John Gielgud

John Gielgud

Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH, was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937. He was known for his beautiful speaking of verse and particularly for his warm and expressive voice, which his colleague Sir Alec Guinness likened to a silver trumpet muffled in silk. Gielgud is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award.

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Known For

Filmography

2023

Caligula: The Ultimate Cut
Caligula: The Ultimate Cut
as Nerva
Movie - Released: 5/19/2023

2018

Nothing Like a Dame
Nothing Like a Dame
as Self (archive footage)
Movie - Released: 5/2/2018

2016

Play On!  Shakespeare in Silent Film
Play On! Shakespeare in Silent Film
as Self
Movie - Released: 7/18/2016

2011

Discovering Hamlet
Discovering Hamlet
as King Hamlet's Ghost (archive footage)
Movie - Released: 11/1/2011

2009

Behind The Scenes of Caligula
Behind The Scenes of Caligula
Movie - Released: 1/6/2009

2005

Revisiting Brideshead
Revisiting Brideshead
as Self (archive footage)
Movie - Released: 10/15/2005

2001

Catastrophe
Catastrophe
as The Protagonist
Movie - Released: 9/1/2001

1998

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
as The Pope
Movie - Released: 9/13/1998
Quest for Camelot
Quest for Camelot
as Merlin (voice)
Movie - Released: 5/15/1998
The Tichborne Claimant
The Tichborne Claimant
as Cockburn
Movie - Released: 8/1/1998
Rachmaninoff: The Harvest of Sorrow
Rachmaninoff: The Harvest of Sorrow
Movie - Released: 1/1/1998
Merlin
Merlin
as King Constant
TV - Released: 4/26/1998

1997

David
David
as Stimme Gottes
Movie - Released: 3/23/1997
A Dance to the Music of Time
A Dance to the Music of Time
as St. John Clarke
TV - Released: 10/9/1997

1996

DragonHeart
DragonHeart
as King Arthur (voice) (uncredited)
Movie - Released: 5/31/1996
The Leopard Son
The Leopard Son
as Narrator
Movie - Released: 9/27/1996
Looking for Richard
Looking for Richard
as Self - Interviewee
Movie - Released: 10/11/1996
Hamlet
Hamlet
as Priam
Movie - Released: 12/25/1996
The Portrait of a Lady
The Portrait of a Lady
as Mr. Touchett
Movie - Released: 10/17/1996
Shine
Shine
as Cecil Parkes
Movie - Released: 8/15/1996
Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels
as Professor of Light
TV - Released: 2/4/1996

1995

First Knight
First Knight
as Oswald
Movie - Released: 7/7/1995
Haunted
Haunted
as Doctor Doyle
Movie - Released: 10/27/1995
The Thomas The Tank Engine Man
The Thomas The Tank Engine Man
as Self (Voice)
Movie - Released: 2/25/1995
TV
Stick With Me, Kid
as Grandpa
TV - Released: 9/29/1995

1994

Movie
A Summer Day's Dream
Movie - Released: 11/26/1994
Scarlett
Scarlett
TV - Released: 11/13/1994

1993

Hollywood U.K.: British Cinema in the Sixties
Hollywood U.K.: British Cinema in the Sixties
as Self
TV - Released: 9/5/1993

1992

Shining Through
Shining Through
as Sunflower
Movie - Released: 1/31/1992
The Power of One
The Power of One
as St. John
Movie - Released: 3/27/1992
Movie
Swan Song
as Svetlovidov
Movie - Released: 1/1/1992
Movie
A Walk Through Prospero's Library
as Prospero
Movie - Released: 1/1/1992
Movie
The South Bank Show: Noël Coward
as Self
Movie - Released: 3/1/1992

1991

Prospero's Books
Prospero's Books
as Prospero
Movie - Released: 8/30/1991
The Best of Friends
The Best of Friends
as Sydney Cockerell
Movie - Released: 1/1/1991
The Strauss Dynasty
The Strauss Dynasty
as Drechsler
Movie - Released: 1/1/1991
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
as Self (archive footage)
Movie - Released: 10/28/1991
A TV Dante (Cantos 9 to 14)
A TV Dante (Cantos 9 to 14)
as Virgil (voice)
Movie - Released: 3/6/1991
Strauss Dynasty
Strauss Dynasty
as Drechsler
TV - Released: 1/1/1991

