The Great Acting Blog: “The Passing Of Peter O’Toole”

The Great Acting Blog: “The Passing Of Peter O’Toole”

Peter O’Toole is one of those truly great actors who made his name in a bygone era. First he conquered the theatre, then he fixed his nose and went to Hollywood. His performance in Becket, as Henry II, is my favourite of his, intense and precise, bravura and beautiful, it arguably encapsulates him in general. Further, he was one of the coterie of actors, along with Richard Burton and Richard Harris, who helped to fashion the modern myth of the actor as hell-raiser, as drunk and womanising. One might argue however, that the movies never quite provided him with the opportunities to fulfil his talent [alas I never saw him on stage but have heard that he was electric], he lacked that golden run of classic pictures enjoyed by the likes of Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro.

Upon reflection, I have to question whether we will see his like again, actors with the same style and grandeur as O’Toole? As I wrote yesterday, I am starting to think that the very notion of the great actor, that is; the actor as a dominant and inspiring creative force, is under threat – O’Toole’s passing brings this issue into focus even more sharply. Alternatively, it could have the affect of inviting actors to compare what they are doing to what O’Toole did, to re-evaluate, and so cause them to re-adjust their sights. Certainly O’Toole offers an example of what can be achieved technically and aesthetically.

Peter O’Toole, you will be missed.

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