Albert Finney death: 10 best roles, from Tom Jones to Miller's Crossing

The theatre-trained actor leaves behind a splendid career that spanned five decades

Today, the world lost one of the greats: Albert Finney died at the age of 82.

Finney leaves behind a splendid career that spanned five decades. He began in theatre as a Shakespearean performer before switching to films in 1960. That year alone, he made a startling impression with roles in The Entertainer and Alan Sillitoe adaptation, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. He won Most Promising Newcomer for the latter at that year’s Baftas.

He earned five Oscar nominations throughout his career – four times of which were in the Best Actor category – ranging from 1963’s Best Picture winner Tom Jones, right through to his role opposite Julia Roberts in Stephen Soderbergh film Erin Brockovich (2000).

Throughout his life, Finney worked with a wide range of filmmakers: John Huston, Alan Parker, Tim Burton and Sam Mendes to name a few.

Below, are the actor’s 10 best roles.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)

Finney plays Arthur Seaton, the archetypal Angry Young Man, in this classic of the late Fifties/early Sixties wave of British “kitchen sink” drama. Based on the novel by Alan Sillitoe, Saturday Night sees Finney downing many pints, getting into fights, and shamelessly womanising. But his character’s appetite for life is still intoxicating, half a century on.

Tom Jones (1963)

Tony Richardson’s adaptation of Henry Fielding’s classic novel required a lead who could leap straight into the comedy’s irreverent, fourth-wall-demolishing tone. Finney was the man with the right bravado for the job, earning him an Oscar nomination in the process.

Scrooge (1970)

Finney may not have made for the most natural musical star, but he still brings all the desired grump and malcontent to the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in Ronald Neame’s 1970 musical. It’s an impressive feat considering the actor was only 34 at the time, having to act his way through all layers of age-enhancing makeup and a wig of balding hair.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

There have been many onscreen Hercule Poirots (Kenneth Branagh and John Malkovich being the latest) and, although Finney’s take in Sidney Lumet’s 1974 film may not be everyone’s definitive version, he brings such theatricality to the role that he lands the more unlikely of Agatha Christie’s plot twists with perfect style.

The Duellists (1977)

Ridley Scott’s filmmaking debut, historical drama The Duellists, featured Finney as Joseph Fouché, the pompous Minister of Police who gets involved in a long-running feud between two men. The Duellists was shot on location in Franch and Scotland on a small budget – reportedly, Finney accepted a case of champagne in lieu of payment.

Annie (1982)

What would the 1982 musical be without Finney’s Daddy Warbucks? It’s his work that provides the film with much of its emotional backbone, as we watch his hardened heart melt when Aileen Quinn’s copper-haired orphan enters his life and breaks into an angelic rendition of “Tomorrow”.

Miller’s Crossing (1990)

In the Coen brothers’ booze-soaked Prohibition-era gangster flick, Finney brings a rich authority to the role of the Irish-born crime boss of Big Town Leo O’Bannon. Finney was only cast after Trey Wilson, the actor for whom the part was written, died two days before production began, but his performance has gone down in cinematic lore: mainly because of the scene in which he rolls out of his bedroom window with a tommy gun to the strains of “Danny Boy”.

Erin Brockovich (2000)

As the lawyer who represents, and then hires, Julia Roberts’s Erin Brockovich – a single mother who takes on a morally corrupt energy corporation – Finney is crumpled, curmudgeonly and kind. A scene towards the end, in which he hands Erin her $2m bonus cheque, is one of the film’s most memorable moments – as poignant as it is funny.

The Gathering Storm (2002)

Finney joined the ranks of the numerous actors who have portrayed Winston Churchill on-screen when he starred in The Gathering Storm, a TV movie co-produced by BBC and HBO. He prepared meticulously to portray the iconic statesman, and was rewarded with widespread acclaim, with a trophy haul that included a Bafta and a Golden Globe award. For many, Finney’s Churchill is the definitive screen version of the former Prime Minister.

Big Fish (2003)

Tim Burton’s 2003 fantasy drama may not stand out as one of Finney’s most critically acclaimed films, but there’s a deep tenderness to his role as Edward Bloom, a man who has reached the end of his life still holding on tight to the tall tales he constructed for himself.