Peter Finch
Highest Rated: 100% The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960)
Lowest Rated: 14% Lost Horizon (1973)
Birthday: Sep 28, 1916
Birthplace: London, England, UK
A former vaudeville performer and popular radio actor in Australia, Peter Finch transitioned to film in his native England, where he rose from supporting actor to leading man in a number of emotionally charged dramas. While he delivered more than a few notable performances in his four-decade career, Finch was forever identified as the raving mad prophet Howard Beale in "Network" (1976), whose line "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" remained one of the most identifiable in all of cinema history. After supporting roles in several British-made films, he made the Hollywood transition with "The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men" (1952) and starred opposite Elizabeth Taylor in "Elephant" (1954). Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Finch went back and forth between films made in Hollywood and England, earning award nominations along the way for his performances in "The Nun's Story" (1959), "The Trials of Oscar Wilde" (1960) and "No Love for Johnnie" (1961). Some time passed before Finch delivered another noteworthy performance, this time earning acclaim for his sympathetic and non-clichéd turn as a gay man in "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1971). A few years later, he captured attention as the raving maniac Beale in "Network," only to die from a heart attack two months before winning his one and only Academy Award, making him the first actor to win a posthumous Oscar.
Photos
Peter Finch
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
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No Score Yet |
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Raid on Entebbe | Yitzhak Rabin (Character) | - | 1977 |
91% |
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Network | Howard Beale (Character) | - | 1976 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Abdication | Cardinal Azzolino (Character) | - | 1974 |
14% |
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Lost Horizon | Richard Conway (Character) | - | 1973 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Nelson Affair | Adm. Lord Horatio Nelson (Character) | - | 1973 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Shattered | Harry Field (Character) | - | 1972 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | England Made Me | Erich Krogh (Character) | - | 1972 |
89% |
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The Red Tent | Gen. Umberto Nobile (Character) | - | 1971 |
87% |
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Sunday, Bloody Sunday | Dr. Daniel Hirsh (Character) | - | 1971 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Greatest Mother of 'Em All | Sean Howard (Character) | - | 1969 |
60% |
|
The Legend of Lylah Clare |
Lewis Zarken/ |
- | 1968 |
64% |
|
Far From the Madding Crowd | William Boldwood (Character) | - | 1967 |
No Score Yet |
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10:30 P.M. Summer | Paul (Character) | - | 1966 |
20% | No Score Yet | Judith | Aaron Stein (Character) | - | 1966 |
83% |
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The Flight of the Phoenix | Captain Harris (Character) | - | 1965 |
69% |
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The Pumpkin Eater | Jake Armitage (Character) | - | 1964 |
83% |
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Girl With Green Eyes | Eugene Gaillard (Character) | - | 1964 |
No Score Yet |
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In the Cool of the Day | Murray Logan (Character) | - | 1963 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | I Thank a Fool | Stephen Dane (Character) | - | 1962 |
No Score Yet |
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No Love for Johnnie | Johnnie Byrne (Character) | - | 1961 |
No Score Yet |
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The Sins of Rachel Cade | Colonel Henry Derode (Character) | - | 1961 |
No Score Yet |
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Kidnapped | Alan Breck Stewart (Character) | - | 1960 |
No Score Yet |
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Operation Amsterdam | Jan Smit (Character) | - | 1960 |
100% |
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The Trials of Oscar Wilde | Oscar Wilde (Character) | - | 1960 |
85% |
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The Nun's Story | Dr. Fortunati (Character) | - | 1959 |
No Score Yet |
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Robbery Under Arms | Captain Starlight (Character) | - | 1957 |
No Score Yet |
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The Shiralee | Jim Macauley (Character) | - | 1957 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Windom's Way | Alec Windom (Character) | - | 1957 |
No Score Yet |
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A Town Like Alice | Joe Harman (Character) | - | 1956 |
82% |
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Pursuit of the Graf Spee | Captain Langsdorff `'Admiral Graf Spee'` (Character) | - | 1956 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Passage Home | Captain Lucky Ryland (Character) | - | 1956 |
No Score Yet |
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Simon and Laura | Simon Foster (Character) | - | 1955 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Make Me an Offer | Charlie (Character) | - | 1955 |
No Score Yet |
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The Warriors | Comte De Ville (Character) | - | 1955 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Josephine and Men | David Hewer (Character) | - | 1955 |
60% |
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Elephant Walk | John Wiley (Character) | - | 1954 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Queen in Australia | Narrator | - | 1954 |
63% |
|
The Detective | Gustave Flambeau (Character) | - | 1954 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Great Gilbert and Sullivan | Richard D'Oyly Carte (Character) | - | 1953 |
No Score Yet |
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The Heart of the Matter | Father Rank (Character) | - | 1953 |
No Score Yet |
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The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men | Sheriff of Nottingham (Character) | - | 1952 |
No Score Yet |
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Fighting Rats of Tobruk | Peter Linton (Character) | - | 1951 |
No Score Yet |
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The Miniver Story | Police Officer (Character) | - | 1950 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Eureka Stockade | Humffray (Character) | - | 1949 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Rats of Tobruk | Peter Linton (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Mr. Chedworth Steps Out | Arthur Jacobs (Character) | - | 1939 |
TV
Credit | ||||
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No Score Yet | No Score Yet | What's My Line? | Guest | 1968 |