Peter O'Toole: his life and career - in pictures

Peter O'Toole with Anthony Quinn in Lawrence of Arabia. David Lean's epic, based on the life of T. E. Lawrence, sees Toole's British commander struggle with his allegiance to the crown as he fights alongside the Arabian tribes in World War I. Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

Released in 1962, Lawrence of Arabia clocked in at over four hours, and won O'Toole his first Oscar nomination. Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

O'Toole in What's New Pussycat? (1965), a Woody Allen-penned sex comedy in which he played a womanising gadabout struggling to stay faithful to his fiancée. Photograph: Moviestore Collection

With Philippe Noiret in Murphy's War (1971). A World War II drama set in a missionary settlement in Venezuela, the film saw O'Toole play as sailor - the sole survivor of a German U-boat attack who recruits a French emigré (Noiret) to help him take revenge. Photograph: Everett Collection / Rex Feature/Everett Collection / Rex Feature

O'Toole in The Ruling Class (1972), a black British comedy in which he played the 14th Earl of Gurney, a turbo-eccentric who believes he is "The God of Love" and "An Electric Massiah". Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

Elizabeth Taylor with O'Toole in Under Milk Wood (1972), a film adaptation of a radio play by Dylan Thomas. O'Toole played Captain Cat, the blind seaman, tortured by dreams of his drowned shipmates. Photograph: Moviestore Collection

O'Toole developed a prominent career on the stage alongside his film work. He performed as Hamlet in the first performance staged at the Naitonal Theatre (directed by Laurence Olivier). He's pictured here with Susannah York in the Theatre Royal Haymarket's performance of The Apple Cart. Photograph: Pa Wire/PA

Another stage performance. This time as Macbeth at the Old Vic Theatre in 1980. Photograph: Nobby Clark/PR

My Favourite Year (1982), in which O'Toole - starring as another swashbuckler - played Allan Swann, a TV actor who buddies up with a young comedy writer (Mark Linn-Baker) who idolises him. O'Toole's performance earned him an Oscar nomination, but he lost out to Ben Kingsley's turn as Gandhi. Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

O'Toole at the 2003 Oscar ceremony, where he was awarded an honorary academy award. Nominated eight times during his career, O'Toole never won an acting gong. He holds the record for most nominations without a win. Those Oscar-nominated performances in full: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Becket (1964), The Lion in Winter (1968), Goodbye, Mr Chips (1969), The Ruling Class (1972), The Stunt Man (1980), My Favorite Year (1982) and Venus (2006). O'Toole was initially reluctant to accept the award, writing to the academy and saying he'd still got the time to "win the lovely bugger outright". Photograph: Reed Saxon/AP

Stardust (2007), Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn's fairy tale fantasy had O'Toole as the venerable ruler Stormhold, fighting back evil witches. Photograph: Photo Credit: David James

And then, in a moment of casting genius, O'Toole was the voice of uppity food critic Anton Ego in the Pixar animation Ratatouille. O'Toole's character is a cold-hearted snob, until a taste of the titular dish - cooked by a rodent gourmand - breaks him out of his shell. Photograph: c.W.Disney/Everett / Rex Feature/c.W.Disney/Everett / Rex Feature

O'Toole photographed in New York in 2007. "We heralded the '60s," he once said. "Me, [Richard] Burton, Richard Harris; we did in public what everyone else did in private then, and does for show now." Photograph: Naomi Harris/Naomi Harris