Robert Donat

Trivia of Robert Donat (18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958)

*He did not feel comfortable with Hollywood, so Hollywood came to him, filming mostly in England.

*He played Charles Edward "Mr. Chips" Chipping between the ages of 20 (in 1870) and 83 (in 1933) in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939). Donat was 34 years old when he played this role.

*Was the favourite actor of Judy Garland, who wrote a fan letter to him after seeing his performance in The Count of Monte Cristo (1934).

*He was originally scheduled to play the title role in Captain Blood (1935) but withdrew before shooting began, which created an opportunity for Errol Flynn to become a star. He was also offered the role of Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) which he turned down due to illness.

*In 1937, Donat starred in ‘Knight Without Armour’ with Marlene Dietrich. Just before the shooting, Donat had to be hospitalized due an acute attack of asthma and Director Korda decided to replace him, but changed his mind when Dietrich threatened to leave.Unfortunately, the film did not do well at the box office.

*For the last several years of his career, Robert Donat concentrated on the theatre more than motion pictures.During theatre performances, the actor's asthma sometimes required the use of a mobile oxygen unit. This was kept somewhere in the wings, as and when Robert Donat required this.

*His last words on screen are: "We shall not see each other again, I think". "Farewell, Jen-Ai". (Spoken to Ingrid Bergman's character Jen-Ai ("the one who loves people") in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)). He passed away shortly after filming was completed.