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My Take
What gets me about John Gielgud is the sheer endurance of it all: eight decades on stage, named alongside Olivier and Richardson as one of the three pillars of British theatre. That is not luck, it is craft sustained across a lifetime. I admire that he never let film fame dilute his roots as a stage actor, and his famed crystalline voice remains, to me, the gold standard for spoken Shakespeare. Winning an Oscar at 78, a Tony, a knighthood and the Order of Merit feels almost incidental next to the artistry. Gielgud quietly raised the bar for everyone who followed.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- John Gielgud
- Name (Japanese)
- ジョン・ギールグッド
- Reading
- じょん・ぎーるぐっど
- Born
- April 14, 1904 – May 21, 2000
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Dragon
- Origin
- South Kensington, United Kingdom
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- theatre director / stage actor / film actor / television actor / film director
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- Laurence Olivier Awards
- 1994 Praemium Imperiale
- 1982 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- 1961 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
- Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording
- Order of Merit
- Companion of Honour
- Knight Bachelor
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was John Gielgud born?
April 14, 1904 – May 21, 2000.
Where is John Gielgud from?
John Gielgud is from South Kensington, United Kingdom.
What does John Gielgud do?
John Gielgud works as theatre director, stage actor, film actor, television actor, film director.
Theatre director — see all → · Stage actor — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.