Anecdotes

He was nominated eight times for the Academy Award for Best Actor, but never won. He had more nominations without winning than any other actor.

According to his daughter Kate O'Toole, the actor wore green socks every day due to personal superstitions. But in a 1983 interview on David Letterman he explained that his father's superstition required that he not wear any green, which his father had "rather harshly" expressed to him. To disobey his father, he figured that his green socks would go unnoticed, which he took to wearing forever.

When he was named the recipient of a Special Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2003, he originally intended to turn it down, feeling that the lifetime award signaled the end of his career. He wrote the Academy a letter stating that he was "still in the game" and would like more time to "win the lovely bugger outright." It was only after the Academy informed him that they were bestowing the award on him whether he came to collect it or not that he relented.

After his death his ashes were brought back to Ireland, where they are held in safe keeping by President Michael D Higgins in his official residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, until he can be laid to rest in the west of Ireland.

He once said his actual date of birth went unrecorded, and that he may have been born in June 1932. However the Leeds City Council register of births, deaths and marriages proved that he was born on 2 August 1932 at St James University Hospital in Leeds.

His performance as T.E. Lawrence in Lawrence d'Arabie (1962) is the #1-ranked performance of all time in" Premiere" Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

He was only one of six performers to be nominated for an Oscar twice for playing the same role in two separate films. He was nominated as Henry II in Becket (1964) and Le Lion en hiver (1968). The other five are Bing Crosby as Father O'Malley in La route semée d'étoiles (1944) and Les cloches de Sainte-Marie (1945), Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in Le Parrain (1972) and Le Parrain, 2ᵉ partie (1974), Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson in L'Arnaqueur (1961) and La Couleur de l'argent (1986), Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth - L'âge d'or (2007), and Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky (1976) and Creed : L'Héritage de Rocky Balboa (2015). Furthermore, O'Toole was the only one of these six who was nominated for playing the same character (at two different stages in his life) in films that were not a prequel or sequel to the other.

Allegedly declined a knighthood for political reasons in 1987.

He went to America with Omar Sharif for the film premiere of Lawrence of Arabia. The night before the opening Peter took Omar to see Lenny Bruce in a show after which they went back stage to see Lenny then all went out for drinks. After a while Lenny said he had to go home for a few minutes so they accompanied him. As Lenny was giving himself a drug injection the police broke in and arrested them all. At the police station Omar asked to make a phone call and rang producer Sam Spiegel who eventually got them released.

(July 10, 2012) Announced his retirement from acting.

Broke his hip while filming Venus (2006), but returned to work after only three weeks.

In 1976 he underwent surgery to remove parts of his stomach and intestine, at the time attributed to his heavy drinking, but later disclosed to be stomach cancer. In the following year he almost died from a blood disorder. These two serious illnesses greatly affected his ability to work at that time.

Could play the bagpipes and during his youth was a member of an Irish pipe band. He is seen playing the pipes in two of his films: L'enlèvement de David Balfour (1960) and Country Dance (1970).

In his later films (from the 1980s onwards) he is frequently seen wearing an Irish Claddagh ring on the third finger of his right hand.

Won his career-making part in Lawrence d'Arabie (1962) after it was turned down by superstar Marlon Brando and a then-unknown Albert Finney. Both director David Lean and producer Sam Spiegel (who produced Sur les quais... (1954), the movie for which Brando and Spiegel won their first Oscars) wanted Brando, but he turned the role down (allegedly saying he didn't want to spend two years of his life riding on a camel). Finney was put through extensive screen-tests costing 100,000 pounds, but refused to sign a seven year contract demanded by Spiegel. O'Toole signed the seven-year contract and got the part.

He attended a Catholic school where the nuns beat him to correct his left-handedness.

He was almost cast as Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1964) due to concerns that Rex Harrison was too old for the part, but his salary demands were more than producer Jack L. Warner was willing to pay.

His middle name was actually James, although he often used the Irish version Seamus.

Said that he learned more about acting by working with José Ferrer in Lawrence d'Arabie (1962) than in any acting class. Ferrer himself considers that role to be his best. Ironically, Ferrer nearly declined the role he played because it was so small - roughly five minutes out of a four hour movie.

Was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 for Outstanding Achievement Award for his theatrical career.

He played the first Roman Emperor Augustus in Imperium: Augustus (2003), whereas his ex-wife, Siân Phillips, played Augustus' wife, Livia, in Moi Claude empereur (1976).

L'homme qui venait d'ailleurs (1976) was originally meant to be a vehicle for O'Toole.

