Albert Finney
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"I grew up secure, and it was dull. Part of the reason I became an actor is that I like my life insecure." --Albert Finney, quoted in "The Great Stage Stars" by Sheridan Morley
About his rapport with fellow RADA alum Tom Courtenay: "When we were doing the filming of 'The Dresser', we just sort of had an ease together when we were working. It was great. Very soon it was clear there was a tremendous sort of trust between us. It's a very comfortable relationship, and we can discuss things quite frankly with each other." --Finney to Los Angeles Times, October 2, 1999
Biography
A dynamic, often explosive stage and screen star, Albert Finney emerged from the same class at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art as Peter O'Toole and Alan Bates to become one of the most respected British performers of his generation. After earning his stripes in productions of such classics as "Julius Caesar" (1956) and "Othello" (1959), Finney had his breakthrough performance on the big screen as the rakish "Tom Jones" (1963), a role that earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He made himself practically unrecognizable as the titular "Scrooge" (1970) and as famed sleuth Hercule Poirot in "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974). Following a lengthy absence from features to concentrate on the stage, Finney returned to the big screen the following decade for Oscar-nominated turns in "The Dresser" (1983) and "Under the Volcano" (1984). Finney was memorable as a Thompson-wielding Irish mob boss in the Coen Brothers' "Miller's Crossing" (1990). He emerged triumphant again with his Academy Award-nominated performance in "Erin Brockovich" (2000), which opened the doors for supporting parts in big studio films like "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007) and smaller independents like "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (2007), giving the esteemed Finney a new lease on an already distinguished career.
Born on May 9, 1936 in Salford, Lancashire, England, Finney was raised by his father, Albert Sr., a bookie, and his mother, Alice. Educated at Salford Grammar School, he failed his final GCE exams in a whopping five subjects. From the time he was 12 years old, Finney was performing in school plays, logging some 15 productions until the age of 17. Soon he found himself honing his craft at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he won the Gertrude Lawrence Scholarship during his second and third terms while attending alongside Peter O'Toole, Alan Bates and Brian Bedford. Finney left the Academy in 1955 with the Emile Little Award under his belt, which was bestowed upon students who had the most outstanding character and aptitude for the theater. Following his professional debut with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre's production of "Julius Caesar" (1956), he premiered in London with the company's staging of George Bernard Shaw's "Caesar and Cleopatra" (1956). Two years later, Finney earned critical acclaim opposite Charles Laughton in a West End production of "The Party" (1958).
After his West End triumph, Finney joined the famed Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-on-Avon for their 100th anniversary season, performing Cassio in "Othello" (1959), directed by Tony Richardson with Paul Robeson in the lead; reuniting with Laughton to play Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream;" and understudying Laurence Olivier's "Coriolanus." A small role as Olivier's son in Richardson's "The Entertainer" (1960) marked Finney's entreé into films, which he followed by receiving excellent reviews for his stage turn in "The Lily-White Boys" (1960). His stellar performance on the London stage as "Billy Liar" (1960) significantly raised his profile, while his portrayal of the dissatisfied, working-class anti-hero Arthur Seaton in "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" (1961), director Karel Reisz's classic of British "angry young man" cinema brought him worldwide acclaim. Though he quit the starring role in David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) after four days in order to avoid being locked into a long-term film contract, Finney cemented his film stardom as the rakish, picaresque hero "Tom Jones" (1963) in Tony Richardson's lavish, bawdy hit, earning his first Best Actor Oscar nomination.
That same year, Finney took Broadway by storm in John Osborne's "Luther" (1963), again directed by Richardson, before reteaming with Reisz for the remake of "Night Must Fall" (1964), on which Finney also made his debut as producer. In 1965, Finney founded Memorial Enterprises Productions with actor Michael Medwin, which was responsible for several outstanding features including his own directorial debut, "Charlie Bubbles" (1967), Lindsay Anderson's "If..." (1968) and "O Lucky Man!" (1973), as well as numerous plays, including Peter Nichols' "A Day in the Life of Joe Egg" (1968). Much to his chagrin, Finney reinforced his reputation as a romantic leading man opposite Audrey Hepburn as a bickering couple trying to save their happiness in "Two for the Road" (1967). Disdainful of his new sex symbol image, Finney sought to diminish his pretty boy status by hamming his way through the title role of "Scrooge" (1970), a musical take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and delivering a tongue-in-cheek portrayal of a Humphrey Bogart wannabe in "Gumshoe" (1971). His reaction to the sex symbol nonsense prompted him to absolutely submerge himself in the role of Agatha Christie's famous sleuth Hercule Poirot for "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974), which garnered the barely recognizable actor his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
After "Murder on the Orient Express," Finney appeared in only one film over the next seven years, playing a small role in Ridley Scott's "The Duellists" (1978). From 1972-75, he directed several plays while serving as associate artistic director of London's Royal Court Theatre. Beginning in 1975, Finney concentrated exclusively on stage acting as a member of the National Theatre, portraying the title roles of "Hamlet," Christopher Marlowe's "Tamburlaine the Great," "Macbeth" and Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya." In the early 1980s, Finney returned to the screen with a flurry of new movies, though the first few - "Loophole" (1981), Wolfen" (1981) and "Looker" (1981) - were embarrassments. But later that year he hit his stride in Alan Parker's harrowing portrait of divorce, "Shoot the Moon" (1981), giving a sexually-charged, rage-filled performance as a writer crazed with jealousy that his wife (Diane Keaton) and children seem to be getting along fine without him. After pocketing a nifty sum to play Daddy Warbucks in "Annie" (1982) for John Huston, he essayed the aging Donald Wolfit-like actor-manager to Tom Courtenay's "The Dresser" (1983), with both actors earning Best Actor Oscar nominations for their superb work.
