Peter Finch

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Birthday:

28 September 1916, South Kensington, London, England, UK

Birth Name:

Frederick George Peter Ingle-Finch

Height:

175 cm

Despite being one of the finest actors of his generation, Peter Finch will be remembered as much for his reputation as a hard-drinking, hell-raising womanizer as for his performances on the screen. He was born in London in 1916 and went to live in Sydney, Australia, at the age of ten. There, he worked in a series of dead-end jobs before taking up acting, his film debut being in the mediocre comedy Dad and Dave Come to Town (1938). He made his stage debut as a comedian's stooge in 1939. Laurence Olivier spotted him and persuaded him to return to Britain to perform classic roles on the stage. Finch then had an affair with Olivier's wife, Vivien Leigh. Despite being married three times, Finch also had highly-publicized affairs with actresses Kay Kendall and Mai Zetterling. Finch soon switched to film after suffering appalling stage fright. As a screen actor, he won five BAFTA awards and his talent was beyond doubt. His two finest roles, the only two for which he received Oscar nominations, were as the homosexual Jewish doctor in Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) and as the "mad prophet of the air-waves" in Network (1976). He died a couple of months before being awarded the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in Network (1976) and was the first actor to have won the award posthumously. Show less «

[When asked why he chose acting as a profession] "If I was going to be broke I decided I might as well be with actors as anyone else. They w...Show more »

[When asked why he chose acting as a profession] "If I was going to be broke I decided I might as well be with actors as anyone else. They were cheerful idiots and seemed to take it better." Show less «

Good acting should teach people to understand rather than judge.

Hollywood must have been terrific once.

Success is a very tough mistress. For years, while you're struggling, she wants nothing to do with you. Then, one day you find yourself in t...Show more »

Success is a very tough mistress. For years, while you're struggling, she wants nothing to do with you. Then, one day you find yourself in the room with her and even though the key is on the inside, you can't leave. 'You've made your choice', she says, 'I don't care how exhausted you are - you're going to stay here for the rest of your life making love to me'. Show less «

I do not believe that with a fictional character you can force yourself too far away from yourself. There has to be some of you in it.

[on film producer Ross Hunter] He's a very pleasant man. He may sound like Reader's Digest, but he believes every word he says. He's never l...Show more »

[on film producer Ross Hunter] He's a very pleasant man. He may sound like Reader's Digest, but he believes every word he says. He's never lost touch with Disneyland. Show less «

[on how he coped with the challenge of conducting the first erotic film kiss with another male actor in 'Sunday, Bloody Sunday'] I did it fo...Show more »

[on how he coped with the challenge of conducting the first erotic film kiss with another male actor in 'Sunday, Bloody Sunday'] I did it for England. Show less «

[on screenplays]: It really is no good getting surgeons in, the script has to be right at the beginning; and it has taken me, I'm ashamed to...Show more »

[on screenplays]: It really is no good getting surgeons in, the script has to be right at the beginning; and it has taken me, I'm ashamed to say, some thirty years to find out that you mustn't listen to anybody at lunch any more. Show less «