He disliked Troie (2004), to the point of walking out the finished film after minutes. He also disliked Wolfgang Petersen.

Both he and his fellow Irish actor (and close friend), Richard Harris, appeared in versions of "Gulliver's Travels": Harris played the film version Gulliver's Travels (1977) and O'Toole played the Emperor of Lilliput in the 1996 TV-film version Les Voyages de Gulliver (1996), where Ted Danson played Gulliver.

Was a close friend of Katharine Hepburn. Although some believe his daughter, Kate O'Toole, is named after Hepburn, according to Sian Phillips' autobiography they named their daughter after Kate, the title character in William Shakespeare' "Taming of the Shrew". They were inspired by the line in the play, "Kate, sweet Kate, the prettiest Kate in Christendom".

Was friends with fellow Irish actor Richard Harris. After Harris died, his family hoped that O'Toole would replace him as Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter et le Prisonnier d'Azkaban (2004), but the role went to Michael Gambon instead.

It is interesting to note that the DVD of Chasse à l'homme (1976) has a two page biography of Peter O'Toole that at the end reads as follows: Peter O'Toole died in 2003 after a long illness. Whoever entered that erroneous fact must have been very surprised to see Peter show up at The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) for his nomination in Venus (2006).

Cited Rose Byrne and Jodie Whittaker as the best young actresses he had ever worked with.

Was the original choice to play King Henry VIII in Un homme pour l'éternité (1966) but Robert Shaw, who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his performance, was cast instead.

He turned down the lead role in Le docteur Jivago (1965), unwilling to work with David Lean again after his experience in Lawrence d'Arabie (1962).

He was considered to play the Eighth Doctor in Le seigneur du temps (1996). He was also considered for Borusa and was enthusiastic about it before the character was dropped from the script.

In 1995 he was chosen by "Empire" magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#47).

He worked with Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, Ursula Andress and Burt Bacharach on both Quoi de neuf Pussycat ? (1965) and Casino Royale (1967).

The family of the late Richard Harris asked him to replace Harris as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films. Although flattered, he declined, citing weariness at such a commitment. His age also meant that he couldn't get insurance.

He was considered for Sean Connery's roles in Pas de printemps pour Marnie (1964), Highlander (1986) and Le Nom de la rose (1986).

While at RADA in the early 1950s he was active in protesting British involvement in the Korean War. Later in the 1960s he was an active opponent of the Vietnam War.

Starred in four Oscar Best Picture nominees: Lawrence d'Arabie (1962), Becket (1964), Le Lion en hiver (1968) and Le dernier empereur (1987). Lawrence of Arabia and The Last Emperor both won. He was also nominated for Best Actor for his performances in the first three of these.

His performance as Alan Swann in Où est passée mon idole? (1982) is ranked #56 on "Premiere" Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

The Leeds City Council register of births, deaths and marriages proved that the man who went through life proudly purporting to be an Irishman was in fact a Yorkshireman, born at the famous St James University Hospital in Leeds, on 2 August 1932.

Was originally approached by director Billy Wilder to play "Sherlock Holmes" in La vie privée de Sherlock Holmes (1970), opposite Peter Sellers as "Dr. Watson". Wilder later decided to go with lesser known stars instead.

He was approached to play Dillinger/Sark in Tron (1982), but after reading the script he became very interested in playing Tron.

O'Toole played rugby league as a child in Leeds and was also a rugby union fan, attending Five Nations matches with friends and fellow rugby fans Richard Harris, Kenneth Griffith, Peter Finch and Richard Burton. He was also a lifelong player, coach and enthusiast of cricket and a fan of Sunderland A.F.C.

Although O'Toole always claimed to have been born in Ireland, the birth records show he was actually born in Leeds in England. There is no record of any Peter O'Toole being born in Ireland in 1932. O'Toole's parents had lived in Leeds since 1930.

He was Terry Gilliam's original choice for the lead role in Les aventures du baron de Munchausen (1988).

He turned down the role of Judas Iscariot in Jésus de Nazareth (1977) due to ill health. The role went to Ian McShane.

He was considered for the lead role in L'Extravagant docteur Dolittle (1967).

On 18 May 2014, a new prize was launched in memory of Peter O'Toole at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School; this includes an annual award given to two young actors from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, including a professional contract at Bristol Old Vic Theatre.

He appeared in four films with his ex-wife Siân Phillips: Becket (1964), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), La guerre de Murphy (1971) and Under Milk Wood (1971).

Father of actor Lorcan O'Toole, Kate O'Toole and Pat O'Toole.

He was seriously considered to play Marc Anthony in Cléopâtre (1963).