Peter O'Toole: The Definitive Biography Hardcover – 10 Sept. 2015

In a French TV interview just after finishing Lawrence of Arabia, Peter O'Toole stated that he didn't have a clue who T E Lawrence really was and had found him fascinating but would've run a mile if he'd actually met him. In that revealing comment O'Toole might have been talking about himself, and in Robert Sellers' new book, Peter O'Toole The Definitive Biography, the author tries to get behind the handsome mask and discover the truth.Firstly, Robert Sellers claim that he has written the definitive biography of Peter O'Toole is a tall one, and not quite accurate. This is a well written and researched book but clearly has no contribution or sanction from O'Toole's family, and relies on some of O'Toole's old colleagues and friends to fill in the gaps between the rather well-worn press cuttings and apocryphal larks and drinking stories.So do we find out who Peter O'Toole really was? Well, yes and no. What is clear from Robert Sellers book is that the actor was a very contradictory man indeed: vain and narcissistic in the extreme and sometimes cruel and unforgiving to those who loved him, but loyal and kind to others. What Peter O'Toole had in spades was raw talent and charisma, a great stage presence with a very distinct voice coupled with the face of a god.In the many interviews I've seen of Peter O'Toole and from what I've read on him there always seemed to be a very thick actor's veneer and a touch of the blarney about him. Certainly, Sellers dispels once and for all the myth O'Toole created about being born in Ireland: he was born in Leeds, and there is the birth certificate to prove it. O'Toole so desperately wanted to be a fully paid up Irishman that he cultivated the romantic notion himself, or, like a lot about O'Toole, was there an ulterior motive? Certainly from a self-promotional point of view there was more glamour and mystery about being born in Ireland than Leeds and the whole thing fitted in nicely with the new breed of actors making their mark in post war Britain.O'Toole's early career took off like a rocket and Sellers is at his best in this section of the book. The actor's life has always seemed one of two halves: pre-illness and post-illness in 1976, when he almost died from his drinking and louche lifestyle. O'Toole's early years at RADA and The Bristol Old Vic and his subsequent meteoric rise to fame through Lawrence of Arabia have been covered before, but in this book Sellers give us a good account interspersed with tales of 'hellraising' and massive bouts of boozing, but without playing to the gallery as in some of his other books.Why O'Toole drank so much in his early days is never made clear, but I suspect he did it purely because he liked it and everyone else was doing the same thing. There is a sadness reading about the way O'Toole nearly self-destructed and it was only after his serious illness that O'Toole quit drink and resumed his now flagging career culminating in the now infamous production of Macbeth at London's Old Vic theatre. It is after this section of the book that Sellers starts to run out of steam. The truth was that after the 1980 Macbeth fiasco O'Toole was never going to be the hugely in demand actor he once had been throughout the 60's and 70's, but it cemented the O'Toole legend: madly theatrical, dangerous and unpredictable.If Robert Sellers writes more sparingly about the second half of O'Toole's life it is perhaps there just isn't as much to write about. O'Toole continued to act on the stage, usually in revivals of Shaw's plays and on film, but some of the material was way below the quality that was once offered to him, though he received praise and yet more Oscar nominations for lead performances in The Stuntman and My Favourite Year. It was also from middle age that O'Toole seemed to become a parody of himself. With his cigarette holder, clipped consonants and slightly slurred over-enunciation, coupled with the wardrobe of a dandy, he seemed to be an actor from another age; an actor playing the role of an actor. But there was still an allure, and faded glamour in the now haggard features which served O'Toole proud in one of his greatest stage roles; that of the alcoholic writer in Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell.I would have liked a little more on O'Toole's later life and more solid facts about the man. Why for example was he so close to his daughter Kate but not Patricia, and why was he estranged form her and left her out of his will. What were his mysterious ailments or what was his favourite food? Did he have any more serious relationships later in life, or what music did he most enjoy? I'm sure Sellers could have got more information for the actor's later life as he managed to do for the earlier part of the book. Sellers wraps up his well written and workman like biography without ceremony and the last few chapters read like side notes as the author seems to rush to end the final line. Maybe this was intended but comes over as rather perfunctory.Who Was Peter O'Toole? I finished the book still not really knowing. Like the theatre he adored the actor was part illusion, myth and the rest his own making, keeping the private man very much to himself and not letting a biographer dispel the mystery, even in death. Ironically, it is in an acting role in which we get as close to O'Toole as we are ever going to: that of Maurice in the film Venus - was he finally just playing himself? Possibly we will never know and neither does Robert Sellers, but for the moment he has given us as much an insight into this fascinating man's life as we are likely to get for some time.Some years ago at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London we huddled out of the rain inside the stage door round the back of the theatre; a kind gesture on the part of the doorman. Were we really going to meet Lawrence of Arabia? Certainly the film had been much more exciting than the play we had just seen though its star had been magnificent. Finally, after some of the other cast we vaguely recognised had left the building a rather startling looking man with a lantern jaw and slightly drawn features was slowly walking along the corridor smoking a cigarette and then he stood in front of us, very tall and thin with a mop of rakish blond hair and the famous blue eyes looked dreamlike and bemused as he signed autographs for us. This was Peter O'Toole; a legend in every sense of the word and one of the most exciting actors who had every lived. O'Toole was charming and polite and spent time chatting even though he must have been exhausted by that evening's performance. All too soon the moment was over and Peter O'Toole donned a long and colourful overcoat and crowned himself with a slightly wonky trilby and walked out into the wet London night, every inch the great actor he was.

Superb book, well written giving an insight into a great actor...

Peter O’Toole has always been one of my favourite actors and Lawrence of Arabia, in particular, one of the greatest films I have ever watched. Sadly, on reading this book, I found my liking for the man himself gradually disappearing, and growing in its place a deep dislike. I think all actors have, of necessity, quite an ego, but such selfishness and utter disregard of others I found quite appalling, and how Sian Philips in particular managed to stay with him for so long is beyond me! I have given this book 3 stars because it is not badly written, but for enjoyment?..........1 star.

I have never wanted to read a biography before. After reading a snippet of the contents in a news article I decided that I would try this one and from the outset I found this to be funny (better than some TV comedies) and very engrossing. I had to keep reading to find out what events happened next. I would describe this a series of what are sometimes calamitous adventures. I was surprised by where Peter O' Tool grew up and some of his experiences when he was young. This book does have it's serious moments and it is an interesting insight into the life of an actor who from the beginning seemed to really live life to the full and then some.

Robert Sellers, the author of this biography, claims Peter O'Toole, was born in Leeds, and not Ireland, as the actor always said he was. However, this is perhaps irrelevant, but makes this book all the more enjoyable, as he really tries to unravel a lot of the mystique behind this most excellent actor. It is enough to mention "Lawrence of Arabia", "Becket" and "The Lion in winter", to get a feeling of the great characters Peter O'Toole portrayed. Robert Sellers tells his story both on screen, the theater and also his private life. It is funny, serious and also well documented in this book. The photographs are delightful. Recommended.

no major criticisms. An interesting insight into a leading actor

wonderful book enjoyed it. good delivery

There were really detailed descriptions of contacts between O'Toole and others. However, too much attention was given to O'Toole's drinking and the behaviors that followed. O'Toole is a complex character but I felt that the author did not really get inside the head of the man....rather, he dwelt on episodes dictated by alcohol. It would have been interesting if the author would have created a picture of the psychological motivation of O'Toole and we had learned much more about his motivation etc.It was, nevertheless, an interesting read.T.A, Dowds