Considered one of the greatest of his generation, throughout his lifetime, the late Peter O’Toole witnessed himself starring in several classics, even joining forces with Brad Pitt on 2004’s Troy. But among the several gems O’Toole has worked on, earning the most Oscar nods for Best Actor without scoring a win, the performance that launched him to stardom remains his most notable one.
Regarded as the greatest Epic of all time by many, David Lean’s Laurence of Arabia has cemented itself as a modern classic, which saw the Troy Star earning his first of many Oscar nods. However, prior to attaining significant highs for playing T.E. Lawrence, the actor and his costar saw significant lows during the duration of their time filming the Epic.
Peter O’Toole’s Gambling Addiction Left the Actor Broke After Filming Lawrence of Arabia
Notorious for having wild nights and engaging in extensive drinking during the duration of filming, things weren’t too different during Peter O’Toole’s time in Lawrence of Arabia. Having spent nine months filming in the desert of Jordan, Peter O’Toole recounted engaging in gambling with his fellow costar Omar Sharif, whom he deemed a compulsive gambler. And while the two were not new to gambling, with Brad Pitt‘s Troy CoStar revealing that he’d gamble quite often until he hit his 30s, things went south during that particular instance.
Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia
The Troy Star recalled he and Sharif losing every penny they made from working nine months in the desert in a few hours, which resulted them in trying to sell their passports. He said (via cinneman)
“I mean, Omar Sharif is a compulsive gambler. He won’t mind me saying this because he knows he is. When we shared digs together, which we did for over two years, it was like living with a younger version of my father. There was one point when Omar and I, we were in Beirut. And we lost, in a few hours, every penny that we’d earned for nine months in the desert. And we were in the lavatory trying to sell our passports.”
Fortunately, the two were within the company of a “rather distinguished, honorable politician”, who per the actor, “came up with few dibs and saved our bacon”. However, no lessons were learned from this experience, as the Ratatouille Star revealed being in a similar situation the following year in Casablanca, but the difference was that they lost their money in a few nights.
The Troy Star on How He Became the Father of Rubber During His Stay in the Desert
But gambling wasn’t the lone problem that knocked on Peter O’Toole’s door during his long stay in the desert, as the Troy Star recalled having a difficult time riding camels. This resulted in him coming up with the idea to use foam rubber for his camel saddle, which eventually spread across the Middle East. He told NPR:
“I was there three months before filming started and the idea was to learn to ride a camel. [It was] impossible. What you see is a European perched uneasily on the top of this huge brute, snorting and galloping. … I went to Beirut to buy sponge rubber and it was, I remember, mucous membrane pink. And I arrived back to my Bedouin friend with this lump of thick, thick rubber and I stuffed it, shamelessly onto my saddle. … But after a while they looked and they saw it was quite comfy,”
This practice eventually spread across the Middle East, and for his contribution to bringing sponge rubber into Arabian culture, he was deemed the father of rubber
Lawrence of Arabia is available to rent on Apple TV.
