Overview (4)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (2)

Trade Mark (4)

A rebel in real life, a part he often portrayed on screen



In his later years he often played characters that speak in raspy whispers



Pale blue eyes



Rich smooth voice with Irish accent



Trivia (103)

Was a pretty good rugby player in his day, still remembered in Limerick City for his tackling ability.



He was a guest professor at the University of Scranton in the mid-1980s, teaching Theatre Arts courses.



Received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Scranton in 1987.



Joined the Knights of Malta (SMOM), despite his two divorces.





Harris, Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton were drinking partners from the 1960s until O'Toole had to stop drinking in 1978.

Was knighted by Denmark in 1985.



One of nine children born to Limerick farmer Ivan Harris and his wife, the former Mildred Harty.



A bout with tuberculosis ended his ambition of becoming a professional rugby player.





Only agreed to take the part of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen (2001) after his then 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he didn't.



While still a student, he rented the tiny "off-West End" Irving Theatre in London and directed his own production of Clifford Odets ' "Winter Journey (The Country Girl)". The critics approved, but the production used up all his savings. Harris claimed that he was forced to sleep in a coal cellar for six weeks, but he actually stayed with some relatives in London.

He was awarded the 1990 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in Henry IV.



Was cremated and his ashes were scattered at his home in the Bahamas



Associate member of LAMDA.



Graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He was rejected by the Royal Adademy of Dramatic Art.



Member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford Upon Avon, England, since the early 1960s. His last appearance on the Swan stage (RSC main) was in the mid-1990s.





Received the Laurence Olivier Award for his acclaimed performances at the Royal National Theatre, London, England.

An alcoholic, he gave up drinking completely in 1981 and returned to drinking Guinness a decade later.





It was his lifelong ambition to play Hamlet. He never did, although he referred to Lockender Lorbeer (1963) as his Hamlet and Das Feld (1990) as his Lear. He later had one final attempt at an updated version of Lear with My Kingdom (2001).

Well known for being a "method actor", he was once told that he would play the role of a filthy character, and so he went for a long time without bathing to fit in to the character better, much to the chagrin of his co-stars, who claimed that they could smell him coming a long way away.





He won the role of King Arthur in Camelot - Am Hofe König Arthurs (1967), the film version of Alan Jay Lerner Frederick Loewe 's hit musical, after close friend and drinking buddy Richard Burton , who had played Arthur in the original 1960 Broadway production, turned it down. Burton had had a huge success with the, winning a 1961 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Harris replaced Burton in the roadshow of the 1980 revival of the musical when Burton was unable to continue due to bursitis, a tour that ended up back on Broadway, with Harris as Arthur, in 1981.

He spent the last 12 years of his life living in Room 758 at the world-famous Savoy Hotel in London. His room was located in the "Courtside" section of the hotel. It did have a view of the river, but not as fine a view as the "Hotel" section riverside rooms. He only had his room cleaned once a week and very rarely notified the hotel that he was out of his room, so they had to check his door ten times a day to see if his "Do Not Disturb" sign flipped around to say "Make Up My Room".



After giving up drinking alcohol for a time in the 1970s, Harris put a bottle of vodka in every room in his house in London. The temptation was huge but he didn't touch a drop.





Producers were initially reluctant to cast him as King Arthur in Camelot - Am Hofe König Arthurs (1967) due to his limited singing ability. Harris was cast after Richard Burton , who had played the part on Broadway in 1961, demanded too much money. Harris insisted on doing his own singing live and later enjoyed a successful pop career, touring America in 1972.



He enjoyed a friendly rivalry with English actor Oliver Reed during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Reed would often refer to himself as "Mr. England." When Harris would hear him saying that, he would then refer to himself as "Mr. Ireland.".



In his youth he was a fan of Marlon Brando and could imitate or parody his performance in Die Faust im Nacken (1954) at the drop of a hat. However, he did not get along with Brando while filming Meuterei auf der Bounty (1962) and blamed the American star's on-set behavior for the film going over budget and over schedule. During the 1960s he often criticized Brando's eccentric movie choices in interviews.

In 1979 he was diagnosed with hyperglycemia, a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood plasma.



Was dyslexic.



While living in England he popped out for milk one day and saw in a newspaper that Young Munster were playing in Thomond Park, Limerick. He got the next available flight to Ireland and spent the next three weeks on a drinking binge. All of this was unknown at the time to his wife, who had no idea where he was. When he finally returned to England he rang the doorbell of his house. His wife answered the door and before she had a chance to say anything, he said, "Well, why didn't you pay the ransom?".





