Albert Finney came from the theatre, where he was especially successful in plays of William Shakespeare, to the movies. There he became a leading figure of the young Free Cinema. His debut in cinema was in 1960 with The Entertainer of Tony Richardson who had directed him also in theatre plays various times before. His typical role were young prolets like e.g. Arthur Seaton in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.


Annie (1982): $1 million
The Duellists (1977): A case of champagne

He has one child from his first marriage to actress Jane Wenham. Finney's son, Simon Finney, works in the film business as a technician. He allegedly declined a C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1980 and Knighthood in 2000 for his services to drama. He was awarded the 1986 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in Orphans. An Associate Member of RADA. Doesn't have an agent nor a manager. As an aspiring actor in the mid-1950s, he made the rounds with Michael Polley, the father of Sarah Polley. Michael Polley says that Finney compared actors to bricklayers, in terms of craft. Was twice nominated for Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic): in 1964 for playing the title character of Martin Luther in John Osborne's "Luther," and in 1968 for Peter Nichols' "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg." Originally chosen for the title role in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) after a screen test shot over four days at a cost of £100,000. He later baulked at the film's monumental shooting schedule, and did not want to commit to such a long term contract and opted to play the title role in Tom Jones (1963), which gave him his first Oscar nomination. The third choice for Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (1974). Before him were Alec Guinness & Paul Scofield. Ironically, Agatha Christie felt Finney's performance came closest to her idea of Poirot. Appears, uncredited, in drag as The Matron in the ladies' bathroom scene in Miller's Crossing (1990). Rather than attend the Oscar ceremony in 1964, he went on vacation sailing in the South Seas. When informed that he had been beaten as Best Actor by Sidney Poitier, he offered Poitier his heartfelt congratulations. Though nominated another four times in the 1970s, '80s and 21st Century, he has yet to appear in person at an Oscar ceremony. Father of the film technician Simon Finney and the actor 'Declan Binney'.