About Tom Courtenay
Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. A notable figure of the British New Wave, he has received numerous accolades, including three BAFTAs, a Golden Globe, two Silver Bears, and a Volpi Cup, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He was knighted for his services to cinema and theatre in the 2001 New Year Honours. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Courtenay earned the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his breakthrough role in the coming-of-age film The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in David Lean's epic Doctor Zhivago (1965). Other notable film roles during this period include Billy Liar (1963), King and Country (1964), King Rat (1965), and The Night of the Generals (1967). For his performance in the 1983 film adaptation of the play The Dresser, in which he reprised the role of Norman he originated both on the West End and Broadway, Courtenay won the Golden Globe Award and received Academy and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Actor. His later roles include Last Orders (2001), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), Quartet (2012), 45 Years (2015), The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) and Queen at Sea (2026). Courtenay received two British Academy Television Awards for his performances in the television film A Rather English Marriage (1998) and the first series of the crime drama Unforgotten (2015) as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for the PBS miniseries Little Dorrit (2008). For these performances Courtenay was awarded the 1962 BAFTA Award for most promising newcomer and the 1963 BAFTA Award for best actor respectively. Courtenay originated the role of Norman in Ronald Harwood's The Dresser which was first produced in the West End in 1980. He also was the first to record the song Mrs. He then appeared in two spy-comedies, first Otley (1969), in the title role, and then Catch Me A Spy (1971), starring Kirk Douglas.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.