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John Gielgud

Acting Born Apr 14, 1904 Died May 21, 2000 London, England 198 credits

Biography

John Gielgud was an English actor, director, and producer. He was a descendant of the Terry acting family. Gielgud achieved early international acclaim for his performance of Hamlet on Broadway in 1937, which broke box office records. He was known for his beautiful speaking of verse and his warm and expressive voice. His colleague Sir Alec Guinness likened his voice to a silver trumpet muffled in silk. Gielgud is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award.

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Frequent co-stars

Career timeline

Nothing Like a Dame
Trouser Bar · WriterBoys On Film 15: Time & Tied · WriterPlay On! Shakespeare in Silent Film
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
Discovering Hamlet
Behind The Scenes of Caligula
Revisiting Brideshead
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film
Catastrophe
Vivien Leigh: A Delicate Balance
The Tichborne Claimant
MerlinQuest for CamelotElizabethRachmaninoff: The Harvest of Sorrow
A Dance to the Music of TimeDavid
DragonHeartGulliver's TravelsThe Portrait of a LadyHamletLooking for Richard
First KnightHauntedStick with Me, KidThe Thomas The Tank Engine Man
ScarlettA Summer Day's Dream
Hollywood U.K.: British Cinema in the Sixties
Shining ThroughThe Power of OneA Walk Through Prospero's LibrarySwan Song
PerformanceThe Strauss DynastyThe Strauss DynastyProspero's BooksPreminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
A TV DanteStrike It RichVivien Leigh: Scarlett and BeyondRabbit Ears - The Emperor's New Clothes
Summer's LeaseGetting It RightBarbablù, Barbablù
War and RemembranceAppointment with DeathArthur 2: On the RocksA Man for All SeasonsIn from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
Inspector MorseFunny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional VaudevilleQuartermaine's Terms
LovejoyThe Canterville GhostThe Whistle BlowerTheban Plays: AntigoneTime After Time
Screen TwoScreen TwoPlentyTo Be HamletRomance on the Orient Express
The Far PavilionsSix Centuries of VerseCamilleThe Master of BallantraeScandalous
The Wicked LadyThe Scarlet and the BlackWagnerInvitation to the Wedding
Marco PoloGandhiThe Hunchback of Notre DameInside the Third ReichLaurence Olivier: a life
Brideshead RevisitedArthurChariots of FireLion of the DesertSphinx
The Elephant ManWhy Didn't They Ask Evans?The ConductorThe Formula
Tales of the UnexpectedTales of the UnexpectedCaligulaMurder by DecreeThe Human Factor