Turned down the role of Commodus in Der Untergang des Römischen Reiches (1964), then went on to play Commodus' father Marcus Aurelius (who dies at his son's hands) in Gladiator (2000).



In an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), he told a story about when he was a young actor playing Seyton in a theatrical production of "Macbeth." The lead actor was a real jerk to him, making constant demeaning references to Harris' Irish heritage. On opening night Harris couldn't take it anymore. In Act V, Macbeth turns to him and says, "Wherefore was that cry?" Harris was supposed to reply, "The queen, my lord, is dead," after which Macbeth goes into his famous soliloquy about "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow." Instead, Harris decided instead to say, "Oh, don't worry. She's fine. She'll be up and about in ten minutes." He ruined the performance and was promptly fired.



He hated making Caprice (1967) with Doris Day so much that he never watched the film. Once when he was on a flight, he noticed that it was the in-flight movie and immediately got off the plane.

By the time he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in August 2002, it was so advanced that there was no hope of recovery.





Uncle of actress Annabelle Wallis



Mickey Rourke dedicated his 2009 BAFTA award for Best Actor to Harris, calling him "a good friend and great actor.".



Despite his initial reluctance to accept the role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films (he only agreed to do so at the urging of his granddaughter) he was determined not to let his battle with Hodgkin's disease get in the way of him playing the role. During post-production on Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens (2002), producer David Heyman visited Harris in the hospital. By this point Harris' illness had progressed to the point where he had become very gaunt and could speak in barely more than a whisper, yet he begged the producer not to recast the role. Ultimately, however, the role had to be recast, and Harris passed away a few weeks later.



He was replaced by Donald Sutherland as IRA terrorist Liam Devlin in Der Adler ist gelandet (1976) after it was discovered that he had attended a fundraiser for the Provisional IRA in the US.

He was a vocal supporter of the Provisional Irish Republican Army from 1973-84. In the late 1980s he was active in persuading Americans of Irish descent not to give money to terrorist groups.





Became a born-again Catholic after his brother Dermot Harris died from alcoholism in 1985.



He had a longtime hatred of Michael Caine . Harris claimed to have turned down the role of Harry Palmer in Ipcress - streng geheim (1965).

The first Harry Potter film series cast member to die.



He nearly died from alcoholism in 1981, and a Roman Catholic priest was called to give him the last rites.



As he was born in the Irish Free State he was entitled to a full knighthood. However, it is likely he would never have been offered one due to his vocal support for the IRA in the 1970s and early 1980s.



He said he gave up drugs after almost overdosing on cocaine in 1978.





Not related to Ed Harris

Founder of Excalibur Productions, a theatrical touring business.



Did not start smoking until he was in his thirties. Thereafter he smoked up to three packs of cigarettes a day for many years.





He was considered to play Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins (1964).



He was originally cast in the lead role in Der Indianer (1970), but was replaced by Anthony Quinn due to creative differences.



He was originally cast as Ebeneezer Scrooge in Scrooge (1970), but dropped out when after he was forced to take over the direction of Bloomfield (1970) in Israel. Albert Finney replaced him.



He was considered for the lead role in Unser Mann in Rio (1966).



He was considered for the role of Charlie Vennor in Wer Gewalt sät (1971) that went to Del Henney



He was originally cast as Roger "Big X" Bartlett in Gesprengte Ketten (1963), but when his part was reduced, he dropped out in order to star in Lockender Lorbeer (1963).



He was considered to play the Pilot in Der kleine Prinz (1974). The role went to Richard Kiley



He was considered for the role of Major Randolph Doryan in Ryans Tochter (1970) that went to Christopher Jones



He was a candidate to play Borusa in Doctor Who: Der Film (1996) before the character was removed from the script.



On 30 September 2006, Manuel Di Lucia, of Kilkee, County Clare, a longtime friend, organised the placement in Kilkee of a bronze life-size statue of Richard Harris. It shows Harris at the age of eighteen playing squash. The sculptor was Seamus Connolly and the work was unveiled by Russell Crowe . Harris was an accomplished squash player, winning the Tivoli Cup in Kilkee four years in a row from 1948 to 1951, a record unsurpassed to this day.

Harris was a member of the Roman Catholic Knights of Malta, and was also dubbed a knight by the Queen of Denmark in 1985.



