The movie Peter O’Toole admitted was a “disaster”
When we talk about the greatest British actors of all time, there is no doubt that Peter O’Toole vies for the very top spot, tussling with the likes of Cary Grant, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tilda Swinton, Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Olivier. Starring in some of the greatest movies of all time, his greatest career success came when he collaborated with David Lean for the seven-time Oscar winner Lawrence of Arabia in 1962.
A lover of a good historical epic, his proficiency in Lawrence of Arabia led to several roles of the same ilk later in his career, starring as Henry II twice in 1964’s Becket and 1968’s The Lion in Winter, as well as Don Quixote in the unusual 1972 musical Man of La Mancha. These interests extended into the new millennium too, taking roles in the popular BBC TV series The Tudors, as well as the 2004 Hollywood flick Troy.
Starring in an all-star cast that included the likes of Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox and Diane Kruger, O’Toole appeared as Priam, the legendary last king of Troy during the Trojan War. Supposed to be an award-winning historical epic, the $185million movie largely bombed with critics, with the Wolfgang Petersen flick based on Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey feeling more like a pointless excuse to dress up in fun costumes.
After having watched the movie, O’Toole admitted that it wasn’t a masterpiece, even going so far as to call it a “disaster”, before branding the German director a “clown”.
Speaking at the Savannah Film Festival, the actor, who was 71 at the time, exclaimed: “Ugh, what a disaster. The director, that kraut, what a clown he was”.
Continuing, he added: “When it was all over, I watched 15 minutes of the finished movie and then walked out…At least I had one good scene”.
Flagrantly offensive against Petersen, attacking his German heritage, it’s fair to say that O’Toole didn’t come across too well during the making of the 2004, with his co-star Diane Kruger reporting that the actor was a cruel “drunk”.
“You know who wasn’t very pleasant was Peter O’Toole […] It kind of sucked. He’s dead, so I can say that. But he wasn’t the most pleasant person,” Kruger told Buzzfeed, explaining, “He was just a drunk, and Peter O’Toole. You know, he had a two-day part, and I played Helen of Troy and he was Peter O’Toole and he just wanted to make sure that everybody knew that he was Peter O’Toole”.
Continuing in her reflection of her time on set with O’Toole, she added that the star was frustrated that he could barely make it up the stairs, with others thinking, “thought he was gonna die right there and then…He was very old, and very drunk”.
Despite his unpleasant presence on the set of the film, O’Toole remains an icon of British cinema, as well as one of the most unfortunate actors of all time, earning the most Oscar nominations without ever winning an Academy Award.
Take a look at a clip of O’Toole in Troy below.
