Trivia of Alec Guiness

 Trivia of Alec Guiness (2 April 1914 - 5 August 2000)

*The identity of his father is unknown. On the his birth certificate, there is no name listed for the father.As an illegitimate child, the name of the father could only be put on the birth certificate if the father was present and consented according to the law at the time. Guinness suspected that a man named Andrew Geddes was his father. Geddes was a Scottish banker who paid for the Guiness' boarding school education, and would sometimes visit the family, but it was never confirmed if he was or was not the boy’s father.

*Guinness first worked writing advertising copy. His first job in the theatre was on his 20th birthday (2 April 1934), while he was a student at the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art, in the play Libel, which opened at the old King's Theatre, Hammersmith.He appeared at the New Theatre in 1936 at the age of 22, playing the role of Osric in John Gielgud's successful production of Hamlet.During his early career, he often playing Shakespearean roles.

*In his autobiographical volumes, Guinness wrote about an incident at the London's Old Vic when, in the company of National Theater (which originally played at the Old Vic) artistic director Laurence Olivier in the basement of the theater, he asked where a certain tunnel went. Olivier did not really know but confidently decided to take the tunnel as it must come out somewhere nearby, it being part of the Old Vic. In reality, the tunnel went under the Thames, and they were rescued after several hours of fruitless navigation of the dark, damp corridor. Guinness remarked that Olivier's willingness to plunge into the dark and unknown was characteristic of the type of person (and actor) he was. As for himself as an actor, Guinness lamented at times that he did not take enough chances.

*His first American movie was The Swan (1956) opposite Grace Kelly.During filming, Sir Alec Guinness met James Dean, and later recalled predicting that Dean would die in a car crash. When Dean showed Guinness his newly-bought Porsche, Guinness advised him to "Get rid of that car, or you'll be dead in a week!" Guinness unfortunately proved to be right.

*He play role as Colonel Nicholson in film The Bridge on The River Kwai (1957) opposite William Holden as Shears.For the scene when Colonel Nicholson emerges from the "oven" after several days confined there, Sir Alec Guinness based his faltering walk on that of his son Matthew when he was recovering from polio. Guinness regarded this one tiny scene as some of the finest work he did throughout his entire career.

*Alec Guinness had a life-long interest in T.E. Lawrence, and wanted very much to play as him in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) but director David Lean and producer Sam Spiegel both told him he was too old. Sir Laurence Olivier was the original choice for Prince Faisal, and Guinness was shifted to that role when Olivier turned it down.For complete his perform as Prince Faisal, Alec Guinness was made up to resemble the real Prince Faisal as closely as possible. When they were shooting in Jordan, several people who knew the man mistook him for the real thing.

*Guinness's role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy, beginning in 1977 with Star Wars, brought him worldwide recognition to a new generation, as well as Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. In letters to his friends, Guinness described the film as "fairy-tale rubbish" but the film's sense of moral good – and the studio's doubling of his initial salary offer – appealed to him and he agreed to take the part of Kenobi on the condition that he would not have to do any publicity to promote the film.