Guinness, Sir Alec

Guinness, Sir Alec (1914-2000), English actor, born in London. He made his stage debut in 1933, and beginning in 1936 he played Shakespearean roles at the Old Vic Theatre in London, notably the title role in Hamlet (1938). After service in the Royal Navy, he returned (1945-1946) to the Old Vic. Guinness later appeared on stage in England, Canada, and the United States in The Cocktail Party (1950), Ross (1960), and Dylan (1964).

Guinness won international fame for his masterly character portrayals in such films as Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948) and the comedies Kind Hearts and Coronets (1948), in which he played seven roles, The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), and The Captain's Paradise (1953). For his performance in The Bridge on the River Kwai, he received the 1957 Academy Award for best actor. His later films included Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Star Wars (1977), A Passage to India (1984), Little Dorrit (1987), A Handful of Dust (1988), and Kafka (1991).

Guinness achieved major success with the role of spycatcher George Smiley in the television series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) and Smiley's People (1982), based on the novels by John le Carré. His autobiography, Blessings in Disguise, was published in 1985; and later, two volumes of diaries, My Name Escapes Me (1997) and A Positively Final Appearance (1999). He was knighted in 1959 and made a Companion of Honour in 1994.