Back in 1989, my wife and I attended a benefit screening of a restored version of "Lawrence of Arabia" at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York. Honored guests that night included Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole.

After being introduced to the crowd by the MC before the showing, the hosts made ready to escort them both to reserved seats halfway back from the screen.

O'Toole didn't want to move back. He remained in the front, and parked himself in a seat front row center. My wife and I were one row back, off to the side. For the rest of the evening, I was riveted by the sight of O"Toole, slumped down in his seat, gazing up at the 20-foot high god-like version of himself from a quarter-century before.

I'd always wondered what he must of thought that night. After reading this article, I have a better idea.

Just a factual comment: According to the Internet Movie Database and Wikipedia, O'Toole is 74, not 69. It does seem more plausible that he was 29 or 30 when filming "Laurence of Arabia" than 24 or 25.

Beauty in a man is ageless - even more than in a woman. The author has captured the essence of O'toole, a really hottie if there ever was one.

Thank you

Maina Bhagat

Calcutta

India

Listen, I like Stephanie Zacharek's reviews ok? Maybe sometimes she veers a bit towards an uncomfortable shade of purple but on the whole I think her observations are astute.

That said, I LOVE THIS REVIEW! My friends don't understand why I read movie reviews in the first place. Mrs Zacharek's reviews are one reason. I should print this baby out and show 'em, maybe they'd see the light!

And yes, Peter O'Toole is indeed a beautiful man. His beauty is a little scary sometimes, but sometimes scary's sexy too, right? It's that ever so slightly crazy mix of effeminate and masculine that just gets me every time, no matter how crappy the movie around him.

To say I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing Venus is an understatement.

Russell Hoban, in his novel Linger Awhile, writes: "A dirty old man is the only kind of old man there is." I've seen O'Toole on the London stage, in Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, and he was glorious, unrepentant, alive.

Thanks so much to Ms Zacharek for encapsulating the wonder and beauty that is Peter O'Toole.

When Lawrence of Arabia was re-released in the 80s, I was in high school. I remember sitting through back-to-back showings of the epic film and wishing it would go on forever. I had never seen anyone so captivating or physically perfect as Peter O'Toole. I saw Troy not for the oiled perfection of Brad Pitt, but for the grace of Mr. O'Toole. I thrilled to his lovely, humble, and oh so funny speech when he accepted his honorary Oscar (after being unjustly denied so many times), and I will continue to watch, and re-watch his performances the rest of my life. Whether it's the amazing Becket or the sadly butchered High Spirits, he is, and always will be, my gold standard for looks and talent.

The man is a treasure, pure and simple - age cannot diminish that.

I was 18 and waiting to get my wisdom teeth removed. In the lobby, I read in People magazine that 50-odd year old Peter O'Toole was having a child with some woman I can only hope deserved him. I cried. A lot. I always thought somehow he'd wait for me. The Ruling Class. My favorite Year. The Last Emperor - when he rides the bike! (swoon). Some goofy movie with some lovely Hemingway. His body, yes amazing when young. His moves, exotic and feline. But his eyes - it's his eyes that make him eternally sexy. Pure love and passion-- with a touch of resigned sadness. As if he knows it won't end well, but he'll enjoy the ride all the same.

I saw Peter O'Toole first in "Lawrence", of course, and was struck by the weird masculine/feminine blurring in that character. That stuck with my perception of O'Toole for a long time, until I saw "The Lion in Winter", a friend's cult favorite. I was amazed to see how well he played Henry II, a hairy, manly-man character if there was one. I reached a new appreciation for the actor after that.

What a relief to read this article (and the associated letters) and realize that I am not the only woman who thinks Peter O'Toole is one of the sexiest actors of any age on the screen!

Sigh ....

male - I always have felt an intimacy with him...I can be flipping channels and will just stop at the sight of his face or the sound of his voice and get lost in his aura...No other actor or actress has ever had that affect for more than a short time....

I'm 45 now and it happened when I saw his name on the front pAGE,

I wish I could find that more often in my aquaintences...however I am still clueless as to where from this comes. Jung Freud?

the pleasure continues...

I too have always thought that Peter O'Toole, like Henry Fonda, could only be described as a beautiful man. O'Toole was married for 19 years to the actress Sian Phillips, also quite striking-looking. I wonder what their two children look like -- they must have eyes like lasers and cheekbones that can cut glass.

Thank you so much for writing this. I have been in love with Peter O'Toole for years. He is beautiful and amazing. I can't wait to see this movie, I've heard nothing but great reviews of it for a couple of months now. I would gladly let him look up my skirt, but I might be too old for him, being 37 and all...

I read the article and the letters it inspired, with total incredulity. How can anyone look at O'Toole's face and see anything but his nose? How can he be convincing in any part except that of an actor who long ago, driven insane by the longing to be a movie star, let TWO cosmetic surgeons loose on his hooter? (Come off it, God never created, nature never bred a nose that looked remotely like that). Even worse than the nose itself is the witness it bears to O'Toole's bottomless silliness. I don't feel O'Toole's sexual magnetism at all, but for those who do it must be magical indeed to allow them to overlook that tragic nose.