Alec Guinness

Actor

Alec Guinness

Born April 2, 1914 in Marylebone, London, England, UKDied August 5, 200058 films

Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai. He is most well known for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy. He also played Prince Feisal in Lawrence of Arabia and George Smiley in the TV adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

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Lawrence of Arabia posterFirst watchLawrence of Arabia19628.0as Prince FeisalA leading role.During World War I, English officer Thomas Edward 'T.E.' Lawrence sets out to unite and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes to fight the Turks.View film

Essential films

Ranked by role, acclaim and reach
The Bridge on the River Kwai poster7.8The Bridge on the River Kwai1957Star Wars poster8.2Star Wars1977Kind Hearts and Coronets poster7.6Kind Hearts and Coronets1949Murder by Death poster7.1Murder by Death1976The Ladykillers poster7.3The Ladykillers1955The Lavender Hill Mob poster7.2The Lavender Hill Mob1951The Man in the White Suit poster6.9The Man in the White Suit1951Scrooge poster6.8Scrooge1970

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The Bridge on the River Kwai poster7.8The Bridge on the River Kwai1957Lawrence of Arabia poster8.0Lawrence of Arabia1962

Filmography

58 films as actor
  1. 2019Star Wars: The Rise of SkywalkerObi-Wan Kenobi (archive voice)
  2. 2015Star Wars: The Force AwakensObi-Wan Kenobi (archive sound) (uncredited)
  3. 1996Eskimo DayJames
  4. 1995Mute WitnessThe Reaper (credited as Mystery Guest Star)
  5. 1993A Foreign FieldAmos
  6. 1992Tales from HollywoodHeinrich Mann
  7. 1991KafkaThe Chief Clerk
  8. 1988A Handful of DustMr. Todd
  9. 1987Little DorritWilliam Dorrit
  10. 1985Monsignor QuixoteFather Quixote
  11. 1984A Passage to IndiaProfessor Godbole
  12. 1984EdwinSir Fennimore Truscott
  13. 1983Return of the JediBen 'Obi-Wan' Kenobi
  14. 1983LovesickSigmund Freud
  15. 1980Little Lord FauntleroyEarl of Dorincourt
  16. 1980Raise the TitanicJohn Bigalow
  17. 1980The Empire Strikes BackObi-Wan Kenobi
  18. 1977Star WarsObi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi
  19. 1976Murder by DeathButler Jamesir Bensonmum
  20. 1976Caesar and CleopatraCaesar
  21. 1974The Gift of FriendshipJocelyn Broome
  22. 1973Hitler: The Last Ten DaysAdolf Hitler
  23. 1972Brother Sun, Sister MoonPapst Innozenz III.
  24. 1970ScroogeJacob Marley's Ghost
  25. 1970CromwellKing Charles I
  26. 1970Twelfth NightMalvolio
  27. 1967The ComediansMajor H. O. Jones
  28. 1966The Quiller MemorandumPol
  29. 1966Hotel ParadisoBenedict Boniface
  30. 1965Doctor ZhivagoGen. Yevgraf Zhivago
  31. 1965Situation Hopeless... But Not SeriousWilhelm Frick
  32. 1964The Fall of the Roman EmpireMarcus Aurelius
  33. 1962Lawrence of ArabiaPrince Feisal
  34. 1962H.M.S. DefiantCaptain Crawford
  35. 1961A Majority of OneKoichi Asano
  36. 1960Tunes of GloryMaj. Jock Sinclair, D.S.O., M.M.
  37. 1960Our Man in HavanaJim Wormold
  38. 1959The ScapegoatJohn Barratt / Jacques De Gue
  39. 1958The Horse's MouthGulley Jimson
  40. 1957Barnacle BillCaptain William Horatio Ambrose
  41. 1957The Bridge on the River KwaiCol. Nicholson
  42. 1956The SwanPrince Albert
  43. 1955The LadykillersProfessor Marcus
  44. 1955The PrisonerThe Cardinal
  45. 1955To Paris with LoveSir Edgar Fraser
  46. 1954Father BrownFather Brown
  47. 1953The Captain's ParadiseCaptain Henry St. James
  48. 1953Malta StoryFlight Lt. Peter Ross
  49. 1952The CardEdward Henry 'Denry' Machin
  50. 1951The Man in the White SuitSidney Stratton
  51. 1951The Lavender Hill MobHenry 'Dutch' Holland
  52. 1950The MudlarkBenjamin Disraeli
  53. 1950Last HolidayGeorge Bird
  54. 1949A Run for Your MoneyWhimple
  55. 1949Kind Hearts and CoronetsThe D'Ascoyne Family: The Duke / The Banker / The Parson / The General / The Admiral / Young Ascoyne / Young Henry / Lady Agatha
  56. 1948Oliver TwistFagin
  57. 1946Great ExpectationsHerbert Pocket
  58. 1934EvensongW.W.I. soldier in concert audience (uncredited)