Over the years, Finney made a specialty of playing large, boozy, blustery men and was perhaps never better in this vein than as the gruelingly drunk diplomat of Huston's "Under the Volcano" (1984), adapted from Malcolm Lowry's autobiographical novel set in 1930s Mexico. Without overplaying the extremely difficult role, he imbued the self-destructive man with tragic nobility, earning his fourth Best Actor Oscar nomination for an extraordinary performance. Finney reprised his stage role as a deceptive, drunken Chicago gangster in "Orphans" (1987), demonstrating his flair for dialects with an authentic South Side accent. In the Coen Brothers' "Miller's Crossing" (1990), Finney was an Irish mob boss warring with rival Italians, whose artistry with a Thompson machine gun was felt by four would-be assassins in a memorable shootout set to the Irish ballad, "Danny Boy." Continuing his sting of Irish characters, he was convincing as a tragic constable in a small Northern Irish border town in "The Playboys" (1992), a sexually repressed bus conductor in "A Man of No Importance" (1994) and an Irish cop unable to express his emotions in "The Run of the Country" (1995).
In between his string of Irish-centric roles, Finney dropped his adopted brogue to make a fine, frumpish Southerner for Bruce Beresford's "Rich in Love" (1993), which he later followed with an appearance alongside old RADA chum Tom Courtenay in the London stage production of "Art" (1996). He next played a perpetually besotted television writer in two Dennis Potter-scripted miniseries, "Karaoke" (Bravo, 1996) and "Cold Lazarus" (Bravo, 1996), and the equally sodden Dr. Monygham in the lavish six-hour "Masterpiece Theatre" miniseries, "Joseph Conrad's 'Nostromo'" (PBS, 1997). In "A Rather English Marriage" (PBS, 1999), Finney played a former Royal Air Force squadron leader devastated by the loss of his wife, who forms an unlikely bond with a retired milkman (Tom Courtenay) sent by a concerned social worker to help care for his decaying estate. Following his turn as the grizzled, eccentric writer Kilgore Trout in "Breakfast of Champions" (1999), Finney essayed a former racing commissioner in the film adaptation of Sam Shepard's "Simpatico" (1999). The latter was particularly well-suited to this breeder of horses and son of a bookie.
Though continually working, Finney had by this point in his career found himself less of a known commodity than in years past. But that changed when he was cast by director Steven Soderbergh to star opposite Julia Roberts in the commercial smash "Erin Brockovich" (2000). Finney played the skeptical, but open-minded California lawyer boss of Roberts' titular legal assistant, whose interest in a cancer cluster case gradually re-energizes him for what becomes the case of his career. Just like his character onscreen, Finney's own career was given new life, especially after he earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination - his first such honor in 16 years. That same year, he had a cameo as a chief of staff in Soderbergh's deftly crafted "Traffic" (2000), which he followed with a turn as acclaimed novelist Ernest Hemingway in "Hemingway, The Hunter Of Death" (2001). In 2002, he took on the role of Winston Churchill in the acclaimed HBO drama "The Gathering Storm," a love story offering an intimate look inside the marriage of Winston and Clementine Churchill (Vanessa Redgrave) during a particularly troubled, though little-known moment in their lives.
