Inspirational Quotes by Alec Guinness (English Actor)

Alec Guinness (1914–2000,) originally Alec Guinness de Cuffe, was a British actor famous for the variety and excellence of his stage and screen characterizations. His trademarks were subtle but telling facial expressions and excellent performances.

Born in London, Guinness worked briefly as a junior copywriter for an advertising firm before becoming an actor at the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art. He made his stage début as an extra at the King’s Theatre in Hammersmith, London.

Guinness appeared as Osric in John Gielgud’s Hamlet (1934–35) production and joined the Old Vic in 1936, where he played Hamlet (1938.) He rejoined the company in 1946 after serving in the Royal Navy throughout World War II.

Guinness made his film début as an extra in Evensong (1934) but began his cinema career in earnest with the Charles Dickens adaptations Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948.) Long associated with Ealing Studios, his many comic triumphs include Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949,) The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955.) He received the Best Actor Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957.)

Guinness’s other films include Tunes of Glory (1960,) Lawrence of Arabia (1962,) Star Wars (1977,) and Little Dorrit (1988.) Although infrequent, his many distinguished stage performances include The Cocktail Party (1949–50,) Ross (1960,) Dylan (1964,) Macbeth (1966,) A Voyage Round My Father (1971,) The Old Country (1977) and A Walk in the Woods (1989.)

Guinness’s television work includes two appearances as the inscrutable Spycatcher George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) and Smiley’s People (1982) as well as Foreign Field (1993.)

Guinness published the autobiographies Blessings in Disguise (1985) and My Name Escapes Me (1996.) Penn State University’s Kenneth Von Gunden produced Biographies: Alec Guinness: The Films by (1987.)

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