O'Toole had an elder sister named Patricia and grew up in the south Leeds suburb of Hunslet. Records from the Leeds General Registry Office confirm he was born at St James's University Hospital in Leeds, Yorkshire, England on 2 August 1932. O'Toole claimed he was not certain of his birthplace or date, stating in his autobiography that he accepted 2 August as his birth date but had birth certificates from England and Ireland.

Peter Seamus O'Toole was born on 2 August 1932, the son of Constance Jane Eliot (née Ferguson), a Scottish nurse, and Patrick Joseph 'Spats' O'Toole, an Irish metal plater, football player, and bookmaker. He also voiced Anton Ego, the restaurant critic in Pixar's Ratatouille (2007). Other performances include What's New Pussycat? (1965), How to Steal a Million (1966), Supergirl (1984), and minor roles in The Last Emperor (1987) and Troy (2004). O'Toole was the recipient of four Golden Globe Awards, one BAFTA Award for Best British Actor and one Primetime Emmy Award. In 2002, he was awarded the Academy Honorary Award for his career achievements. Chips (1969), The Ruling Class (1972), The Stunt Man (1980), My Favorite Year (1982), and Venus (2006) – and holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for acting without a win (tied with Glenn Close). He was nominated for this award another seven times – for playing King Henry II in both Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968), Goodbye, Mr. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) for which he received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Making his film debut in 1959, O'Toole achieved international recognition playing T. Excelling on the London stage, O'Toole was known for his 'hellraiser' lifestyle off it. In 1959 he made his West End debut in The Long and the Short and the Tall, and played the title role in Hamlet in the National Theatre's first production in 1963.

He attended RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic and with the English Stage Company. Peter Seamus O'Toole ( / oʊ ˈ t uː l/ 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was an English stage and film actor.

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