Early life

Finney was born in the Charlestown area of Pendleton, Salford, Lancashire, England, the son of Alice (née Hobson) and Albert Finney, Sr., a bookmaker. He was educated at Tootal Drive Primary School, Salford Grammar School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career

Finney graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His career began in the theatre; he made his first appearance on the London stage in 1958 in Jane Arden's The Party, directed by Charles Laughton, who starred in the production along with his wife, Elsa Lanchester. Then in 1959 he appeared at Stratford in Coriolanus, replacing a sick Laurence Olivier (as Coriolanus).

His first film appearance was a role in Tony Richardson's The Entertainer (1960), with Laurence Olivier, but he made his breakthrough with his portrayal of a disillusioned factory worker in Karel Reisz's film version of Alan Sillitoe's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. This led to a series of "Angry Young Man" roles in kitchen sink dramas, before he starred in the Academy Award-winning 1963 film Tom Jones. Prior to this, Finney had been chosen to play T. E. Lawrence in David Lean's production of Lawrence of Arabia after a successful, and elaborate, screen-test that took 4 days to shoot. However, Finney baulked at signing a multi-year contract for Producer Sam Spiegel and chose not to accept the role. The tremendous success of Tom Jones saw British exhibitors vote Finney the ninth most popular star at the box office in 1963.

After Charlie Bubbles (1968), which he also directed, his film appearances became less frequent as he focused more on acting on stage. During this period, one of his high-profile film roles was as Agatha Christie's Belgian master detective Hercule Poirot in the 1974 film Murder On The Orient Express. Finney became so well known for the role that he complained that it typecast him for a number of years. "People really do think I am 300 pounds with a French accent" he said.

While being known for his dramatic roles, Finney appeared and sang in two musical films: Scrooge and the Hollywood film version of Annie, which was directed by John Huston, who would direct him once again in Under The Volcano two years later. He also sings in Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.

Finney made several television productions for the BBC in the 1990s, including The Green Man (1990), based on a novel by Kingsley Amis, the acclaimed drama A Rather English Marriage (1998) (with Tom Courtenay), and the lead role in Dennis Potter's final two plays, Karaoke and Cold Lazarus in 1996 and 1997. In the latter he played a frozen, disembodied head.

Finney also made an appearance at Roger Waters' The Wall Concert in Berlin, where he played "The Judge" during the performance of "The Trial".

Even with his success on the big screen, Finney never abandoned his stage performances. He continued his association with the National Theatre Company at the Old Vic in London, where he performed in the mid-1960s in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and Chekov's The Cherry Orchard. He received Tony Award nominations for Luther (1964) and A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1968), and also starred onstage in Love for Love, Strindberg's Miss Julie, Black Comedy, The Country Wife, Alpha Beta, Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, Tamburlaine the Great, Another Time and, his last stage appearance in 1997, 'Art', which preceded the 1998 Tony Award-winning Broadway run. He won an Olivier Award for Orphans in 1986 and has won three Evening Standard Theatre Awards for Best Actor.

In 2002 his critically acclaimed portrayal of Winston Churchill in The Gathering Storm won him BAFTA and Emmy awards as Best Actor.

He also played the title role in the television series My Uncle Silas, based on the short stories by H. E. Bates, about a roguish but lovable poacher-cum-farm labourer looking after his great-nephew. The show ran for two series from 2000 until 2003.

A lifelong supporter of Manchester United, Finney narrated the documentary Munich, about the aircrash that killed most of the Busby Babes in 1958, which was shown on United's TV channel MUTV in February 2008.

Personal life

By his first wife, Jane Wenham, he has a son, Simon, who works in the film industry as a camera operator.

From 1970 to 1978, he was married to French actress Anouk Aimée.

In May 2011, Finney disclosed that he had been receiving treatment for kidney cancer.

Awards and honours

Finney turned down the offer of a CBE in 1980 and a Knighthood in 2000. He has criticised the honours system for "perpetuating snobbery".

He has five Oscar nominations but has never won. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor four times, for Tom Jones (1963), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Dresser (1983), and Under the Volcano (1984); and was nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Erin Brockovich (2000).

Julia Roberts mentioned Albert Finney in her Oscar acceptance speech for Best Actress in Erin Brockovich, thanking him and sharing the Oscar with him.

