Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (April 2, 1914 – August 5, 2000) was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai. He is most well known for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy. He also played Prince Feisal in Lawrence of Arabia and George Smiley in the TV adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Academy Awards
Best Actor
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Known For
Star Wars
(1977)
Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi
Return of the Jedi
(1983)
Ben 'Obi-Wan' Kenobi
Scrooge
(1970)
Jacob Marley's Ghost
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2015)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (archive sound) (uncredited)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
(2019)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (archive voice)
Lawrence of Arabia
(1962)
Prince Feisal
The Empire Strikes Back
(1980)
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Doctor Zhivago
(1965)
Gen. Yevgraf Zhivago
The Bridge on the River Kwai
(1957)
Col. Nicholson
The Fall of the Roman Empire
(1964)
Marcus Aurelius
Raise the Titanic
(1980)
John Bigalow
Great Expectations
(1946)
Herbert Pocket
Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return
(2022)
Self - Obi-Wan Kenobi (archive footage) (uncredited)
Oliver Twist
(1948)
Fagin
Murder by Death
(1976)
Bensonmum
The Star Wars Holiday Special
(1978)
Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (archive footage) (uncredited)
Full Filmography
Acting
Evensong
(1934)
W.W.I. soldier in concert audience (uncredited)
Great Expectations
(1946)
Herbert Pocket
Oliver Twist
(1948)
Fagin
A Run for Your Money
(1949)
Whimple
Kind Hearts and Coronets
(1949)
The D'Ascoyne Family: The Duke / The Banker / The Parson / The General / The Admiral / Young Ascoyne / Young Henry / Lady Agatha
Last Holiday
(1950)
George Bird
The Mudlark
(1950)
Benjamin Disraeli
The Man in the White Suit
(1951)
Sidney Stratton
The Lavender Hill Mob
(1951)
Henry 'Dutch' Holland
The Card
(1952)
Edward Henry 'Denry' Machin
The Captain's Paradise
(1953)
Captain Henry St. James
Malta Story
(1953)
Flight Lt. Peter Ross
Father Brown
(1954)
Father Brown
The Stratford Adventure
(1954)
Self
The Ladykillers
(1955)
Professor Marcus
The Prisoner
(1955)
The Cardinal
To Paris with Love
(1955)
Sir Edgar Fraser
The Swan
(1956)
Prince Albert
The Bridge on the River Kwai
(1957)
Col. Nicholson
Barnacle Bill
(1957)
Captain William Horatio Ambrose
The Horse's Mouth
(1958)
Gulley Jimson
The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant
(1958)
Self
The Scapegoat
(1959)
John Barratt / Jacques De Gue
Our Man in Havana
(1960)
Jim Wormold
Tunes of Glory
(1960)
Maj. Jock Sinclair, D.S.O., M.M.
A Majority of One
(1961)
Koichi Asano
Lawrence of Arabia
(1962)
Prince Feisal
H.M.S. Defiant
(1962)
Captain Crawford
The Fall of the Roman Empire
(1964)
Marcus Aurelius
Doctor Zhivago
(1965)
Gen. Yevgraf Zhivago
Situation Hopeless -- But Not Serious
(1965)
Wilhelm Frick
Pasternak
(1965)
Himself
The Quiller Memorandum
(1966)
Pol
Hotel Paradiso
(1966)
Benedict Boniface
The Comedians
(1967)
Major H. O. Jones
The Comedians in Africa
(1967)
Self (uncredited)
Twelfth Night
(1969)
Malvolio
Cromwell
(1970)
King Charles I
Scrooge
(1970)
Jacob Marley's Ghost
The Ealing Comedies
(1970)
Self
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
(1972)
Papst Innozenz III.
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
(1973)
Adolf Hitler
The Gift of Friendship
(1974)
Jocelyn Broome
Murder by Death
(1976)
Bensonmum
Caesar and Cleopatra
(1976)
Caesar
Star Wars
(1977)
Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi
The Making of Star Wars
(1977)
Self
The Star Wars Holiday Special
(1978)
Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Art of Film: The Many Roles of Alec Guinness
(1978)
The Empire Strikes Back
(1980)
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Raise the Titanic
(1980)
John Bigalow
Little Lord Fauntleroy
(1980)
Earl of Dorincourt
SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back
(1980)
Obi Wan Kenobi
Return of the Jedi
(1983)
Ben 'Obi-Wan' Kenobi
Lovesick
(1983)
Sigmund Freud
A Passage to India
(1984)
Professor Godbole
Edwin
(1984)
Sir Fennimore Truscott
Monsignor Quixote
(1985)
Father Quixote
David Lean: A Life in Film
(1985)
Self
Little Dorrit
(1987)
William Dorrit
Grace Kelly: The American Princess
(1987)
Self (archive footage)
A Handful of Dust
(1988)
Mr. Todd
Kafka
(1991)
The Chief Clerk
Tales from Hollywood
(1992)
Heinrich Mann
A Foreign Field
(1993)
Amos
Audrey Hepburn: Remembered
(1993)
Self (archive footage)
Mute Witness
(1995)
The Reaper
Eskimo Day
(1996)
James
The Making of 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'
(2000)
Self (archive footage)
The Making of 'Lawrence of Arabia'
(2003)
Self (archive footage)
When Star Wars Ruled the World
(2004)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (archive footage)
The Story of Star Wars
(2004)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (archive footage)
Grace Kelly: Destiny of a Princess
(2006)
Self - Actor (archive footage)
Hitler: The Comedy Years
(2007)
Adolf Hitler (archive footage) (uncredited)
Star Wars: Evolution of the Lightsaber Duel
(2015)
Self
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2015)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (archive sound) (uncredited)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
(2019)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (archive voice)
Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return
(2022)
Self - Obi-Wan Kenobi (archive footage) (uncredited)
Writing
Crew