Actor. Born in Stepney, London, England, the son of an Anglican clergyman, at the age of 14 he left home and enlisted in the British Army after lying about his age. He became a regimental boxing champion before his family found him and informed the army of his true age, when he was discharged. In a bid to become the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, he traveled to Ontario, Canada where he won the Eastern Canada boxing championship. In 1909, in Vancouver, he fought a six-round exhibition bout with the world heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson. He then toured with a circus, offering a cash prize to anyone who could go three rounds against him. In 1913, he returned to England and during World War I (WWI), he served as an acting Captain with the 10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, part of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment. He served in Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) becoming Assistant Provost-Marshal in Baghdad. He was decorated for valor with the British Military Cross. By 1918, he had earned the title of Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the British Army. Back in England after the war, he signed on to appear in a film, "The Call of the Road" (1920). He was successful enough to complete a handful of more films in the United Kingdom before traveling to Hollywood, California in 1924 to appear in "The Beloved Brute," followed up with "What Price Glory?" (1926). He completed nearly a score of silent films before his first sound picture, "The Cock-Eyed World" in 1929. He became a sought-after character actor and occasionally carried the second lead in such films as: "The Lost Patrol" (1934), "The Informer" (1935), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, "Klondike Annie" (1936), "Under Two Flags" (1936), "Wee Willie Winkie" (1937), "Gunga Din" (1939), "Forever and a Day" (1943), "The Princess and the Pirate" (1944), "Fort Apache" (1948) and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949). In his 60s, his health faltered, although he said he had no plans to slow down so long as he was wanted. What was perhaps his most memorable role, that of 'Will Danaher' in 1952's "The Quiet Man" earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was the first man to be nominated for a supporting role after having won an Oscar for a leading role. He appeared in several more features including: "Prince Valiant" (1954), "Bengazi" (1955), "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956) and "Sea Fury" (1959), as well as making forays into television on such programs as "Have Gun, Will Travel" and "Rawhide," both directed by his son, Andrew. The latter would be his last appearance. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 1735 Vine Street.