Albert Finney

Albert Finney, born on 9 May 1936 in Salford, Lancashire, was an English actor whose career spanned theatre, film, and television across six decades. The youngest of three children and the only son of Albert Finney, a bookmaker, and Alice Hobson, he was educated at Tootal Drive Primary School and Salford Grammar School before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, from which he graduated in 1956. He died on 7 February 2019.

While still a student at RADA, Finney appeared on a BBC broadcast of Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer, playing Mr. Hardcastle alongside fellow students Roy Kinnear and Richard Briers. After graduating, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, declining a contract with the Rank Organisation in favor of work at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. At Birmingham Rep he played the title role of Henry V and appeared in a BBC-filmed production of The Miser in 1956. His London stage debut came in 1958 in Jane Arden's The Party, directed by Charles Laughton, who also performed in the production with his wife Elsa Lanchester. The following year, Finney stepped into the title role of Coriolanus at Stratford, replacing an ailing Laurence Olivier.

Finney's screen career began with Tony Richardson's The Entertainer in 1960, in which he and Alan Bates played Olivier's sons. That same year he achieved a significant breakthrough with Karel Reisz's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, portraying a disillusioned factory worker in an adaptation of Alan Sillitoe's novel. The film ranked third at the British box office that year and earned more than half a million pounds. Finney had been selected to play T. E. Lawrence in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia following an elaborate four-day screen test, but declined the role rather than sign a multi-year contract with producer Sam Spiegel.

In 1961, Finney created the title role in John Osborne's Luther for the English Stage Company, performing the production in London, Nottingham, Paris, and New York. The West End run at the Phoenix Theatre concluded in March 1962 after 239 performances. He brought the role to Broadway in 1963, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play in 1964. That same year, Finney starred in Richardson's Tom Jones, the Academy Award-winning film written by Osborne, for which he received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. British exhibitors voted him the ninth most popular film actor of 1963, and his ten-percent share of the film's earnings exceeded one million dollars.

Together with Michael Medwin, Finney formed Memorial Productions, a company responsible for both theatrical and film projects. Among its productions was A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, which Finney performed first in London and subsequently on Broadway, earning him a second Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play in 1968. Memorial also produced films including Privilege, directed by Peter Watkins; If...., directed by Lindsay Anderson; and Charlie Bubbles, which Finney both directed and appeared in, marking Liza Minnelli's feature film debut. The company later produced Spring and Port Wine, Bleak Moments — Mike Leigh's first feature — and O Lucky Man!, among others.

Finney's film work during the late 1960s and 1970s included Two for the Road alongside Audrey Hepburn and the role of Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express in 1974, for which he received Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for Best Actor. He noted that the role led to typecasting for several years afterward. He also undertook extensive stage work at the Royal National Theatre in London, including a production of Miss Julie in 1965, and returned to the stage in 1972 with Alpha Beta, later filmed for television with Rachel Roberts.

Finney's subsequent film credits included the musical Scrooge in 1970, The Dresser in 1983 — which brought him a fourth Academy Award nomination for Best Actor — and Under the Volcano in 1984, his fifth nomination in that category. He received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Erin Brockovich in 2000. Additional film appearances included Miller's Crossing, A Man of No Importance, Big Fish, A Good Year, The Bourne Ultimatum, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and the James Bond film Skyfall in 2012. His portrayal of Winston Churchill in the 2002 BBC-HBO television film The Gathering Storm brought him BAFTA, Golden Globe, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, Silver Bear, and Volpi Cup recognition. Over the course of his career, Finney received five Academy Award nominations in total.