Full filmography

  • Nothing Like a Dame (2018) as Self (archive footage)
  • Trouser Bar (2016) Writer
  • Boys On Film 15: Time & Tied (2016) Writer
  • Play On! Shakespeare in Silent Film (2016) as Self
  • Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014) as Hogarth (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Discovering Hamlet (2011) as King Hamlet's Ghost (archive footage)
  • Behind The Scenes of Caligula (2009)
  • Revisiting Brideshead (2005) as Self (archive footage)
  • Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film (2003) as Self - The Protagonist ("Catastrophe")
  • Catastrophe (2001) as The Protagonist
  • Vivien Leigh: A Delicate Balance (2000) as Self
  • The Tichborne Claimant (1999) as Cockburn
  • Merlin (1998) as King Constant
  • Quest for Camelot (1998) as Merlin (voice)
  • Elizabeth (1998) as The Pope
  • Rachmaninoff: The Harvest of Sorrow (1998)
  • A Dance to the Music of Time (1997) as St. John Clarke
  • David (1997) as Stimme Gottes
  • DragonHeart (1996) as King Arthur (voice) (uncredited)
  • Gulliver's Travels (1996) as Professor of Light
  • The Portrait of a Lady (1996) as Mr. Touchett
  • Hamlet (1996) as Priam
  • Looking for Richard (1996) as Self - Interviewee
  • Shine (1996) as Cecil Parkes
  • The Leopard Son (1996) as Narrator
  • First Knight (1995) as Oswald
  • Haunted (1995) as Dr Henry Doyle
  • Stick with Me, Kid (1995) as Grandpa
  • The Thomas The Tank Engine Man (1995) as Self (Voice)
  • Scarlett (1994) as Pierre Robillard
  • A Summer Day's Dream (1994)
  • Hollywood U.K.: British Cinema in the Sixties (1993) as Self
  • Shining Through (1992) as Sunflower
  • The Power of One (1992) as St. John
  • A Walk Through Prospero's Library (1992) as Prospero
  • Swan Song (1992) as Svetlovidov
  • Performance (1991) as Stephen Dawlish
  • The Strauss Dynasty (1991) as Drechsler
  • The Strauss Dynasty (1991) as Drechsler
  • Prospero's Books (1991) as Prospero
  • Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker (1991) as Self (archive footage)
  • The Best of Friends (1991) as Sydney Cockerell
  • A TV Dante (Cantos 9 to 14) (1991) as Virgil (voice)
  • A TV Dante (1990) as Virgil
  • Strike It Rich (1990) as Herbert Dreuther
  • Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond (1990) as Self
  • Rabbit Ears - The Emperor's New Clothes (1990) as Narrator (voice)
  • Summer's Lease (1989) as Haverford Downs
  • Getting It Right (1989) as Sir Gordon Munday
  • Barbablù, Barbablù (1989) as Barbablù
  • War and Remembrance (1988) as Aaron Jastrow
  • Appointment with Death (1988) as Colonel Carbury
  • Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988) as Hobson
  • A Man for All Seasons (1988) as Cardinal Wolsey
  • In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton (1988) as Self
  • Inspector Morse (1987) as Lord Hinksey
  • Funny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville (1987) as British Lord
  • Quartermaine's Terms (1987) as Eddie Loomis
  • Lovejoy (1986) as Lord Wakering
  • The Canterville Ghost (1986) as Sir Simon de Canterville
  • The Whistle Blower (1986) as Sir Adrian Chappie
  • Theban Plays: Antigone (1986) as Tiresias
  • Time After Time (1986) as Jasper Swift
  • Theban Plays: Oedipus the King (1986) as Tieresias
  • Screen Two (1985) as Eddie Loomis
  • Screen Two (1985) as Jasper Swift
  • Plenty (1985) as Sir Leonard Darwin
  • To Be Hamlet (1985) as Self
  • Romance on the Orient Express (1985) as Theodore Woodward
  • The Shooting Party (1985) as Cornelius Cardew
  • Leave All Fair (1985) as John Middleton Murry
  • The Far Pavilions (1984) as Cavagnari
  • Six Centuries of Verse (1984) as Self - Presenter
  • Camille (1984) as Duke de Charles
  • The Master of Ballantrae (1984) as Lord Durrisdeer
  • Scandalous (1984) as Uncle Willie
  • Frankenstein (1984) as De Lacey
  • James Mason: The Star They Loved to Hate (1984) as Self - on the set of 'The Shooting Party' (uncredited)
  • The Wicked Lady (1983) as Hogarth
  • The Scarlet and the Black (1983) as Pope Pius XII
  • Wagner (1983) as Pfistermeister
  • Invitation to the Wedding (1983)
  • Marco Polo (1982) as Doge di Venezia
  • Gandhi (1982) as Lord Irwin
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982) as Charmolue
  • Inside the Third Reich (1982) as Albert Speer Sr.
  • Laurence Olivier: a life (1982) as Self
  • The Critic (1982) as Lord Burleigh
  • Brideshead Revisited (1981) as Edward 'Ned' Ryder
  • Arthur (1981) as Hobson
  • Chariots of Fire (1981) as Master of Trinity
  • Lion of the Desert (1981) as Sharif El Gariani
  • Sphinx (1981) as Abdu-Hamdi
  • Priest of Love (1981) as Herbert G. Muskett
  • Agatha Christie's Seven Dials Mystery (1981) as Marquis of Caterhan
  • The Elephant Man (1980) as Carr Gomm
  • Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1980) as Reverend Jones
  • The Conductor (1980) as John Lasocki
  • The Formula (1980) as Dr. Abraham Esau
  • Tales of the Unexpected (1979) as Jelks
  • Tales of the Unexpected (1979) as Cyril Boggis
  • Caligula (1979) as Nerva
  • Murder by Decree (1979) as Prime Minister
  • The Human Factor (1979) as Brigadier Tomlinson
  • The BBC Television Shakespeare (1978) as Chorus
  • The BBC Television Shakespeare (1978) as John of Gaunt
  • Les Misérables (1978) as Gillenormand
  • No Man's Land (1978) as Spooner
  • Romeo and Juliet (1978) as Chorus
  • Richard II (1978) as John of Gaunt
  • Providence (1977) as Clive Langham
  • Joseph Andrews (1977) as The Doctor
  • Heartbreak House (1977) as Captain Shotover
  • A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977) as The Preacher
  • The Grand Inquisitor (1977) as Inquisitor
  • Second City Television (1976) as Self
  • Aces High (1976) as Headmaster
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray (1976) as Lord Henry Wotton
  • Peter Pan (1976) as Narrator
  • Galileo (1975) as The Old Cardinal
  • Murder on the Orient Express (1974) as Mr. Beddoes
  • Gold (1974) as Farrell
  • QB VII (1974) as Clinton-Meek
  • Frankenstein: The True Story (1974) as Chief Constable
  • 11 Harrowhouse (1974) as Meecham
  • Lost Horizon (1973) as Chang
  • Frankenstein: The True Story (1973) as Chief Constable
  • William: The Life, Works and Times of William Shakespeare (1973) as Various
  • ABC Afterschool Special (1972) as Various Roles
  • Home (1972) as Harry
  • Eagle in a Cage (1972) as Lord Sissal
  • Probe (1972) as Harold L. Streeter
  • Great Performances (1971) as Self
  • Film '72 (1971) as Self
  • Play for Today (1970) as Harry
  • Menace (1970) as Frederick William Densham
  • Julius Caesar (1970) as Julius Caesar
  • Hamlet (1970) as The Ghost
  • Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) as Count Leopold Von Berchtold
  • The Dick Cavett Show (1968) as Self - Guest
  • The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) as Lord Raglan
  • The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) as The Elder Pope
  • Assignment to Kill (1968) as Curt Valayan
  • Sebastian (1968) as Head of Intelligence
  • From Chekhov with Love (1968) as Anton Chekhov
  • The Love Song of Barney Kempinski (1968) as Rich Man
  • Omnibus (1967) as Self
  • Romeo and Juliet (1967) as Chorus
  • October Revolution (1967) as Narrator (voice)
  • ABC Stage 67 (1966) as Rich Man
  • Ivanov (1966) as Nikolai ivanov
  • Ivanov (1966) Director
  • Alice in Wonderland (1966) as Mock Turtle
  • The Mayfly and the Frog (1966) as Gabriel Quantara
  • Ages of Man (1966)
  • BBC Play of the Month (1965) as Chorus
  • BBC Play of the Month (1965) as The Inquisitor
  • BBC Play of the Month (1965) as Charles II
  • BBC Play of the Month (1965) as Lord Henry 'Harry' Wotton
  • BBC Play of the Month (1965) as Capt. Shotover
  • BBC Play of the Month (1965) as Lord Burleigh
  • Thirty-Minute Theatre (1965) as The Writer
  • Chimes at Midnight (1965) as Henry IV
  • The Loved One (1965) as Sir Francis Hinsley
  • The Wednesday Play (1964) as Gabriel Quantara
  • Hamlet (1964) as Ghost (voice)
  • Hamlet (1964) Director
  • Becket (1964) as King Louis VII of France
  • To Die in Madrid (1963) as Narrator (English version) (voice)
  • The Cherry Orchard (1962) as Gaev
  • The Cherry Orchard (1962) Writer
  • The Bell Telephone Hour (1959) as Self
  • The Big Party (1959) as Self
  • The Immortal Land (1958)
  • Tonight Starring Jack Paar (1957) as Self
  • Saint Joan (1957) as Earl of Warwick
  • The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957) as Edward Moulton-Barrett
  • Around the World in 80 Days (1956) as Foster
  • Richard III (1955) as George, Duke of Clarence
  • ITV Opening Night at the Guildhall (1955) as John Worthing, JP
  • Romeo and Juliet (1954) as Chorus
  • Hamlet: The Actor's View (1954) as Self
  • Julius Caesar (1953) as Cassius
  • Ariel’s Song / Full Fathom Five (1953) as Narrator
  • Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) as The Ghost
  • Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) as Charmolue
  • Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) as Lord Durrisdeer
  • Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) as Duke
  • The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) as Self
  • A Diary for Timothy (1945) as Hamlet
  • The Prime Minister (1941) as Disraeli
  • An Airman's Letter to His Mother (1941) as Narrator
  • Heredity in Man (1937) as Self
  • Secret Agent (1936) as Richard Ashenden / Edgar Brodie
  • The Good Companions (1933) as Inigo Jollifant
  • Insult (1932) as Henri Dubois
  • The Clue of the New Pin (1929) as Rex Trasmere
  • Who Is the Man? (1924) as Daniel