Born April 2, 1914 in West Sussex, England, Alex Guinness is a prolific actor who had won Academy and Tony Awards alike. Much mystery surrounds the birth and early life of Guinness. On his birth certificate, there is nothing written in the column for name and surname of the father. His benefactor, then, was a Scottish banker named Andrew Geddes. Even though Geddes paid for Guinness’ private school education, the two never met and the identity of his father is still debatable.
Guinness’ first job was copywriting for an advertising company. At the age of 22 in 1936, he debuted at the Albery Theater, playing in the wildly successful production of Hamlet. He continued to play Shakespearean roles, such as Aumerele in Richard II, Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Andrew in Twelfth Night, and Exter in Henry V. This was followed by a string of more memorable roles, such as the adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.
During the outbreak of World War II, Alec Guinness served in the Royal Navy, first as a seaman in 1941 then as a commissioned officer the next year. He also took part in the invasion of Sicily and Elba in Italy and later to Yugoslavia. After the war, he went on to appear in more West End plays, such as The Alchemist, King Lear, DeGuichie, and Richard II. He then became associated with the Ealing comedies, the oldest film studio in the world.
Alec Guinness also starred in the memorable war movie Bridge on the River Kwai. His performance won him an Academy Award for Best Actor for him. His other iconic performances include those in Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, A Passage to India, and The Swan, opposite Grace Kelly in her last film role. However, it was his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy that brought him worldwide popularity. He died on August 5, 2000 from liver cancer. He was knighted in 1959, the same year he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.