1990

A TV Dante
A TV Dante
as Virgil
Movie - Released: 6/13/1990
Strike It Rich
Strike It Rich
as Herbert Dreuther
Movie - Released: 1/26/1990
Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond
Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond
as Self
Movie - Released: 10/22/1990
Movie
Rabbit Ears - The Emperor's New Clothes
as Narrator (voice)
Movie - Released: 9/1/1990

1989

Getting It Right
Getting It Right
as Sir Gordon Munday
Movie - Released: 5/5/1989
Barbablù, Barbablù
Barbablù, Barbablù
as Barbablù
Movie - Released: 11/17/1989
Summer's Lease
Summer's Lease
as Haverford Downs
TV - Released: 11/1/1989

1988

Appointment with Death
Appointment with Death
as Colonel Carbury
Movie - Released: 4/15/1988
Arthur 2: On the Rocks
Arthur 2: On the Rocks
as Hobson
Movie - Released: 7/8/1988
A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons
as Cardinal Wolsey
Movie - Released: 12/21/1988
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
as Self
Movie - Released: 9/20/1988
War and Remembrance
War and Remembrance
as Aaron Jastrow
TV - Released: 11/13/1988

1987

Quartermaine's Terms
Quartermaine's Terms
as Eddie Loomis
Movie - Released: 3/29/1987
Funny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville
Funny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville
as British Lord
Movie - Released: 10/12/1987
Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse
as Lord Hinksey
TV - Released: 1/6/1987

1986

The Whistle Blower
The Whistle Blower
as Sir Adrian Chappie
Movie - Released: 11/21/1986
Time After Time
Time After Time
as Jasper Swift
Movie - Released: 1/26/1986
The Canterville Ghost
The Canterville Ghost
as Sir Simon de Canterville
Movie - Released: 12/31/1986
Theban Plays: Oedipus the King
Theban Plays: Oedipus the King
as Tieresias
Movie - Released: 9/16/1986
Theban Plays: Antigone
Theban Plays: Antigone
as Tiresias
Movie - Released: 9/19/1986
Lovejoy
Lovejoy
as Lord Wakering
TV - Released: 1/10/1986

1985

To Be Hamlet
To Be Hamlet
as Self
Movie - Released: 1/19/1985
Plenty
Plenty
as Sir Leonard Darwin
Movie - Released: 9/20/1985
The Shooting Party
The Shooting Party
as Cornelius Cardew
Movie - Released: 2/1/1985
Romance on the Orient Express
Romance on the Orient Express
as Theodore Woodward
Movie - Released: 3/4/1985
Leave All Fair
Leave All Fair
as John Middleton Murry
Movie - Released: 6/24/1985
Screen Two
Screen Two
TV - Released: 1/6/1985

1984

Frankenstein
Frankenstein
as De Lacey
Movie - Released: 6/17/1984
James Mason: The Star They Loved to Hate
James Mason: The Star They Loved to Hate
as Self - on the set of 'The Shooting Party' (uncredited)
Movie - Released: 1/1/1984
The Master of Ballantrae
The Master of Ballantrae
as Lord Durrisdeer
Movie - Released: 1/31/1984
Scandalous
Scandalous
as Uncle Willie
Movie - Released: 1/29/1984
Camille
Camille
as Duke de Charles
Movie - Released: 12/11/1984
Six Centuries of Verse
Six Centuries of Verse
as Himself - Presenter
TV - Released: 5/2/1984
The Far Pavilions
The Far Pavilions
as Cavagnari
TV - Released: 4/22/1984

1983

The Scarlet and the Black
The Scarlet and the Black
as Pope Pius XII
Movie - Released: 2/2/1983
The Wicked Lady
The Wicked Lady
as Hogarth
Movie - Released: 4/21/1983
Invitation to the Wedding
Invitation to the Wedding
Movie - Released: 1/1/1983
Wagner
Wagner
as Pfistermeister
TV - Released: 10/3/1983

1982

Gandhi
Gandhi
as Lord Irwin
Movie - Released: 12/1/1982
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
as Charmolue
Movie - Released: 2/2/1982
Movie
The Critic
as Lord Burleigh
Movie - Released: 8/28/1982
Inside the Third Reich
Inside the Third Reich
as Albert Speer Sr.
Movie - Released: 5/9/1982
Marco Polo
Marco Polo
as Doge di Venezia
TV - Released: 12/5/1982

