Albert Finney

Finney married actresses Jane Wenham in 1957. After the divorce in 1961, he remarried actress Anouk Aimée in 1970. However, this marriage also resulted in a divorce in 1978.

In 2006, he married Penelope Delmage.

When he was just 21 years old, he fathered a son, Simon, from his first marriage.

Finney was born on 9th May, 1936, in Salford, Manchester, England in a working-class household to Alice (née Hobson) and Albert Finney, Sr.

He received his education at Tootal Drive Primary School and Salford Grammar School. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1955 and went on to become 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’. Then in 1959 he appeared at Stratford in ‘Coriolanus’.

It was his work in the 1960 film ‘The Entertainer’ that launched his career on the big screen.

In 1960, Finney starred in the gritty and breakthrough film ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ where he portrayed a disillusioned factory worker.

In 1963, Finney earned his first Academy Award nomination for his role in the very successful film ‘Tom Jones’. Before this movie, he appeared in kitchen sink drama series ‘Angry Young Man’.

Throughout the 1960s, Finney played a variety of roles, ranging from a psychopath in the 1964 thriller ‘Night Must Fall’ to Audrey Hepburn's love interest in 1967's ‘Two for the Road’.

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’.

After the 1968 ‘Charlie Bubbles’, which was directed by him, his film appearances became less frequent as he focused more on acting on stage.

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 tested success early in his career through ‘Tom Jones’ in 1963. It was a British adventure comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, winning four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film is notable for its unusual comic style. The film was highly successful financially, becoming the third most popular at the British box office in 1963, and the 4th most popular in the United States.

One of the most stunning performances by Finney was in a British mystery movie ‘Murder on the Orient Express’. Finney played the role of a Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. This film was based on 1934 novel ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ by Agatha Christie. The film revolves around murder of American business tycoon, Mr. Ratchett on The Orient Express. The film was a success at the box office. It won many Academy Awards and BFATA nominations including Finney’s nomination for ‘Best Actor’. He also won an Oscar nomination for this role.

In 2002, he appeared in ‘The gathering Storm’. In this movie Finney played the lead role of Churchill. This film was critically acclaimed. He received many accolades for his performance, winning both a ‘BAFTA’ and ‘Emmy Award’ for his acting. Director and writer of the film were also awarded.