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What is Peter O'Toole's best performance?

By YPB Team

O'Toole played kings, madmen and fading matinee idols, and earned eight Oscar nominations without ever winning one. Decide which of those near-misses deserved the statue most.

  1. Maurice (Venus) — ranked #11
    Maurice (Venus)
    A late-career 2006 role as an aging actor drawn to a young woman, which brought his eighth and final Oscar nomination.
    1000pts
  2. T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) — ranked #22
    T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)
    O'Toole's star-making 1962 turn as the enigmatic British officer leading the Arab Revolt, earning his first Oscar nomination.
    999pts
  3. Arthur Chipping (Goodbye, Mr. Chips) — ranked #33
    Arthur Chipping (Goodbye, Mr. Chips)
    A tender 1969 musical turn as a shy public-school schoolmaster across decades, rewarded with a Golden Globe.
    999pts
  4. Henry II (The Lion in Winter) — ranked #44
    Henry II (The Lion in Winter)
    A ferocious 1968 performance as the aging Plantagenet king sparring with Katharine Hepburn's Eleanor over the succession.
    958pts
  5. Eli Cross (The Stunt Man) — ranked #55
    Eli Cross (The Stunt Man)
    A gleefully manipulative 1980 performance as a godlike film director who hides a fugitive among his stunt crew.
    958pts
  6. Alan Swann (My Favorite Year) — ranked #66
    Alan Swann (My Favorite Year)
    A 1982 comedy role as a boozy Errol Flynn-style swashbuckler guesting on live 1950s television.
    789pts
  7. Jim (Lord Jim) — ranked #77
    Jim (Lord Jim)
    Richard Brooks's 1965 Joseph Conrad adaptation, with O'Toole as a disgraced sailor seeking redemption in Southeast Asia.
    684pts
  8. Reginald Johnston (The Last Emperor) — ranked #88
    Reginald Johnston (The Last Emperor)
    His 1987 supporting role as the Scottish tutor to Puyi in Bernardo Bertolucci's Best Picture winner.
    560pts
  9. Jack Gurney (The Ruling Class) — ranked #99
    Jack Gurney (The Ruling Class)
    A wild 1972 black-comedy role as a paranoid schizophrenic earl who believes he is God, Oscar-nominated.
    559pts
  10. Henry II (Becket) — ranked #1010
    Henry II (Becket)
    His first take on Henry II, a 1964 duel of wills with Richard Burton's Thomas Becket that won him a Golden Globe.
    410pts
  11. Simon Dermott (How to Steal a Million) — ranked #1111
    Simon Dermott (How to Steal a Million)
    A breezy 1966 caper role opposite Audrey Hepburn as a society burglar helping steal a fake statue.
    410pts
  12. Priam (Troy) — ranked #1212
    Priam (Troy)
    A dignified 2004 supporting turn as the Trojan king who begs Achilles for the body of his son Hector.
    410pts
  13. Don Quixote (Man of La Mancha) — ranked #1313
    Don Quixote (Man of La Mancha)
    The 1972 musical adaptation with O'Toole playing both Cervantes and his deluded knight-errant.
    410pts
  14. Anton Ego (Ratatouille) — ranked #1414
    Anton Ego (Ratatouille)
    The 2007 Pixar voice role as a cadaverous food critic whose closing review became one of animation's great monologues.
    0pts
  15. General Tanz (The Night of the Generals) — ranked #1515
    General Tanz (The Night of the Generals)
    A chilling 1967 role as a fastidious Nazi general suspected of murder, reuniting him with Omar Sharif.
    0pts

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