Sorry there is no Biography!


Gladiator (2000): $1,000,000
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961): £ 90 a week

Shared the same dentist as horror star Christopher Lee He had two brothers. David Reed became his business manager and his half-brother Simon Reed became his press agent. Father of Mark Reed, with his first wife Kate Byrne and of Sarah Reed, with his partner, the dancer Jacqueline Daryl. He was severely injured and almost died during the filming of The Three Musketeers (1973) when he was stabbed in the throat during the windmill duel scene. His first job (at the age of 17) was as a bouncer at a Soho nightclub. Cousin of actress Tracy Reed and of the actor David Tree. Narrowly missed out on playing superspy James Bond because of his love of alcohol and fighting. A new biography of the star uncovered a letter from Bond mastermind Albert R. Broccoli outlining how close he came to replacing Sean Connery in the role. Broccoli wrote, "With Reed we would have had a far greater problem to destroy his image and re-mold him as James Bond. We just didn't have the time or money to do that." According to Cliff Goodwin, author of the book "Evil Spirits", "Oliver was probably within a sliver of being cast as Bond." He adds, "But by 1968 his affairs were public and he was already drinking and fighting - as far away from the refined Bond image as you could get.". By the mid-1970s he was considered by many to be Britain's biggest movie star. He declined roles in The Sting (1973) and Jaws (1975) because he didn't want to relocate to Los Angeles. Both of these roles were taken by fellow British hellraiser Robert Shaw. However, a Hollywood executive claimed, "Reed didn't turn us down. We turned him down. We like our stars to have respect - Oliver Reed didn't respect anyone and he showed it." He was a close friend of The Who's drummer Keith Moon. Along with Michael Winner, former snooker champion Alex Higgins, himself suffering from throat cancer, were the only celebrities to attend Reed's funeral in Ireland. Reed died during the filming of Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000), and it cost the company $3 million to recreate his face so he could "appear" in the scenes he still had left to shoot. Described his role as Father Grandier in Ken Russell's The Devils (1971) as the best performance he ever gave. He named his favorite American actors as Lee Marvin, Rock Hudson and Rod Steiger. He never had any acting training or stage experience. At the time of his death he was signed to play Albert Finney's role in "My Uncle Silas" (2000). According to director Ken Russell, the original script for Women in Love (1969) did not include the famous nude wrestling scene because he felt it wouldn't pass the censors and would be difficult to shoot. It wasn't until Reed talked him into it by literally throwing his weight around--he wrestled Russell in his kitchen, pinned him down, and wouldn't let him up unless he agreed to shoot it. He never forgot his Hammer roots. After hitting the big time, he went back to pay homage to his horror beginnings to narrate the full Hammer retrospective, a reminder that his voice was the one quality the English critics admired about him. He starred in the first film to say "fuck", I'll Never Forget What's'isname (1967). He also starred in the first British film to be rated X just for the violent content, Sitting Target (1972). Some obituaries mentioned the similarity between Reed's death and Robert Newton's. Newton, who had played Bill Sykes in David Lean's non-musical version of Oliver Twist (1948), was a notoriously heavy drinker. He remained sober while filming Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), which was supposed to be a big comeback for him as an actor. Toward the end of filming, however, he indulged in one final drinking marathon and died from a heart attack, aged only 50. Similarly, Reed remained sober while filming Gladiator (2000) - intended as a big comeback - but died from a heart attack after allowing himself one final binge. On location for The Hunting Party (1971), Reed bemoaned the necessity of faking an American accent and this, coupled with his love of Broome Hall and English pubs, was enough to cement his decision not to move to Hollywood. He was a fan of James Dean in East of Eden (1955) and Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Had a tattoo on his penis. According to Patrick Warburton, Reed showed him the tattoo the first day they worked together. Once reckoned that the strenuous filming of The Devils (1971) took four years off his natural life. Had an intense dislike for Jack Nicholson, whom he called "a balding midget" (Nicholson is only 5'7"). Said that when he made the infamous drunken appearance on the Michael Aspel chat show when he sang a raucous rendition of 'Wild Thing', that the producers of that show had plied him with spirits in the green room prior to the interview so that he was already plastered when he came on stage. He once described his purpose in life as "shafting the girlies and downing the sherbie.". In order to avoid charges of nepotism Reed deliberately avoided working for his uncle, director Sir Carol Reed, until he was already established as a star in British movies. He enjoyed playing golf and bowls. He suffered from acute tinnitus for many years.