Albert Finney

Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began his career on the stage, moving into film fame in the early 1960s. His first movie was *The Entertainer* (1960), directed by Tony Richardson, who had previously worked with him in theatre. Finney remained active and successful in both stage and screen work.

He is remembered for a wide range of film roles, including *Saturday Night and Sunday Morning* (1960), *Tom Jones* (1963), *Two for the Road* (1967), *Scrooge* (1970), *Murder on the Orient Express* (1974), *Annie* (1982), *The Dresser* (1983), *Miller's Crossing* (1990), *A Man of No Importance* (1994), *Erin Brockovich* (2000), *Big Fish* (2003), *A Good Year* (2006), *The Bourne Ultimatum* (2007), *Before the Devil Knows You're Dead* (2007), and the James Bond film *Skyfall* (2012). He also had notable performances on television and in theatre.

Finney won an Actor Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Emmy, Silver Bear, and Volpi Cup. He received five Academy Award nominations: four for Best Actor for *Tom Jones* (1963), *Murder on the Orient Express* (1974), *The Dresser* (1983), and *Under the Volcano* (1984), and one for Best Supporting Actor for *Erin Brockovich* (2000). He also earned several awards for playing Winston Churchill in the 2002 BBC–HBO television biopic *The Gathering Storm*.

**Life and career**

**Early years and education**

Finney was born on 9 May 1936 in Salford, Lancashire, the youngest of three children and the only son of Albert Finney, a bookmaker, and Alice (née Hobson). He attended Tootal Drive Primary School, Salford Grammar School, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), graduating in 1956.

**1956–1962: Early career**

While still at RADA, Finney made an early television appearance as Mr Hardcastle in Oliver Goldsmith's *She Stoops to Conquer*, broadcast by the BBC from the Vanbrugh Theatre on 6 January 1956. Fellow cast members included Roy Kinnear and Richard Briers. After graduating, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. He turned down a contract from the Rank Organisation to perform with the Birmingham Rep, appearing in a production of *The Miser* that was filmed for the BBC in 1956. He also appeared in BBC productions of *The Claverdon Road Job* (1957) and *View Friendship and Marriage* (1958).

At Birmingham, he played the title role in *Henry V*. In 1958, he made his London stage debut in Jane Arden's *The Party*, directed by Charles Laughton, who also acted in the production alongside his wife, Elsa Lanchester. In 1959, Finney performed the title role of *Coriolanus* at Stratford, replacing an ill Laurence Olivier. He guest-starred in several episodes of *Emergency-Ward 10* and played Lysander in a 1959 television version of *A Midsummer Night's Dream* directed by Peter Hall.

Finney's first film appearance was in Tony Richardson's *The Entertainer* (1960), alongside Laurence Olivier; Finney and Alan Bates played Olivier's sons. His film breakthrough came the same year with his role as a disillusioned factory worker in Karel Reisz's film adaptation of Alan Sillitoe's *Saturday Night and Sunday Morning* (1960), produced by Richardson. The film was a success, becoming the third most popular movie in Britain that year and earning over half a million pounds. Finney then performed *Billy Liar* on stage and for British television in 1960. He was chosen to play T. E. Lawrence in David Lean's *Lawrence of Arabia* after a four-day screen test, but refused the role because he objected to signing a multi-year contract for producer Sam Spiegel.

Finney originated the title role in John Osborne's 1961 play *Luther*, about Martin Luther. He performed it with the English Stage Company in London, Nottingham, Paris, and New York. The West End run at the Phoenix Theatre ended in March 1962 after 239 performances, when Finney left to fulfill a film contract.

**1963–1977**

Finney starred in the 1963 Academy Award–winning film *Tom Jones*, directed by Richardson and written by Osborne. Its success led British exhibitors to vote him the ninth most popular film actor in 1963. He earned over $1 million from a 10% share of the film's profits. He followed this with a small role in the ensemble war film *The Victors* (1963), which was a box-office failure. He then made his Broadway debut in *Luther* in 1963. After that run ended, he took a year off to sail around the world, saying he had been told to cash in on his success but had only taken one vacation in eight years, and that Captain Cook was a childhood hero whose Pacific routes he wanted to explore.

The success of *Tom Jones* allowed Finney to produce his next film, *Night Must Fall* (1964), in which he also starred and which was directed by Reisz. A remake of the 1937 film, it was a failure and Finney's performance received poor reviews. He performed a season of plays at the Royal National Theatre, including August Strindberg's *Miss Julie* in 1965. He continued film work with *Two for the Road* (1967), co-starring Audrey Hepburn. With Michael Medwin, he formed Memorial Productions, which made *Privilege* (1967), directed by Peter Watkins; *The Burning* (1968), a short directed by Stephen Frears; and *If....* (1968), directed by Lindsay Anderson. Memorial also produced stage works, including *A Day in the Death of Joe Egg*, which Finney performed in London and on Broadway, as well as productions like *Spring and Port Wine* and *The Burgular* in which he did not appear. Memorial then made *Charlie Bubbles* (1968), which Finney starred in and also directed.