Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

  • Born: 1907-5-22
  • Birthplace: Surrey, London, UK
  • Height: 5' 10" (1.78 m)
  • Profession: Actor, director, screenwriter
  • Nationality: U.K
  • Graduate School: Birmingham Theatre
  • Representative Works: hamlet, Rebecca, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice
  • Laurence Olivier (Laurence Olivier, May 22, 1907-July 11, 1989), was born in London, England, a British director, producer, and actor [1]  .
    In 1922, he appeared on the stage of William Shakespeare 's play " The Taming of the Shrew ". Joined the Birmingham Theatre Company in 1926. Performed on Broadway for the first time in 1929 ; entered the film world in the same year and tried to make progress to Hollywood [2]  . Filmed the first Hollywood film "Yellow Passport" in 1931 [3]  . In 1937, he cooperated with Vivian Mary Hartley in the war film " Fire Over England " [4]  ; joined the Old Vic Theatre Company in London. In 1939, the starring role was adapted from the novel film " Wuthering Heights " of the same name by Emily Bronte [5] . In 1940, he collaborated with Joan Fontaine to film Alfred Hitchcock 's suspenseful film " Rebecca " [6] ; in the same year, he starred in the British writer Jane Austen 's adaptation of the novel of the same name " Pride and Prejudice " [7]    . In 1944, the Shakespeare film " Henry V ", directed and starred by himself, was nominated for the Academy Honorary Award and the Best Actor Award. Actor who was knighted by Princess Elizabeth in 1947 [8]  . In 1948, he was nominated for Best Director Oscar, Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Academy Award for Best Picture with his self-directed and acted Shakespeare film " hamlet " [9] . In 1955, he was nominated for an Oscar again with his self-directed and self-acted Shakespeare film " Richard III " [10] . In 1970, he was awarded the title of lord nobility by Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor of England . In 1979, he won the 51st Academy Awards "Special Achievement Award" [8] . Was awarded the medal in 1981 . In 1984, his name was named " Laurence Olivier Awards " by the highest award for British drama and musicals [3] .    
    On July 11, 1989, Laurence Olivier died in Brighton , West Sussex, England at the age of 82. In 1999, it ranked 14th on the list of " The greatest actor in a hundred years " launched by AFI [1] . 

    Personal Life

    Laurence Olivier family background

    Laurence Olivier, full name Lawrence Cole Oliver, his family is a strict British Anglicanism religious family. His ancestral family is quite prominent, originated from Huguenot in France , and fled to England in the 17th century (1866) due to involvement in the imperial family . In the twentieth century come down, Laurence Olivier was born in London, England Southwest comes alive Surrey, when the town Dorking, family is already very embarrassed   .
    Laurence Olivier’s father, Gerald Cole Oliver (1869-1939) , was a High Church priest; his mother, Agnes Louis Crukenden (1871-1920) , was when Laurence Olivier was 12 years old Passed away   . Laurence Olivier’s parents have a total of three children, eldest brother Richard Oliver and second sister Saibi Li Oliver, he is the youngest of the siblings.

    Laurence Olivier relationship experience

    Jill Esmond: Laurence Olivier's first wife was Jill Esmond , a British actress who was born into a family of acting . In 1926, Laurence Olivier met Jill Esmond when he entered the Birmingham Theatre to practice art. In 1929, Oliver proposed to Jill Esmond. Their marriage began on July 25, 1930. The couple performed the stage play "Romeo and Juliet" in 1935. Their   son, Taquin Oliver, was born in 1936, and was later due to the intervention of Vivian Mary Hartley. The relationship broke down and the divorce was finally signed on January 29, 1940. Their son Taquin later became a film and television director   .
    Vivian Mary Hartley: Laurence Olivier's second wife is British actress Vivian Mary Hartley , winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress twice . In 1935, Li went to watch the stage play "The Theatre Royal" starring Oliver to make the two meet; on August 31, 1940, they got married under the authentication of her friend Katharine Houghton Hepburn . After marriage, the couple collaborated on many stage plays and Movie; In 1947, the Queen of England knighted Oliver and also personally named Vivian Mary Hartley the "Madame"; Vivian Mary Hartley failed to give birth to Oliver due to several miscarriages. It wasn't until Vivian Mary Hartley suffered from mania that their relationship broke down; on January 6, 1960, the two ended their 20-year marriage .  
    Joan Plowright: Laurence Olivier's third wife is the British actress Joan Plowright . The marriage began on March 17, 1961, until Oliver's death in 1989. The two of them have three children. The first son, Richard Oliver, was born in 1961, who was also a director; the second daughter Tamsin Oliver was born in 1963; and the third daughter Julie Kate Oliver was born. In 1966, he was an actor   .