Finney has 13 BAFTA nominations (9 film, 4 TV), winning two:

• 1960 Best British Actor for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
• 1960 Most Promising Newcomer for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Won
• 1963 Best British Actor for Tom Jones
• 1973 Best Actor for Gumshoe
• 1974 Best Actor for Murder on the Orient Express
• 1982 Best Actor for Shoot the Moon
• 1984 Best Actor for The Dresser
• 1990 Best Actor (BAFTA TV Awards) for The Green Man
• 1996 Best Actor (BAFTA TV Awards) for Karaoke/Cold Lazarus
• 1998 Best Actor (BAFTA TV Awards) for A Rather English Marriage
• 2000 Best Supporting Actor for Erin Brockovich
• 2002 Best Actor (BAFTA TV Awards) for The Gathering Storm Won
• 2003 Best Supporting Actor for Big Fish

In addition Finney received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2001.

He won an Emmy Award, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Made for TV Movie, for his performance as Winston Churchill in HBO's The Gathering Storm. He had previously been nominated for the HBO telefilm The Image (1990).

He has received nine Golden Globe nominations, winning three:

• 1963 Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Tom Jones
• 1963 Most Promising Newcomer (Male) for Tom Jones - Won
• 1970 Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Scrooge, Won
• 1982 Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for Shoot the Moon
• 1983 Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for The Dresser
• 1984 Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for Under the Volcano
• 2000 Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for Erin Brockovich
• 2002 Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television for The Gathering Storm Won
• 2003 Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for Big Fish

For his work on Broadway, Finney has been nominated for two Tony Awards, both for Best Actor in a Play, for Luther in 1964, and A Day in the Death of Joe Egg in 1968. For the London stage, he won the Olivier Award, for Best Actor, for Orphans in 1986. He has won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor three times, for A Flea in Her Ear in 1966, Tamburlaine the Great in 1976 and Orphans in 1986.

Other awards include: a Golden Laurel for his work on Scrooge (1970) and for his work on Tom Jones, for which he was the 3rd Place Winner for the "Top Male Comedy Performance" for 1964. He was honoured by the Los Angeles Film Critics' Association as Best Actor for Under the Volcano (which he tied with F. Murray Abraham for Amadeus), the National Board of Review Best Actor award for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and the New York Film Critics' Circle Best Actor award for Tom Jones.

Finney has won two Screen Actors' Guild Awards, for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, for Erin Brockovich, and as a member of the acting ensemble in the film Traffic. He was also nominated for The Gathering Storm, for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries, but did not win.

He won the Silver Berlin Bear award for Best Actor, for The Dresser, at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival in 1984.

He won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, for Tom Jones, at the Venice Film Festival.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1960	The Entertainer	Mick Rice	Tony Richardson
1960	Saturday Night and Sunday Morning	Arthur Seaton	Karel Reisz
1963	Tom Jones	Tom Jones	Tony Richardson
1964	Night Must Fall	Danny	Karel Reisz
1967	Two for the Road	Mark Wallace	Stanley Donen
1968	Charlie Bubbles	Charlie Bubbles	Albert Finney	Also director
1969	The Picasso Summer	George Smith	Serge Bourguignon & Robert Sallin
1970	Scrooge	Ebenezer Scrooge	Ronald Neame
1971	Gumshoe	Eddie Ginley	Stephen Frears
1974	Murder on the Orient Express	Hercule Poirot	Sidney Lumet
1975	The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother	Man In Opera Audience	Gene Wilder	Uncredited Cameo
1977	The Duellists	Fouche	Ridley Scott
1981	Looker	Dr. Larry Roberts	Michael Crichton
1981	Wolfen	Dewey Wilson	Michael Wadleigh
1981	Loophole	Daniels	John Quested
1982	Annie	Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks	John Huston
1982	Shoot the Moon	George Dunlap	Alan Parker
1983	The Dresser	Sir	Peter Yates
1984	Under the Volcano	Geoffrey Firmin	John Huston
1987	Orphans	Harold	Alan J. Pakula
1990	Miller's Crossing	Leo O'Bannon	Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
1990	Roger Waters - The Wall (Live in Berlin)	The Judge	Ken O'Neill & Roger Waters
1992	The Playboys	Hegarty	Gillies MacKinnon
1993	Rich in Love	Warren Odom	Bruce Beresford
1994	The Browning Version	Andrew Crocker-Harris	Mike Figgis
1994	A Man of No Importance	Alfred Byrne	Suri Krishnamma
1996	Nostromo	Dr. Monyghan	Alastair Reid
1997	Washington Square	Dr. Austin Sloper	Agnieszka Holland
1999	Breakfast of Champions	Kilgore Trout	Alan Rudolph
1999	Simpatico	Simms	Matthew Warchus
2000	Erin Brockovich	Ed Masry	Steven Soderbergh
2000	Traffic	White House Chief of Staff	Steven Soderbergh
2001	Delivering Milo	Elmore Dahl	Nick Castle
2003	Big Fish	Edward Bloom, Sr.	Tim Burton
2004	Ocean's Twelve	Gaspar LeMarque	Steven Soderbergh	(uncredited)
2005	Corpse Bride	Finis Everglot	Tim Burton & Mike Johnson	(voice)
2006	A Good Year	Uncle Henry Skinner	Ridley Scott
2006	Amazing Grace	John Newton	Michael Apted
2007	The Bourne Ultimatum	Dr. Albert Hirsch	Paul Greengrass
2007	Before the Devil Knows You're Dead	Charles Hanson	Sidney Lumet
2012	The Bourne Legacy	Dr. Albert Hirsch	Tony Gilroy
2012	Skyfall	Kincade	Sam Mendes

