Sir Laurence Olivier met everyone, knew everyone, and played every role in existence. But the century's most accomplished actor was as elusive in life as he was on the stage.

In this enthralling biography, acclaimed biographer Terry Coleman draws for the first time on the vast archive of Olivier's private papers and correspondence, and those of his family, finally uncovering the history and the private self that Olivier worked so masterfully all his life to obscure. For Olivier, acting and sex were inseparable: his relationships with his wives Vivien Leigh and Joan Plowright, and many others, became both a powerful inspiration and a constant torment, each feeding the other and driving Olivier to greater heights.

Here, in the first comprehensive and only authorized biography, Coleman uncovers the origins of Olivier's genius and reveals the methods of the century's most fascinating performer.