Awards:
1964: Clarence Derwent Award, A Scent of Flowers
1966: Plays & Players' Most Promising Actor
1974: New York Drama Desk Award, King Lear/The Wood Demon
1976: Plays & Players' London Theatre Critics' Award: Best Actor, Macbeth
1977: Society of West End Theatres SWET Award: Comedy Performance of the Year, The Alchemist
1978 SWET Award: Best Actor of the Year, Macbeth
1979: SWET Award: Best Actor of the Year, Bent
1980: New York Drama Desk Award
1980: New York Drama League Delia Austrian Medal: Most Distinguished Performance by an Actor or Actress on the Broadway Stage
1980: Outer Critics' Circle Award
1980: Tony: Best Actor, Amadeus
1982: Royal T/V Society Performer of the Year, Walter
1983: New York Drama Desk Award
1983: Plays & Players' Award, Acting Shakespeare
1984: SWET Award: Best Actor of the Year, Wild Honey
1984: Peabody Award for Broadcasting, Shakespeare Birthday Programme
1985: London Evening Standard Award, Coriolanus
1989: London Critics' Circle Drama Theatre Award: Best Actor, Othello
1990: SWET Award: Best Actor of the Year, Richard III
1993: Cable Ace Award: Best Supporting Actor, And the Band Played On
1996: Golden Globe: Best Supporting Actor, Rasputin
1996: Felix Awards: European Actor of the Year, Richard III
1996: Golden Quill: Sir John Gielgud Award for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts, presented by the Shakespeare Guild at the Folger Library, Washington, D.C., May 1996
1997: Audie Award: Best Solo Performance 1997, The Odyssey
1998: Silver Shell: Best Actor, International Film Festival San Sebastian, Gods and Monsters
2002: Screen Actors Guild: Best Supporting Actor, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Factoids:
He was knighted in 1990; he is one of the very few openly gay knights

Education:
Nursery school attached to the Dicconson Street Wesleyan Primary School
Wigan Grammar School for Boys
Bolton School (Boys' Division)
St. Catharine's College, Cambridge (BA 1961