In 1926 , on Thorndike 's recommendation , Olivier joined the Birmingham Repertory Company . His biographer Michael Billington describe the Birmingham company as " Olivier 's university " , where in his second year he was given the chance to play a wide range of important roles , including Tony Lumpkin in She Stoop to Conquer , the title role in Uncle Vanya , and Parolles in All 's Well That End Well . Billington add that the engagement led to " a lifelong friendship with his fellow actor Ralph Richardson that was to have a decisive effect on the British theatre . "