In an interview with the Toronto Star in 2001, Harris expressed his concern that his association with the Harry Potter films would outshine the rest of his career. He explained, "Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for being in those bloody films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me.".





His casting as Oliver Cromwell in Cromwell - Krieg dem König (1970) was deemed odd, as Harris was patriotic Irish hellraiser and Cromwell was a puritan whose military campaign in Ireland was called genocidal or near-genocidal. Harris took the role because the money was too good to pass up. In interviews he said he admired Cromwell for making Britain more democratic.



Harris paid £75,000 for William Burges' Tower House in Holland Park in 1968, after discovering that Liberace had arranged to buy the house but not yet put down a deposit. Harris employed the original decorators, Campbell Smith & Company Ltd. to carry out extensive restoration work on the interior.

He was a candidate to play Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.



Concerning his role as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, Harris had stated that he did not intend to take the part at first, since he knew that his health was in decline, but he relented and accepted it because his 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he did not take it.





He had such a miserable time making Meuterei auf der Bounty (1962) that he refused to attend the premiere. He described the shoot as "nightmarish" and called the film "a total fucking disaster".



He was originally cast in Nicol Williamson 's role in Spawn (1997), but dropped out.



He was initially considered for the lead role in Barry Lyndon (1975).

An avid fan of American football, his favorite team was the Pittsburgh Steelers.





Harris was the very first person to record songwriter Jimmy Webb 's "Macarthur Park" and scored a top ten hit in both the U.S. and U.K with his rendition in 1968.

Greatly enjoyed working with Gene Hackman and Clint Eastwood in the Western, "Unforgiven." Harris described Hackman as a truly dangerous and intimidating actor.



Was vocal in his intense dislike for Michael Caine, both as an actor as well as a person.



Considered Marlon Brando one of his actor idols - until the two worked on "Mutiny On the Bounty." Harris found Brando to be aloof and surly.



In 1954, while looking for a bedsit in London, he saw a board behind the window of a shop that listed all the rooms it had for rent. On that board was a sign that offered a room for thirteen shillings a week, which read "No Irishmen or black need to apply". He got so infuriated by this that he wrapped his jersey around his hand, punched through the glass and took the sign, which he kept for the rest of his life.



Personal Quotes (44)

There are too many prima donnas in this business and not enough action.



I'm not interested in reputation or immortality or things like that . . . I don't care what I'm remembered for. I don't care if I'm remembered. I don't care if I'm not remembered. I don't care why I'm remembered. I genuinely don't care.



No one gave me anything. I fought TB, I fought the devil. But I made people laugh. I don't want immortality. I've lived it all. I've done it all.





No one trusts me any more. I spent half the movie [ Maigret (1988)] arguing with people and I was accused of causing big on-set rows. But what they won't tell you is I fought for [author Georges Simenon ]. I fought for the maintenance of quality. I don't believe in lying down on the job. I've seen these so-called "nice" actors. Very able fellows like Ian McKellen and Kenneth Branagh . But they're like bank managers. So sweet and careful. Who needs them? We are suffering a plague of good taste. Give me Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke any day. They project danger. That's what makes acting--and life--interesting.



[his response to hearing he had been Oscar nominated for Lockender Lorbeer (1963)] I've struck a blow for the Irish rebellion!

I would give up all the accolades--people have occasionally written and said nice things--of my showbiz career to play just once for the senior Munster team. I will never win an Oscar now, but even if I did I would swap it instantly for one sip of champagne from the Heineken Cup.





Someone asked me once "What is the difference between Tom Cruise now and you when you were a major star?" I said there is a great difference. Look at a photograph of me from the old days and I'm going to one of my film premieres with a bottle of vodka in my hand. Tom Cruise has a bottle of Evian water. That's the difference--a bottle of Evian water.



What I hate about our business today is the elitism. So-called stars ride in private jets and have bodyguards and dietitians and beauticians. Tom Cruise is a midget and he has eight bodyguards all 6'10", which makes him even more diminutive. It's an absolute joke.

I can see the difficulties of making a movie. Directors and producers have to put up with a lot of rubbish from temperamental actors.





[on his Sierra Charriba (1965) co-star Charlton Heston '] Heston's the only man who could drop out of a cubic moon, he's so square. The trouble with him is he doesn't think he's a hired actor, like the rest of us. He thinks he's the entire production. He used to sit there in the mornings and clock us with a stopwatch.

[upon being carried out on a stretcher from the Savoy Hotel, to people entering the hotel] It was the food!



