Laurence Olivier refused to be an actor.
Laurence Kerr Olivier , Baron Olivier , ( [ ˈlɒrəns_kɜr_ɒˈlɪvieɪ ] 22 May 1907 -- 11 July 1989 ) , was an English actor who , along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud , dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century . In 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft , and by the end of the decade he was an established star . Among Olivier 's films are Wuthering Heights ( 1939 ) , Rebecca ( 1940 ) , and a trilogy of Shakespeare films as actor-director : Henry V ( 1944 ) , Hamlet ( 1948 ) , and Richard III ( 1955 ) . Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward . After touring the British provinces , the play opened the new Phoenix Theatre in London in 1930 , starring Coward , Gertrude Lawrence , Adrianne Allen and Laurence Olivier .