Sir Arthur John Gielgud OM, CH (14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an acclaimed English actor and theatre director.
Along with Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the three theatre giants who dominated the British stage for most of the 20th century, establishing himself as one of the most eminent and acclaimed Shakespeare interpreters of his time.
Gielgud was primarily a stage actor for the bulk of his career, only sporadically appearing in film until the '60s. He stated that in most instances, with the exception of films which were adapted from stage plays, he had rather little interest in most of the movies that he appeared in and so usually did so strictly for the additional income. For example, even though Gielgud earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the sarcastic and witty valet Hobson in Arthur (1981), he himself didn't find the material particularly funny. Most of his other film appearances tended to be One-Scene Wonder supporting roles or cameos.
In 1991, he completed his EGOT, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, becoming only the fourth person to do so, and the first non-American and first LBGT creator at that.
His works on TV Tropes:
- Secret Agent (1936) as Richard Ashenden/Edgar Brodie
- Julius Caesar (1953) as Gaius Cassius Longinus
- Romeo and Juliet (1954) as The Prologue
- Richard III (1955) as George of Clarence
- Around the World in 80 Days (1956) as Foster
- Saint Joan (1957) as Earl of Warwick
- The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957) as Edward Moulton-Barrett
- Becket (1964) as King Louis VII
- Hamlet (1964, filmed stage play, also directed) as The Ghost
- The Loved One (1965) as Sir Francis Hinsley
- Chimes at Midnight (1966) as King Henry IV
- The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) as Pope Pius XIII
- The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) as Lord Raglan
- Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) as Count Leopold von Berchtold
- Julius Caesar (1970) as Gaius Julius Caesar
- Lost Horizon (1973) as Chang
- Murder on the Orient Express (1974) as Beddoes
- Galileo (1975) as Cardinal
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977) as Preacher
- Richard II (1978) as John of Gaunt
- Murder by Decree (1979) as Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Lord Salisbury)
- Caligula (1979) as Marcus Cocceius Nerva
- The Human Factor (1979) as Brigadier Tomlinson
- The Elephant Man (1980) as Carr Gomm
- Lion of the Desert (1981) as Sharif El Gariani
- Arthur (1981) as Hobson — Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor
- Chariots of Fire (1981) as Master of Trinity
- Gandhi (1982) as Edward Wood (Lord Irwin)
- The Wicked Lady (1983) as Hogarth
- The Scarlet and the Black (1983) as Pope Pius XII
- The Shooting Party (1985) as Cornelius Cardew
- The Canterville Ghost (1985) as Sir Simon de Canterville
- Appointment with Death (1988) as Colonel Carbury
- Prospero's Books (1991) as Prospero
- Swan Song (1992, short film) as Svetlovidov
- First Knight (1995) as Oswald
- Haunted (1995) as Dr. Doyle
- Dragonheart (1996) as King Arthur (voice, cameo)
- The Portrait of a Lady (1996) as Mr. Touchett
- Hamlet (1996) as Priam
- Shine (1996) as Professor Cecil Parkes
- Elizabeth (1998) as Pope Pius V
- Catastrophe (2000, short film) as The Protagonist
- Frankenstein: The True Story (TV movie, 1973) as Chief Constable
- Edward the Seventh (2 episodes, 1975) as Benjamin Disraeli
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (TV movie, 1976) as Lord Henry Wotton
- Les Misérables (TV movie, 1978) as Monsieur Gllenormand
- Tales of the Unexpected (2 episodes, 1979–80) as Jelks / Cyril Boggis
- Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (TV movie, 1980) as Reverend Thomas Jones
- Brideshead Revisited (7 episodes, 1981) as Edward Ryder
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (TV movie, 1982) as Jacques Charmolue
- Wagner (TV series, 1983) as Franz von Pfistermeister
- Screen Two (2 episodes, 1986–87) as Jasper Swift / Eddie Loomis
- A Man for All Seasons (TV movie, 1988) as Cardinal Wolsey
- War and Remembrance (11 episodes, 1988–89) as Aaron Jastrow
- Inspector Morse (1 episode, 1993) as Lord Hincksey
- Lovejoy (1 episode, 1993) as Lord Wakering
- Scarlett (1 episode, 1994) as Pierre Robillard
- Gulliver's Travels (TV movie, 1996) as Professor of Sunlight
- Merlin (2 episodes, 1998) as King Constant
- The Lady's Not for Burning (1949) as Thomas Mendip
Tropes associated with his career:
- Underage Casting: Traditionally, most stage productions of King Lear reserve the title role for older actors, often as their final role before retiring from the stage. Gielgud first played Lear when he was still in his twenties, making him one of the youngest actors to ever play the role.