2002 |page=[https://archive.org/details/alecguinesslife00garr/page/89 89] |isbn=9781557835741}}</ref> followed suit in 1957 while he was in [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]] filming ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'', and she informed him only after the event.{{sfn|Pearce|2006|p=311}}

Guinness told a story in a media interview and wrote in his memoir that he met [[James Dean]] and predicted Dean's death one week before he was killed in a car accident in 1955.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-nptoFE1Js|title=Alec Guinness warned James Dean one week before his death: "Please do not get into that car!"|date=20 May 2015 |via=www.youtube.com|access-date=3 June 2023|archive-date=17 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417050257/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-nptoFE1Js|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanghostwalks.com/articles/thelma-moss-los-angeles-parapsychologist|title=Thelma Moss: Parapsychologist to the Stars|website=www.americanghostwalks.com|date=7 February 2023 |access-date=3 June 2023|archive-date=19 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319224054/https://www.americanghostwalks.com/articles/thelma-moss-los-angeles-parapsychologist|url-status=live}}</ref> In interviews shortly after Dean's death, Guinness recalled that all of Dean's friends had issued similar warnings because he drove too fast.<ref>Parsons, Louella (1955, October 4), "Anne Baxter Signs for 'The Come On.'" ''San Francisco Examiner'', I-19.</ref>

Every morning, Guinness recited verse eight from [[Psalm 143]], "Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning".<ref>''The invisible man'', by Hugh Davies, originally published in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and reprinted in ''[[The Sunday Age]]'', 13 August 2000.</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Alec and Merula Guinness graves 2016.jpg|thumb|The graves of Alec and Merula in [[Petersfield]], [[Hampshire]]]]
Guinness died on the night of 5 August 2000 at King Edward VII's Hospital in [[Midhurst]], [[West Sussex]].<ref>GRO Register of Deaths: AUG 2000 1DD 21 Chicester– Alec Guinness, DoB = 2 April 1914, aged 86.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Acting world mourns Sir Alec |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/869583.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=2 August 2020 |date=7 August 2000 |archive-date=19 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719222746/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/869583.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> He had been diagnosed with [[prostate cancer]] in February 2000, and with [[liver cancer]] two days before he died. His wife, who died two months later on 18 October 2000,  also had liver cancer.<ref>[https://www.cancertodaymag.org/pages/Spring2012/alec-guinness-liver-cancer.aspx "Alec Guinness, Reluctant Intergalactic Icon"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520062624/https://www.cancertodaymag.org/pages/Spring2012/alec-guinness-liver-cancer.aspx |date=20 May 2020 }}. ''Cancer Today''. Retrieved 24 May 2020</ref> His funeral was held at St. Laurence Catholic Church in [[Petersfield|Petersfield, Hampshire]], and he was interred at Petersfield Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web |last=Demetriou |first=Danielle |title=Sir Alec laid to rest near family home |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1352390/Sir-Alec-laid-to-rest-near-family-home.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |date=12 August 2000 |access-date=22 March 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1352390/Sir-Alec-laid-to-rest-near-family-home.html |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Low-key funeral for Sir Alec |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/876484.stm |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=BBC News |archive-date=29 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929120345/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/876484.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Archives==
In 2013 the [[British Library]] acquired the personal archive of Guinness consisting of over 900 letters, manuscripts for plays, and 100 volumes of diaries from the late 1930s to his death.<ref>[http://searcharchives.bl.uk/IAMS_VU2:IAMS032-002404341 Sir Alec Guinness Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430104144/https://www.bl.uk/_next/static/css/1bc2c427811cbfce.css |date=30 April 2024 }}, archives and manuscripts catalogue, the British Library. Retrieved 26 May 2020</ref>

==Autobiographies and biography==
Guinness wrote three volumes of a best-selling autobiography, beginning with ''Blessings in Disguise'' in 1985, followed by ''My Name Escapes Me'' in 1996, and ''A Positively Final Appearance'' in 1999. He recorded each of them as an audiobook. Shortly after his death, Lady Guinness asked the couple's close friend and fellow Catholic, novelist [[Piers Paul Read]], to write Guinness's official biography. It was published in 2002.

===Box office ranking in Britain===
For a number of years, British film exhibitors voted Guinness among the most popular stars in Britain at the box office via an annual poll in the ''[[Motion Picture Herald]]''.

