Albert Finney, five-time Oscar nominee, and one of the leading actors of the New British Cinema and then Hollywood, has died after a short illness. He was 82.
The British performer began as a stage actor before transitioning to film. With his gravely voice he brought an intense realism to his work, rising to fame in such 1960s classics as “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” and “Tom Jones.”
He later memorably played Agatha Christie’s legendary sleuth Hercule Poirot in “Murder on the Orient Express” and impressed critics and audiences with towering performances in “The Dresser” and “Under the Volcano.”
Finney had been nominated for five competitive Oscars but had never won the prize.
Tom Jones: Career Turning Point
In 1963, Finney played the foundling hero in Tony Richardson’s Oscar best picture winner “Tom Jones.” The role made Finney an international movie star and earned him the first of four best actor Oscar nominations.
A year earlier, in 1962, Finney had turned down the title role in David Lean’s 1962 Oscar winning Best Picture, Lawrence of Arabia, because he didn’t want to commit to a multi-picture deal and, he said, fame and stardom scared him.