1981

Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
as Master of Trinity
Movie - Released: 5/15/1981
Lion of the Desert
Lion of the Desert
as Sharif El Gariani
Movie - Released: 4/17/1981
Arthur
Arthur
as Hobson
Movie - Released: 7/17/1981
Sphinx
Sphinx
as Abdu-Hamdi
Movie - Released: 2/11/1981
Priest of Love
Priest of Love
as Herbert G. Muskett
Movie - Released: 10/11/1981
Agatha Christie's Seven Dials Mystery
Agatha Christie's Seven Dials Mystery
as Marquis of Caterhan
Movie - Released: 3/8/1981
Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited
as Edward 'Ned' Ryder
TV - Released: 10/12/1981

1980

The Elephant Man
The Elephant Man
as Carr Gomm
Movie - Released: 10/9/1980
The Formula
The Formula
as Dr. Abraham Esau
Movie - Released: 12/19/1980
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
as Reverend Jones
Movie - Released: 3/30/1980
The Conductor
The Conductor
as John Lasocki
Movie - Released: 2/27/1980

1979

Caligula
Caligula
as Nerva
Movie - Released: 8/14/1979
Murder by Decree
Murder by Decree
as Prime Minister
Movie - Released: 2/1/1979
The Human Factor
The Human Factor
as Brigadier Tomlinson
Movie - Released: 12/18/1979
Tales of the Unexpected
Tales of the Unexpected
as Jelks
TV - Released: 3/24/1979
Tales of the Unexpected
Tales of the Unexpected
as Cyril Boggis
TV - Released: 3/24/1979

1978

Les Misérables
Les Misérables
as Gillenormand
Movie - Released: 12/27/1978
No Man's Land
No Man's Land
as Spooner
Movie - Released: 10/3/1978
Richard II
Richard II
as John of Gaunt
Movie - Released: 12/10/1978
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
as Chorus
Movie - Released: 12/3/1978
The BBC Television Shakespeare
The BBC Television Shakespeare
as Chorus
TV - Released: 12/3/1978
The BBC Television Shakespeare
The BBC Television Shakespeare
as John of Gaunt
TV - Released: 12/3/1978

1977

Movie
The Grand Inquisitor
as Inquisitor
Movie - Released: 4/10/1977
Providence
Providence
as Clive Langham
Movie - Released: 1/25/1977
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
as The Preacher
Movie - Released: 9/1/1977
Joseph Andrews
Joseph Andrews
as The Doctor
Movie - Released: 3/9/1977
Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House
as Captain Shotover
Movie - Released: 5/19/1977

1976

Aces High
Aces High
as Headmaster
Movie - Released: 5/19/1976
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
as Lord Henry Wotton
Movie - Released: 9/19/1976
Peter Pan
Peter Pan
as Narrator
Movie - Released: 12/12/1976
Second City Television
Second City Television
as Self - Special Guest Star
TV - Released: 9/21/1976

1975

Galileo
Galileo
as The Old Cardinal
Movie - Released: 1/27/1975

1974

Frankenstein: The True Story
Frankenstein: The True Story
as Chief Constable
Movie - Released: 9/19/1974
Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express
as Mr. Beddoes
Movie - Released: 11/22/1974
Gold
Gold
as Farrell
Movie - Released: 6/8/1974
11 Harrowhouse
11 Harrowhouse
as Meecham
Movie - Released: 9/26/1974
QB VII
QB VII
as Clinton-Meek
TV - Released: 4/29/1974

1973

William: The Life, Works and Times of William Shakespeare
William: The Life, Works and Times of William Shakespeare
as Various
Movie - Released: 1/3/1973
Lost Horizon
Lost Horizon
as Chang
Movie - Released: 3/14/1973
Frankenstein: The True Story
Frankenstein: The True Story
as Chief Constable
TV - Released: 11/30/1973

1972

Eagle in a Cage
Eagle in a Cage
as Lord Sissal
Movie - Released: 1/9/1972
Probe
Probe
as Harold L. Streeter
Movie - Released: 2/21/1972
Home
Home
as Harry
Movie - Released: 1/6/1972
ABC Afterschool Special
ABC Afterschool Special
as Various Roles
TV - Released: 10/4/1972

1971

Great Performances
Great Performances
as Self
TV - Released: 1/28/1971

1970

Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
as Julius Caesar
Movie - Released: 6/4/1970
Play for Today
Play for Today
as Harry
TV - Released: 10/15/1970
TV
Menace
TV - Released: 9/29/1970

1969

Oh! What a Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War
as Count Leopold Von Berchtold
Movie - Released: 3/10/1969

