Page 3 Profile: Peter O’Toole, Actor

Peter O’Toole, Actor (REX)

Wait, didn’t he retire last year?

Yes, in the summer of 2012 Peter O’Toole decided to throw in the towel. “The heart for it has gone out of me: it won’t come back,” he said, spoken as a true thesp. “It’s my belief that one should decide for oneself when it is time to end one’s stay. So I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell.”

But he has just appeared in the first trailer for the film ‘Katherine of Alexandria’ hasn’t he?

Indeed, it appears following the announcement he may have quickly changed his mind and sprung out of retirement. That isn’t quite the case though. Filming of Katherine of Alexandria would have been well under way when the great Mr O’Toole announced he was leaving the industry. The film had been pegged for a November 2012 release but has been delayed for over a year. Although it doesn’t mean O’Toole, now 81, is necessarily back, the movie will be a chance to catch fresh material from the actor in one of his final roles. Just don’t expect him to be appearing in any more films after this.

Got’ya. What’s the film about?

The British production is based on the life of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian martyr from Egypt, who is purported to have lived in the 3rd century. The story goes that after failing to convert the Roman Emperor Maxentius, and refusing to marry him, the lovely guy had her executed. O’Toole will play the part of Gallus.

Sounds like his kind of thing…

Well he did burst on to the scene playing Lawrence of Arabia in 1962. Since then O’Toole has been quite the fan of historical dramas, having starred in Beckett, The Ruling Class, Joan of Arc and Troy - although this represents just a fraction of the work that earned him eight Academy Award nominations.

Not bad. Has he ever won?

Sadly not. Although he was given an Academy Honorary Award in 2003 for his entire body of film work.