O’Toole legendarily caroused in the 1960s and 1970s with Omar Sharif (his co-star in Lawrence of Arabia) and the two naughty Richards — Burton and Harris. That era of boozing when, as O’Toole once described it, “one went for a beer in Paris and woke up in Corsica”, exacted its payment in 1974. Was it hard drinking or stomach cancer, or both, that led to surgery to remove parts of O’Toole’s stomach and intestines? Accounts differ. But the ravages of alcohol were clear in that haggard, if still lively, face forever more.

I watched his “comeback” role in The Stunt Man (1980). O’Toole was terrific, and received the sixth of his seven Oscar nominations. I caught him on television the following year, when he played a Roman general in the mini-series Masada. And he was back again for 1982’s My Favorite Year garnering his seventh nomination.

His best small turn came as the British tutor in 1987’s The Last Emperor, in which he seemed to be a variation of Arthur Chipping, the schoolteacher he played in 1969’s Goodbye, Mr Chipps.

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences contacted O’Toole about awarding him a lifetime Oscar, he asked if they would defer the prize until he was 80, since he was “still in the game and might win the lovely bugger outright”. They apparently talked him out of it. He gamely accepted the trophy in 2003.

His best performances to date: Lawrence of Arabia. Here, he’s the embodiment of beauty. In this epic drama, they portend military genius, moral ferment, and quite possibly madness.

Becket. As a feverishly exasperated King Henry II, O’Toole’s the one who yells the famous question: “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?” He’s talking about the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas a Becket, of course, played by his pubmate Richard Burton.

How to Steal a Million. Enjoy two of the prettiest screen stars of all-time playing kissy-face: O’Toole and Audrey Hepburn.

The Night of the Generals. In this murder mystery set in World War II, O’Toole’s role as a deranged Nazi officer gives the actor full licence to twitch, stammer and reel.

The Lion in Winter. O’Toole is Henry II again — scheming and squabbling with his headstrong wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, played by Katharine Hepburn.

The Ruling Class. O’Toole’s the 14th Earl of Gurney, a demented Englishman who believes he’s Jesus. How does he know, one woman asks. “Simple,” replies the Earl. “When I pray to Him, I find I am talking to myself.”

So to Venus. Watch O’Toole play an over-the-hill stage actor who falls in love with a teenage girl, and see why he will give Oscar front-runner Forest Whitaker (Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland) a run for his money. And you’ll also see why this fan has learned to give up the death watch and simply enjoy a great performer and survivor.

—Desson Thomson / LATWP