Finney was born on 9th May 1936 in the working class town of Salford, Lancashire. He attended RADA, graduating in 1955. Before long he won the coveted spot as understudy for Laurence Olivier in Stratford-upon-Avon, on one occasion stepping into the great man's shoes to play the title role in Coriolanus. 

After a small role in The Entertainer, Finney won critical praise for his role as the 'angry young man', Arthur Seaton, in Karel Reisz's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960). His success led to the title role in Tom Jones, Tony Richardson's film scripted from the Henry Fielding novel by John Osborne. Wenching, feasting and quaffing ale, Finney helped the film to triumph at the Academy Awards where it won four Oscars. 

Finney continued to per ..[Full version]