Olivier said in 1963 that he believed he was born to be an actor , but his colleague Peter Ustinov disagreed ; he commented that although Olivier 's great contemporaries was clearly predestined for the stage , " Larry could have been a notable ambassador , a considerable minister , a redoubtable cleric . At his worst , he would have acted the parts more ably than they are usually lived . " The director David Ayliff agreed that acting did not come instinctively to Olivier as it did to his great rivals . He observed , " Ralph was a natural actor , he couldn 't stop being a perfect actor ; Olivier did it through sheer hard work and determination . " The American actor William Redfield had a similar view :