* 1951: most popular British star in British films and fifth in international films.<ref name="Leigh"/>
* 1952: 3rd-most popular British star<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18504988 "Comedian tops film poll."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127091633/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18504988 |date=27 January 2020 }} [[The Sun-Herald|''The Sunday Herald'' (Sydney, NSW: 1949–1953)]], via ''National Library of Australia'', 28 December 1952, p. 4. Retrieved: 27 April 2012.</ref>
* 1953: 2nd-most popular British star
* 1954: 6th-most popular British star
* 1955: 10th-most popular British star<ref>"'The Dam Busters'." ''Times'' [London, England], 29 December 1955, p. 12 via ''The Times Digital Archive''. Retrieved: 11 July 2012.</ref>
* 1956: 8th-most popular British star<ref>"The Most Popular Film Star In Britain." Times [London, England] 7 December 1956, p. 3 via ''The Times Digital Archive.''. Retrieved: 11 July 2012.</ref>
* 1958: most popular star<ref>"Mr. Guinness Heads Film Poll." ''Times'' [London, England], 2 January 1959, p. 4 via ''The Times Digital Archive''. Retrieved: 11 July 2012.</ref>
* 1959: 2nd-most popular British star<ref>"Year Of Profitable British Films." Times [London, England] 1 January 1960, p. 13 via ''The Times Digital Archive''. Retrieved: 11 July 2012.</ref>
* 1960: 4th-most popular star

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Guinness |first=Alec |title=Blessings in Disguise |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |year=1986 |isbn=0394552377 }}
* {{cite book |last=Guinness |first=Alec |title=My Name Escapes Me |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-14-027745-6 }}
{{Refend}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[Alec Guinness on stage and screen]]
* [[Alec Guinness: A Class Act]]
* [[List of British actors]]
* [[List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Great Britain]]
* [[List of actors with Academy Award nominations]]
* [[List of actors with more than one Academy Award nomination in the acting categories]]

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Chambers |first=Colin |title=Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre |location=London |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |year=2002 |isbn=0-8264-4959-X }}
* {{cite book |last=Guinness |first=Alec |title=A Positively Final Appearance: A Journal, 1996–1998 |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-14-029964-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=O'Connor |first=Garry |title=Alec Guinness: The Unknown |location=London |publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson |year=2002 |isbn=0-283-07340-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=Pearce |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Pearce |title=Literary Converts: Spiritual Inspiration in an Age of Unbelief |location=London |publisher=Ignatius Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-58617-159-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Read |first=Piers Paul |author-link=Piers Paul Read |title=Alec Guinness: The Authorised Biography |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2005 |url=https://archive.org/details/alecguinnessauth00read/page/256 |isbn=978-0-7432-4498-5 }}
* {{cite book |last=Taylor |first=John Russell |author-link=John Russell Taylor |title=Alec Guinness: A Celebration |location=London |publisher=Pavilion |year=2000 |isbn=1-86205-501-7 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb name|0000027}}
* {{IBDB name|67689}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{Screenonline name|449453}}
* {{British Comedy Guide|people|alec_guinness}}
* {{discogs artist|Alec Guinness}}
* [http://www.bristol.ac.uk/theatrecollection/search/people_sub_plays_all?forename=Alec&amp;surname=GUINNESS&amp;job=Actor&amp;pid=600&image_view=Yesamp;x=19amp;y=17 Performances in Theatre Archive, Bristol]
* {{OL author|OL20398A}}
* [https://digital.library.illinois.edu/collections/810eac30-e3fb-012f-c5b6-0019b9e633c5-e/items?q=angry+clown Costume Sketches for unrealized one-man show "The Angry Clown" – Motley Collection of Theatre & Costume Design]

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Alec Guinness
|list =
{{Academy Award Best Actor}}
{{Academy Honorary Award}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role}}
{{BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award}}
{{British Academy Television Award for Best Actor}}
{{British Film Institute Fellowship}}
{{Distinguished Performance Award}}
{{European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award}}
{{Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor}}
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor}} 
{{Lincoln Center Gala Tribute}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Actor Motion Picture Drama}}
{{Honorary Golden Bear}}
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Actor}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{OlivierAward SpecialAward}}
{{TonyAward PlayLeadActor}}
{{Volpi Cup for Best Actor}}
}}
{{British Triple Crown of Acting winners}}

{{Authority control}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Guinness, Alec}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
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[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
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[[Category:Guinness family (show business)|Alec]]
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