I was a sinner. I slugged some people. I hurt many people. And it's true, I never looked back to see the casualties.



[on playing Professor Dumbledore] I'll keep doing it as long as I enjoy it, my health holds out and they still want me. But the chances of all three of those factors remaining constant are pretty slim.



I feel most alive when I'm working on a film.



I hate movies. They're a waste of time. I could be in a pub having more fun talking to idiots rather than sitting down and watching idiots perform.



I consider a great part of my career a total failure. I went after the wrong things--got caught in the '60s. I picked pictures that were way below my talent. Just to have fun.



[in 2000] I made films I did not want to see, I took planes to places I didn't want to visit, I bought houses I didn't live in. I was numb, and it didn't seem to matter.





Actors take themselves so seriously. Samuel Beckett is important, James Joyce is--they left something behind them. But even Laurence Olivier is totally unimportant. Acting is actually very simple, but actors try to elevate it to an art.

If ever I was miscast in my life, it was in the role of husband. I was the worst husband in the world.



When I'm in trouble, I'm an Irishman. When I turn in a good performance, I'm an Englishman.



[on his life] I wish I could remember it.



[on turning 70] I can be eccentric now and get away with it.



I have no friends in this business. I don't go to their clubs, don't go to their hangouts and don't mix at all. I am part of the business but I am apart from it. If anyone ever asks my advice, I tell them, "Don't take yourself too seriously".





When I worked with Julie Andrews , I think I experienced the greatest hate I ever had for any human being.

I came to England first in 1954 looking for a bedsit, a room to sleep in while going to my academy. And outside the Earl's Court tube station there was a little tobacco-list and paper shop and they had a board. A glass-filled in board with rooms for rent. And I saw one for 13 shillings a week and it said, "No Irishmen or black need apply" and I took my jersey and I put it down over my hand and I put my hand right through the glass and I took it out and I kept it for the rest of my life. That's how we were treated here in 1954. That would cause me grievance. That would cause me anger.



Jesus is just a word I use to swear with.





People may look at Peter O'Toole Richard Burton and me and say we never fulfilled our talent. But I laugh at that, and say to anyone with that view that I didn't fulfil their idea of my talent. I didn't fulfil the dreams that they had for me.



Any suggestion that [ Michael Caine ] Has eclipsed the names of Finney, O'Toole, Burton, Bates, Smith and Courtenay is tantamount to prophesying that Rin-Tin-Tin will be solemnised beyond the memory of Brando.

[asked if he ever read the Harry Potter books] I haven't, even today I haven't read them. Not because they're not grand, I know they're great. I love the script, but I don't read fiction, it's as simple as that. There's more fiction in my life than in books, so I don't bother with them.





[on Tom Cruise ] He's got very nice teeth, but has he ever read a book?



[on Michael Caine ] He is an over-fat flatulent 62-year-old windbag, a master of inconsequence now masquerading as a guru, passing off his vast limitations as pious virtues.



[on Michael Caine 's comments about being underappreciated in his own country] He takes himself too seriously. I've made 63 movies and I've never been nominated by BAFTA for anything. Do I care? Not in the slightest.



[on Michael Caine receiving his honorary BAFTA] Good luck to him with his BAFTA mask. I hope he does us all a favor and wears the bloody thing in front of his face wherever he goes.



[having been called a drunk by Michael Caine ] The point about Michael is that he can say what he likes, I don't mind him opening his mouth and shooting off. I don't care what he says. But don't characterize Richard Burton Peter O'Toole and me as drunks as if that's all we achieved in our life, because he could live 20 fucking lives and he couldn't achieve as much as we three have achieved.



(On Charlton Heston ) He'd played in Shakespeare and to listen to him, you'd think he helped the Bard with the rewrites. He was a prick, really, and I liked tackling pricks.

There's more fiction in my life than in books, so I don't bother with them.



I never got to know my parents and they never got to know me.



Winning the Pulitzer is not that big a deal. I have seen hundreds of plays that have won the prize and you couldn't sit half way through it. The Pulitzer is a common prize that means very little.



I never pick fights. People pick fights with me.



Marriage is a custom brought about by women who then proceed to live off men and destroy them, completely enveloping the man in a destructive cocoon or eating him away like a poisonous fungus on a tree.



I was a rude, bombastic, opinionated, beautifully ignorant when I got drunk.



I often sit back and think, I wish I'd done that, and find out later that I already have.



Many kids turn to selling drugs. It's not a good career choice, but they see it as a way to get money.

