The esteemed English actor, Sir Alec Guinness, a knight bachelor holding the honors of CH and CBE, lived from April 2 of 1914 to August 5 of 2000. He is well-known for his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the initial Star Wars film trilogy.
For his performance as Lt. Col. Nicholson in the motion picture The Bridge on the River Kwai, Guinness received an Academy Award in 1957.
Born on April 2 in 1914, Alec Guinness's casting as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope involved director George Lucas seeking an actor who could embody both authority, gentleness, and power. Lucas identified these traits in Guinness. Guinness agreed to join the cast because he appreciated the film's moral compass and the studio's decision to double his original offered compensation. Despite Lucas's intention for Kenobi to die, Guinness initially raised concerns about his character's demise. Lucas then justified the death by explaining that Kenobi's role would diminish significantly after the Millennium Falcon's escape from the Death Star; this explanation ultimately swayed Guinness to accept the character's fate. For his performance, Guinness was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He later reappeared as a force ghost in both Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Guinness' contract entitled him to 2.25% of the director's earnings. He considered A New Hope to be "fairy-tale rubbish" and was not fond of being strongly linked with the Kenobi role. However, Brian Blessed, an actor who had many encounters with Guinness, claimed that Guinness had "madly in love" with the Star Wars films.
Guinness passed away on August 5 of 2000 due to liver cancer in England at King Edward VII Hospital. When Ewan McGregor took on the role of Kenobi in the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, he suggested that the cast and crew study images of Guinness from A New Hope to create a visual connection between the two portrayals. They also slightly grayed his hair and beard to more closely resemble Guinness's appearance.
An audio clip of Guinness saying "afraid" was edited and used for Kenobi to say "Rey" in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens.
Joby Harold, while writing the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series, aimed to explore the narrative of Kenobi's life between McGregor's and Guinness's performances. McGregor, in his portrayal, sought to emulate Guinness by capturing his sound and essence, while avoiding a direct impersonation. To refresh his memory of Kenobi's voice, McGregor listened to an audio file containing all of Guinness's lines from A New Hope, visualizing how Guinness would deliver them before each scene.