Actor. Born the son of Constance and Patrick O'Toole, a nurse and a bookmaker, respectively. He was raised in Leeds, Yorkshire, attending a Catholic school. After school, he served in the Royal Navy before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) from 1952 to 1954 on a scholarship. He worked on the stage in London and saw early success with "The Long and the Short and the Tall" at London's Royal Court Theatre. He first appeared on film in British television's "The Scarlet Pimpernel" in 1956, and a minor role in Disney release of "Kidnapped" in 1960. Arguably, his most famous role was that of T.E. Lawrence in 1962's "Lawrence of Arabia." It was also the role that made him a star, and earned him the first of eight Academy Award nominations. He played King Henry II in 1964's "Becket," and then appeared the following year as "Hamlet" at the Royal National Theatre. In 1965, he appeared in "What's New, Pussycat?" and, in 1968, again played Henry II in "The Lion in Winter" opposite his friend, Katharine Hepburn. In a career that spanned six decades and more than eighty titles, he was seen in such films as "Goodbye Mr. Chips" (1969), "The Ruling Class" (1972), "My Favorite Year"(1982), "The Last Emperor" (1987), "Wings of Fame" (1989), "King Ralph" (1991), "Troy" (2004), "Venus" (2006), "Ratatouille" (2007) and "Stardust" (2007). In 1992, he published his memoir, "Loitering with Intent: The Child." A second volume, "Loitering with Intent: The Apprentice" was released in 1996. He won an Emmy Award in 1999 for his work on the television miniseries "Joan of Arc." In 2003, he was awarded a Special Oscar for lifetime achievement. In 2006, his performance in "Lawrence of Arabia" was ranked number 1 in Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time. He announced his retirement in July 2012, but then appeared in the 2014 release of "Katherine of Alexandria." When he succumbed after a long illness, English broadcaster and journalist Michael Parkinson supplied the epitaph, "Peter didn't leave much of life unlived."