ACTOR

John Gielgud

1904 - 2000

Photo of John Gielgud

Icon of person John Gielgud

Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( GHEEL-guud; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. A member of the Terry family theatrical dynasty, he gained his first paid acting work as a junior member of his cousin Phyllis Neilson-Terry's company in 1922. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of John Gielgud has received more than 3,686,793 page views. His biography is available in 54 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 51 in 2019). John Gielgud is the 644th most popular actor (down from 630th in 2019), the 781st most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 783rd in 2019) and the 99th most popular British Actor.

John Gielgud is most famous for his role as Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Memorability Metrics

  • 3.7M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 61.55

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 54

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.89

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 5.09

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among ACTORS

Among actors, John Gielgud ranks 644 out of 13,578. Before him are Jean Simmons, Richard Wilson, Song Hye-rim, Anjelica Huston, Julie Walters, and Lisa Kudrow. After him are Gert Fröbe, William Fichtner, Sissy Spacek, Naomi Watts, Dwayne Johnson, and Stefania Sandrelli.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1904, John Gielgud ranks 49. Before him are Nikolai Ostrovsky, Clifford D. Simak, Otto Robert Frisch, Héctor Castro, Karl Rahner, and Nikolai Kuznetsov. After him are Gerhard Herzberg, George Balanchine, František Plánička, Charles J. Pedersen, Serge Lifar, and Donald O. Hebb. Among people deceased in 2000, John Gielgud ranks 34. Before him are Ofra Haza, Bettino Craxi, Gino Bartali, Anatoly Sobchak, Steve Reeves, and Rudolf Kirchschläger. After him are Richard Farnsworth, Lila Kedrova, Arkan, Takashi Kano, Willard Van Orman Quine, and Carlo M. Cipolla.

Others Born in 1904

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Others Deceased in 2000

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, John Gielgud ranks 781 out of 8,785. Before him are Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519), Jean Simmons (1929), Richard Wilson (1936), Ken Hensley (1945), Julie Walters (1950), and Thomas De Quincey (1785). After him are Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868), James Black (1924), James Joseph Sylvester (1814), P. D. James (1920), Naomi Watts (1968), and Stuart Sutcliffe (1940).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among ACTORS In United Kingdom

Among actors born in United Kingdom, John Gielgud ranks 99. Before him are Bernard Hill (1944), Rachel Weisz (1970), Ian McDiarmid (1944), Jean Simmons (1929), Richard Wilson (1936), and Julie Walters (1950). After him are Naomi Watts (1968), Tom Hardy (1977), Tom Conti (1941), Tim Roth (1961), Kim Cattrall (1956), and Peter Cushing (1913).

British born Actors

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Television and Movie Roles

The Elephant Man
Carr Gomm
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.
Oct 9th 19808 / 10
Gandhi
Lord Irwin
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed.
Dec 1st 19827.563 / 10
Elizabeth
The Pope
The story of the ascension to the throne and the early reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, the endless attempts by her council to marry her off, the Catholic hatred of her and her romance with Lord Robert Dudley.
Sep 13th 19987.169 / 10