Frank Finlay

Born: August 6 1926
Where: Farnworth, Lancashire

Frank's move into the acting world came relatively late on in his life, with his stage debut being at the age of 31.

The RADA trained actor shifted between stage plays and film roles over his career, and started life in cinema with the film The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner.

In 1964 he appeared in a production of Othello, opposite Laurence Olivier. The play was soon adapted for film with Finlay reprising his role and garnering the best reviews from a very talented cast, so much so that he was awarded an Oscar for his efforts.

The majority of his cinematic roles were born from characters that were literary classics, such as The Three Musketeers, A Christmas Carol and Don Quixote.

Finlay was also lauded for his performance of Mozart's nemesis Salieri in the London staging of Amadeus as well as a number of roles in British television productions that have seen him claim several Bafta's. He was awarded a CBE in 1984 and most recently appeared in the Oscar winning film, The Pianist.