Very sad news this evening as acting legend Peter O'Toole has died at the age of 81.
As the star of some of the biggest, most iconic and prolific movies ever made, and with a personality as sparkling off-screen as on, Hollywood's lost one of its leading shining stars.
In an acting career spanning over 50 years, he first rose to critical acclaim in a number of theatre roles in the 1950s and 60s.
But it was his turn as British adventurer T E Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia that skyrocketed his presence onto the international stage, and deservedly earned him the first of his eight Oscar nominations.
From there he went on to star alongside some of Hollywood's greats in an array of critically acclaimed cinematic classics, including The Lion in Winter, Goodbye, Mr Chips, The Ruling Class, The Stunt Man, My Favourite Year, Venus, and then introduced himself to a whole new generation of filmgoers as curmudgeonly critic Anton in Pixar's Ratatouille .
It was only last year, at the age of 79, that O'Toole announced he was retiring. However, he is still set to be seen in Katharine of Alexandria , which has yet to announce an official UK release date.
While he was awarded an honorary Oscar by the Academy in 2003, he initially turned it down, telling them he was "still in the game and might win the bugger outright."
All at Total Film are deeply saddened by this tragic news, and our condolences go out to his family and friends.