1968

The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade
as Lord Raglan
Movie - Released: 4/10/1968
Assignment to Kill
Assignment to Kill
as Curt Valayan
Movie - Released: 5/1/1968
The Love Song of Barney Kempinski
The Love Song of Barney Kempinski
as Rich Man
Movie - Released: 5/10/1968
Sebastian
Sebastian
as Head of Intelligence
Movie - Released: 1/24/1968
The Shoes of the Fisherman
The Shoes of the Fisherman
as The Elder Pope
Movie - Released: 11/14/1968
The Dick Cavett Show
The Dick Cavett Show
as Self - Guest
TV - Released: 6/6/1968

1967

Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
as Chorus
Movie - Released: 3/12/1967
October Revolution
October Revolution
as Narrator (voice)
Movie - Released: 10/11/1967
Omnibus
Omnibus
as Self
TV - Released: 10/13/1967

1966

Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland
as Mock Turtle
Movie - Released: 12/28/1966
Ages of Man
Ages of Man
Movie - Released: 1/23/1966
Movie
The Mayfly and the Frog
as Gabriel Quantara
Movie - Released: 12/21/1966
ABC Stage 67
ABC Stage 67
as Rich Man
TV - Released: 9/14/1966

1965

Chimes at Midnight
Chimes at Midnight
as Henry IV
Movie - Released: 12/22/1965
The Loved One
The Loved One
as Sir Francis Hinsley
Movie - Released: 10/11/1965
BBC Play of the Month
BBC Play of the Month
as Captain Shotover
TV - Released: 10/19/1965
BBC Play of the Month
BBC Play of the Month
as Lord Burleigh
TV - Released: 10/19/1965
BBC Play of the Month
BBC Play of the Month
as Chorus
TV - Released: 10/19/1965

1964

Becket
Becket
as King Louis VII of France
Movie - Released: 3/11/1964
Hamlet from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Hamlet from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
as Ghost (voice)
Movie - Released: 9/23/1964
The Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play
as Gabriel Quantara
TV - Released: 9/30/1964

1963

To Die in Madrid
To Die in Madrid
as Narrator (English version) (voice)
Movie - Released: 4/18/1963

1962

The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
as Gaev
Movie - Released: 4/17/1962

1959

TV
The Big Party
as Self
TV - Released: 10/8/1959
TV
The Bell Telephone Hour
as Self
TV - Released: 1/12/1959

1958

Movie
The Immortal Land
Movie - Released: 1/1/1958

1957

Saint Joan
Saint Joan
as Earl of Warwick
Movie - Released: 5/8/1957
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
as Edward Moulton-Barrett
Movie - Released: 1/16/1957
TV
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
as Self
TV - Released: 7/29/1957

1956

Around the World in Eighty Days
Around the World in Eighty Days
as Foster
Movie - Released: 10/17/1956

1955

Richard III
Richard III
as George, Duke of Clarence
Movie - Released: 12/13/1955

1954

Hamlet: The Actor's View
Hamlet: The Actor's View
as Self
Movie - Released: 5/16/1954
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
as Chorus
Movie - Released: 9/1/1954

1953

Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
as Cassius
Movie - Released: 6/4/1953
Ariel’s Song / Full Fathom Five
Ariel’s Song / Full Fathom Five
as Narrator
Movie - Released: 1/1/1953

1951

Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as The Ghost
TV - Released: 12/24/1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Charmolue
TV - Released: 12/24/1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Lord Durrisdeer
TV - Released: 12/24/1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Duke
TV - Released: 12/24/1951

1948

The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
as Self
TV - Released: 6/20/1948

1945

A Diary for Timothy
A Diary for Timothy
as Hamlet
Movie - Released: 11/1/1945

1941

Movie
An Airman's Letter to His Mother
as Narrator
Movie - Released: 6/5/1941
The Prime Minister
The Prime Minister
as Disraeli
Movie - Released: 3/4/1941

1937

Heredity in Man
Heredity in Man
as Self
Movie - Released: 1/1/1937

1936

Secret Agent
Secret Agent
as Richard Ashenden / Edgar Brodie
Movie - Released: 5/31/1936

1933

The Good Companions
The Good Companions
as Inigo Jollifant
Movie - Released: 2/28/1933

1932

Insult
Insult
as Henri Dubois
Movie - Released: 7/27/1932

1929

Movie
The Clue of the New Pin
as Rex Trasmere
Movie - Released: 3/1/1929

1924

Movie
Who Is the Man?
as Daniel
Movie - Released: 9/1/1924