For his role in "The Gathering Storm," Finney received widespread critical praise, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television, a BAFTA TV Award as Best Actor, and a Broadcasting Press Guild Award. He received another Golden Globe nomination the following year, this time for his role as the senior Ed Bloom, a man whose tendency toward fanciful self-mythologizing puts him at odds with his disillusioned son (Billy Crudup) in Tim Burton's "Big Fish" (2003). After voicing Finnis Everglot in Burton's animated "Corpse Bride" (2005), Finney was the deceased uncle of a high-flying London businessman (Russell Crowe) who makes his nephew the sole beneficiary of his modest vineyard in "A Good Year" (2006). In "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007), Finney played Dr. Albert Hirsch, the man responsible for creating Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) by erasing his former identity and creating a new one through behavior modification. Next he portrayed 18th century clergyman and writer of hymns, John Newton, in Michael Apted's underappreciated historical drama, "Amazing Grace" (2007). Finney teamed up with Sidney Lumet for the director's excellent crime thriller, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (2007), playing a man who suffers the devastating loss of his wife (Rosemary Harris) during the botched robbery of their jewelry store perpetrated by their own desperate and misguided sons (Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman). Surprisingly, Finney was relatively inactive over the next five years, appearing in the next decade with a reprisal of Dr. Hirsch for "The Bourne Legacy" (2012) and a turn as Kincade opposite Daniel Craig's James Bond in "Skyfall" (2012).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1956
Stage acting debut with Birmingham Repertory Theatre in "Julius Caesar" playing as Brutus
1956
London stage debut with the Birmingham Rep at the Old Vic in George Bernard Shaw's "Caesar and Cleopatra"
1958
Had one scene opposite Charles Laughton in the West End production of "The Party"
1959
Performed at the famed Shakespeare Memorial Theatre as Edgar in "King Lear" and Cassio in "Othello" (directed by Tony Richardson)
1960
First collaboration with Lindsay Anderson, starring in Anderson's stage production of "The Lily-White Boys"
1960
London stage breakthrough, playing the title character in "Billy Liar"; replaced in role by Tom Courtenay who would star in John Schlesinger's 1963 film version
1960
First leading film role in Karel Reisz's "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" produced by Richardson
1960
Made film acting debut as Olivier's son in "The Entertainer" helmed by Richardson
1961
Played John Osborne's "Luther" in Paris, the Netherlands and London; directed by Richardson
1962
Made stage directing debut with Harold Pinter's "The Birthday Party" at the Citizens Theater in Glasgow, Scotland
1963
Received first Best Actor Oscar nomination, playing the title role in Richardson's "Tom Jones"
1963
Broadway debut, reprising the title role in "Luther" directed by Richardson; earned a Tony nomination
1964
First film as producer (also actor), Reisz's remake of "Night Must Fall"
1965
Formed production company, Memorial Enterprises Ltd. (with actor Michael Medwin)
1967
Co-starred with Audrey Hepburn as a bickering couple in Stanley Donen's "Two for the Road"
1967
Film directing debut (also actor), "Charlie Bubbles"
1968
Won a second Tony nomination for "A Day in the Life of Joe Egg"
1970
Played the title role in Ronald Neame's musical film "Scrooge"
1972
Served as an associate artistic director for the Royal Court Theatre in London; directed several plays
1974
Garnered a second Best Actor Oscar nod as Hercule Poirot in Sidney Lumet's "Murder on the Orient Express"
1975
Joined National Theatre in London to concentrated on stage work
1977
Recorded <i>Albert Finney's Album</i> (Motown Records)
1981
Returned to films in Alan Parker's look at a disintegrating marriage, "Shoot the Moon"; also co-starred Diane Keaton
1982
Pocketed a reported $1 million to play Daddy Warbucks in John Huston's film version of "Annie"
1983
Co-starred with fellow RADA alum Tom Courtenay in a film version of "The Dresser" directed by Peter Yates; both earned Oscar nominations for Best Actor
1984
Formed theater company with actors Richard Johnson and Diana Rigg
1984
Made U.S. TV acting debut in the title role of the CBS TV-movie "Pope John Paul II"
1984
Nominated a fourth time for a Best Actor Academy Award for Huston's "Under the Volcano"
1987
Reprised stage role as a Chicago gangster with an authentic South Side accent in Alan J. Pakula's film adaptation of "Orphans"
1990
Appeared as Leo, the big city Irish crime lord of the Coen brothers' "Miller's Crossing"
1991
Gave rich, rewarding performance as a bedeviled innkeeper in the otherworldly thriller "The Green Man" (A&E)
1992
Showed off an Irish brogue as the local police sergeant of a small Irish village in 1957 for "The Playboys"
1993
Delivered a fine performance as an eccentric Southern father in Bruce Beresford's "Rich in Love"
1994
Offered a masterful performance as the public school teacher-scholar at the center of Mike Figgis' remake of "The Browning Version"
