John Mills, his acting career began in the late 1920s. Fearless hero of black and white cinema. Sir John Mills, a famous actor in Great Britain and little known to the world audience, gained national fame during the Second World War.
John Mills is a popular English actor who has played in over 120 films over 70 years. Mills' desire to create psychologically accurate images of ordinary people pushed him to one of the first places in English cinema during the rise of realistic cinematography.
John Mills biography
Lewis Ernest Watts Mills was born in North Elmham, Norfolk on February 22, 1908. He spent his childhood in Felixstowe, Suffolk. He attended high school for boys in Norwich. There he played the first role in Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream." After leaving school, he went to London. Debuting in 1929, Mills played Hamlet in a production of London's acclaimed Old Vic, a role that earned him a reputation as one of the world's most talented actors. Throughout the 30s, the actor performed in numerous revues, musicals and full-fledged theatrical plays. Then he met the famous playwright, actor and screenwriter Noel Coward, performing in his revue "Words and Music".
Actor career
John Mills made his film debut in 1932. In the beginning he played character roles in secondary films.
Starting off with passing roles in low-budget films, he soon became a leading actor. Among his most significant pre-war films is the historical film The Rose of the Tudors (1934). In 1939, John Mills gained worldwide fame thanks to his participation in the film "Goodbye, Mr. Chips". In 1939 he was drafted into the army, but in 1942 he was discharged due to a duodenal ulcer.
Main roles
One of these roles was the sailor Shorty in the film "In Which We Serve" (1942). That same year, John Mills starred with Carol Reed in Young Mr. Pitt. In 1946, he starred in the film adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations, and then the national hero, polar explorer, Captain Robert Scott in the film Scott from Antarctica (1948).
Roles in war films
Over the next ten years, he played mainly in war films such as The Story of Golditz (1954), Waves Above Us (1955) and The Hard Way to Alexandria (1958). During this period, his hero was formed: an ordinary, ordinary person, who, nevertheless, under the pressure of circumstances, demonstrates the best qualities of his nature: courage, endurance and devotion.
Mills was able to show the inconsistency of the human character. One of the best roles of this kind was the battalion commander Basil Barrow in the psychological drama Melodies of Glory (1960). The famous Alec Guinness became Mills' partner in this film. For this role, Mills was awarded the Best Actor Award at the 1960 Venice Film Festival.
Supporting roles
Subsequently, despite his deteriorating health, John Mills played small roles in a number of film projects - from "Hamlet" by Kenneth Branagh to "Mr. Bean" by Rowan Atkinson.
But no less interesting were his supporting roles - the shoemaker Willie Mossop in the comedy Hobson's Choice (1953), private detective Albert Parkis in the romantic drama The End of the Affair (1955) based on the novel by Graham Greene, Platon Karataev in the film adaptation of Tolstoy's novel War and Peace”(1956) and many others.
In the early 60s, Mills starred in several films with his youngest daughter Haley: in the crime drama Tiger's Bay (1959), the family comedy The Parent Trap (1961), the adventure film The Truth About Spring (1966), the drama "Chalk Garden" (1964) and the comedy drama "Family Matters" (1966).
In 1970, Milzs played one of his most famous roles - the village idiot Michael in the historical drama Ryan's Daughter (1970), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
All subsequent years, the actor starred mainly in small character roles and episodes. Among the most famous films with his participation: "Oh, what a wonderful war!" (1969), Lady Carolina Lam (1972), Oklahoma As It Is (1973), Gandhi (1982).
Roles in TV series and documentaries
Mills also starred in television series, the most famous of which was the science fiction series Quartermass (1979). In 1992, John Mills almost went blind, but continued to play after that. In 1998 he took part in the film version of the famous musical Cats.
In 2002, director Marcus Dillistone directed the documentary Memoirs of John Mills, which includes interviews with Mills himself, his children and director Richard Attenborough, as well as stories and scenes from his films The Hard Way to Alexandria and Dunkirk. The film also features Mills' friends and colleagues: actors Laurence Olivier, Walt Disney, David Niven, Dirk Bogard, Rex Harrison and others.
The actor last appeared on the wide screen briefly in Stephen Fry's 2003 film Young and Bright, but for many Britons, Mills will remain a fearless hero in black and white cinema.
John Mills Awards & Awards
- 1960 - Prize for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival
- 1960 - Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- 1967 - Prize for Best Actor at the San Sebastian IFF
- 1971 - Golden Globe
- 1971 - Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor
- 2002 - Honorary Award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Personal life of the actor
Mills' first wife was actress Eileen Raymond. They married in 1927 and divorced in 1941.
The actor's second wife was playwright Mary Haley Bell. Their wartime marriage in 1941 lasted 64 years, until Mills' death in 2005. In 2001, at the age of 89 and 92, the happy couple decided to finally get married in a church. The Mills had three children: two daughters, Juliet Mills and Hayley Mills, both famous British actresses, and a son, Jonathan Mills. Mills' grandson, Crispian Mills is a musician and founder of the indie rock band Kula Shaker.
The actor died on April 23, 2005 at his home in Chiltern, Buckinghamshire, UK from a lung infection. Queen Elizabeth II, upon learning of the death of the actor, expressed great regret.