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Emergency Ward 10	Tom Fletcher	4 episodes
1990	The Image	Jason Cromwell	Television movie Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1990	The Green Man	Maurice Allington	3 episodes Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actor
1996	Karaoke	Daniel Feeld	4 episodes Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actor
1996	Cold Lazarus	Daniel Feeld	4 episodes Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actor
1997	Nostromo	Dr. Monygham	4 episodes
1998	A Rather English Marriage	Reggie	Television movie Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actor
2001-2003	My Uncle Silas	Uncle Silas	9 episodes
2002	The Gathering Storm	Winston Churchill	Television movie British Academy Television Award for Best Actor Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1961	BAFTA Awards	Best British Actor	Saturday Night and Sunday Morning	Nominated
1961	BAFTA Awards	Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles	Saturday Night and Sunday Morning	Won
1961	National Board of Review	Best Actor	Saturday Night and Sunday Morning	Won
1964	Academy Awards	Best Actor	Tom Jones	Nominated
1964	BAFTA Awards	Best British Actor	Tom Jones	Nominated
1964	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	Tom Jones	Nominated
1964	Golden Globe Awards	New Star of the Year - Actor	Tom Jones	Won
1971	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	Scrooge	Won
1972	BAFTA Awards	Best Actor	Gumshoe	Nominated
1975	Academy Awards	Best Actor	Murder on the Orient Express	Nominated
1975	BAFTA Awards	Best Actor	Murder on the Orient Express	Nominated
1976	Olivier Awards	Best Actor in a Revival	Hamlet and Tamburlaine the Great	Nominated
1982	Saturn Awards	Best Actor	Wolfen	Nominated
1983	BAFTA Awards	Best Actor	Shoot the Moon	Nominated
1983	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama	Shoot the Moon	Nominated
1984	Academy Awards	Best Actor	The Dresser	Nominated
1984	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama	The Dresser	Nominated
1985	Academy Awards	Best Actor	Under the Volcano	Nominated
1985	BAFTA Awards	Best Actor	The Dresser	Nominated
1985	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama	Under the Volcano	Nominated
1985	London Critics Circle Film Awards	Actor of the Year	Under the Volcano	Won
1986	Olivier Awards	Best Actor	Orphans	Won
1990	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	The Image	Nominated
1991	BAFTA TV Awards	Best Actor on Television	The Green Man	Nominated
1994	Boston Society of Film Critics Awards	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor	The Browning Version	Won
1997	BAFTA TV Awards	Best Actor on Television	Cold Lazarus	Nominated
1997	BAFTA TV Awards	Best Actor on Television	Karaoke	Nominated
1999	BAFTA TV Awards	Best Actor on Television	A Rather English Marriage	Nominated
2000	Boston Society of Film Critics Awards	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor	Erin Brockovich	Nominated
2001	Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Erin Brockovich	Nominated
2001	BAFTA Awards	Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Erin Brockovich	Nominated
2001	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama	Erin Brockovich	Nominated
2001	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Erin Brockovich	Nominated
2001	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture	Erin Brockovich	Nominated
2001	London Critics Circle Film Awards	British Supporting Actor of the Year	Erin Brockovich	Won
2001	Online Film Critics Society Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Erin Brockovich	Nominated
2001	Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture	Erin Brockovich	Nominated
2001	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Traffic	Won
2001	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Erin Brockovich	Won
2002	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	The Gathering Storm	Won
2003	BAFTA TV Awards	Best Actor on Television	The Gathering Storm	Won
2003	Broadcasting Press Guild Awards	Best Actor	The Gathering Storm	Won
2003	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	The Gathering Storm	Won
2003	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	The Gathering Storm	Nominated
2003	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	The Gathering Storm	Nominated
2004	BAFTA Awards	Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Big Fish	Nominated
2004	Golden Globe Awards	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture	Big Fish	Nominated
2004	Saturn Awards	Best Actor	Big Fish	Nominated
2007	Gotham Awards	Best Cast	Before the Devil Knows You're Dead	Won
2008	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Cast	Before the Devil Knows You're Dead	Nominated
2008	London Critics Circle Film Awards	British Supporting Actor of the Year	Before the Devil Knows You're Dead	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]