1995
Reteamed with Yates for "The Run of the Country" once again playing an Irish cop
1996
Essayed permanently soused TV writer Daniel Feeld in two Dennis Potter-scripted BBC specials "Karaoke" and "Cold Lazarus" (aired in U.S. on Bravo)
1996
Co-starred with Courtenay in the London stage production of "Art"
1997
Portrayed the domineering doctor father of Jennifer Jason Leigh in Agnieska Holland's film version of Henry James' "Washington Square"
1997
Played the drunken Dr. Monygham in the lavish six-hour "Masterpiece Theatre" miniseries presentation of "Joseph Conrad's 'Nostromo'" (PBS)
1999
Reunited with Courtenay for the "Masterpiece Theatre" drama "A Rather English Marriage" (PBS)
1999
Co-starred with Bruce Willis and Nick Nolte in a film adaptation of Kurt Vonnnegut's "Breakfast of Champions"
1999
Played featured role of a former racing commissioner in "Simpatico"
2000
Made cameo appearance in the Soderbergh directed "Traffic"
2000
Portrayed the title character's lawyer boss Ed Masry in "Erin Brockovich" directed by Steven Soderbergh; received a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination
2000
Starred opposite Bridget Fonda in "Delivering Milo"; screened at Cannes
2001
Cast as Ernest Hemingway in "Hemingway, The Hunter Of Death"
2002
Portrayed Winston Churchill in "The Gathering Storm"; received a SAG nomination for Best Actor in a Television Movie
2003
Portrayed an Older Edward Bloom in "Big Fish," directed by Tim Burton; received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
2005
Voiced Finnis Everglot in Tim Burton's animated feature "Corpse Bride"
2006
Co-starred with Russell Crowe in director Ridley Scott's "A Good Year"
2007
Cast in "Amazing Grace," as John Newton the author of the hymn <i>Amazing Grace</i>
2007
Co-starred in Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"
2007
Cast as Dr. Albert Hirsch in "The Bourne Ultimatum"
2012
Reprised Dr. Hirsch in "The Bourne Legacy"
2012
Cast opposite Daniel Craig in 007 feature "Skyfall," directed by Sam Mendes
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Notes
"I grew up secure, and it was dull. Part of the reason I became an actor is that I like my life insecure." --Albert Finney, quoted in "The Great Stage Stars" by Sheridan Morley
About his rapport with fellow RADA alum Tom Courtenay: "When we were doing the filming of 'The Dresser', we just sort of had an ease together when we were working. It was great. Very soon it was clear there was a tremendous sort of trust between us. It's a very comfortable relationship, and we can discuss things quite frankly with each other." --Finney to Los Angeles Times, October 2, 1999
"Listen, I don't care if the queen of England ever knights me because frankly you don't get land with the deal anymore. Who needs it?" --Finney to Cindy Pearlman in Chicago Sun-Times, March 13, 2000
Asked to name his best film: "I must say 'Two For the Road' (1967) because it holds up so well. Working with dear Audrey Hepburn is a memory I will never forget. If I close my eyes, I can still see both of us spending a summer filming in the south of France. I see Audrey in the makeup trailer because it was hot and she had to change her hair, makeup and costumes three times a day."She was remarkable. She worked from five in the morning to late at night . . . I've been very lucky to work with pros. And sometimes when I think back, I actually cry about it. These are people who have been capable of going out on a limb in some way. And courage always impresses me." --Finney in Chicago Sun-Times, March 13, 2000
Remembering John Huston, who directed him in "Annie" and Under the Volcano": "We were doing the read-through of 'Annie' in the Plaza Hotel in New York, and I sat next to John. I knew that he wasn't allowed to smoke anymore, and I smoke cigars, the big ones. When we had a break for coffee, I said, 'John, I'm dying for a smoke; do you mind if I smoke?' John said, 'I wish you would.' And as my smoke drifted past him he took big gulps of it out of the air." --Finney to Premiere, April 2000
About why he took a year off after "Tom Jones": "My agent said, 'In a year thay won't know who you are.' I said, 'They didn't know who I was four months ago. What's the difference?' That year taught me a lot--that I love to travel, and that it was very important to get away from [acting]. It's not like a proper job, where you start with good, honest work, so by the age of 40 you become a branch manager but by 65 you're out. In our game, you don't have to retire. With a bit of luck, I can be boring people to death for the next 20 years or so." --Finney quoted in Premiere, April 2000
On working with Julia Roberts in "Erin Brockovich": "As far as her public is concerned, she could only do romantic comedy if she wished. But for this film I think she went out on a limb. It is over two hours long, and she's on screen for most of that time. She didn't have a day off any day that I worked. But she never came on set in any other state than being ready to work. She was always up. I was proud of her as a fellow professional. That's how a trouper should be. Working with her was enjoyable, because it was volatile and unpredictable." --Finney, quoted in the London Times, April 6, 2000