    Character Evaluation

    Laurence Olivier is a master of Shakespeare's drama. He showed off his acting genius when he was a student. He focused on acting or producing classic dramas throughout his life. It was the first and the first actor who successfully put William Shakespeare's drama on the screen; occasionally appeared. Movies adapted from famous books, such as "Wuthering Heights" and "Rebecca". Whenever the British writer William Shakespeare is mentioned, people first think of classic works such as "Prince's Revenge" and "Othello". The male lead in these two films is played by the same person, and he is Laurence Olivier.
    Laurence Olivier kept putting British classics on the Hollywood screen, playing almost all the protagonists in William Shakespeare's important works. Many people praised Laurence Olivier as "the contemporary person who has contributed the most to William Shakespeare's dramatic works" and "the greatest actor of the twentieth century." He has won eleven Oscar nominations in total, has interpreted all important roles of William Shakespeare, and is a veritable William Shakespeare drama prince. The characters in the series of William Shakespeare plays he created are immortal images one after another in the world of film, and his only collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock will make all Alfred Hitchcock fans unforgettable   .
    The legendary filmmaker Laurence Olivier once studied at the Birmingham Theatre and has a profound study of the works of William Shakespeare. After stepping onto the theater stage, he became a well-known performing artist with "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet". After that, he made a foothold in Hollywood with "Wuthering Heights", and "Rebecca" in collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock brought his innate aristocratic temperament to the fullest, bringing his acting career to the next level. Oliver's "Henry V", which is also a screenwriter, director, starring, and producer, won the Oscar for Best Picture. Later, "Hamlet" made him a long-cherished actor's long-cherished wish. Oliver has interpreted almost all the important roles in Shakespeare's plays in his life. He is recognized as the greatest Shakespeare actor in the 20th century and is known as the "Prince of William Shakespeare"   .
    The British Laurence Olivier, who was able to direct the performance during World War II, came to the stage, and the screen defender of the poet of the Elizabethan era in Great Britain arrived. From his "Henry V", the modern William Shakespeare movie really began; Oliver self-censored all plots that were not conducive to the performance of the wise monarch, and made " Henry V " an absolute "star of England"; later " hamlet " Quite the opposite, black and white, with heavy shadows. Oliver kept playing with the angle and depth of field of the camera to create a different sense of space. In " Richard III ", Oliver asked the king to speak directly to the camera or reveal conspiracies to bring the audience into the film by the director and actors. The world under common control, conspired with him. Laurence Olivier tells people that Shakespeare's play can not only survive in pure art, but can also echo in grand theaters   .
    Laurence Olivier is the first generation of Shakespeare's male gods, and also the insurmountable peak of Shakespeare's male gods. The 1948 film version of "hamlet" is definitely the pinnacle, and it also won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Actor. This is the first time that a British film has dominated the Oscar. With a delicate and fragile heart, noble and gorgeous aristocratic temperament, Laurence Olivier is simply the best spokesperson for hamlet. Known as the greatest actor of the twentieth century, Laurence Olivier has interpreted all the important roles of William Shakespeare. He is the veritable prince of William Shakespeare and is considered to be the person who has contributed the most to Shakespeare. The so-called genius of hard work is a male god like Laurence Olivier   .
    Laurence Olivier's "hamlet" is the authoritative "orthodox canon." Oliver seems to cut a large part of the original work, but from the shooting technique to the performance details, he has a rigorous academic atmosphere. One can even imagine the densely packed academics hidden under the close-ups of Oliver's face and body movements. Footnotes, his performance is considered to be an appropriate science of the original   .
    Whether as an actor, star, screenwriter or director, Laurence Olivier is regarded as world-class, especially his outstanding contribution to William Shakespeare's drama, which is highly respected   . Laurence Olivier, who played the role of William Shakespeare, was buried in Westminster Abbey after his death . This is a supreme honor in the UK. Although he had been fighting for the performing arts until his death, in the last ten years of his life, he had not played any important film roles, which caused his number of fans to drop sharply   .

    Character Dispute

    Hollywood stars used to spy for Churchill
    Oliver risked being imprisoned and assassinated during World War II, working as a spy for Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill . Churchill did not seek his opinion, but told him directly that the country now needs him to perform the duties of a citizen. Later, Laurence Olivier worked in the "Electra Office", the propaganda agency of the "British Special Operations Committee" in the United States. And the task he accepted was: "Using abundant human resources to fight for the United States, which took a neutral position at the time, to support Britain in fighting the National Socialist German Workers' Party Germany   . "
    Professor MRD Foote, who served as an officer of the British intelligence service during World War II, agreed with this statement. Oliver's son Taquin Oliver also said that his father was a fanatical patriot and actively supported the struggle of the allies against fascism   .
    Extended Reading

    Wuthering Heights quotes

    • Cathy: He seems to take pleasure in being mean and brutal. And yet, he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. And Linton's is as different as frost from fire... Ellen, I AM Heathcliff.

      [thunderbolt]

      Cathy: Everything he's suffered, I've suffered. The little happiness he's ever known, I've had too. Oh, Ellen, if everything in the world died and Heathcliff remained, life would still be full for me.

    • Heathcliff: Why are your eyes always empty? Like Linton's eyes.

      Isabella: They're not empty, if you'd only look deeper. Look at me. I'm pretty. I'm a woman and I love you. You're all of life to me. Let me be a single breath of it for you.