Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Niven returned to Britain and rejoined the army, being recommissioned as a lieutenant. By 1938 he was starring as the leading man in 'A' films. Parts in major motion pictures followed, including Dodsworth (1936), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), and The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). This brought him to wider attention within the film industry, catching the eye of Samuel Goldwyn and leading to a contract. There he hired an agent and had several small parts in films through 1935, including a non-speaking role in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Mutiny on the Bounty.

Bored with the peacetime army, he resigned his commission in 1933, relocated to New York, then traveled to Hollywood. Upon developing an interest in acting he found a role as an extra in the British film There Goes the Bride (1932). After Sandhurst, he joined the British Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry. Other noted roles included Squadron Leader Peter Carter in A Matter of Life and Death, Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days, Sir Charles Lytton ('the Phantom') in The Pink Panther and James Bond in Casino Royale (1967).īorn in London, Niven attended Heatherdown Preparatory School and Stowe School before gaining a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in Separate Tables (1958). James David Graham Niven ( / ˈ n ɪ v ən/ 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, memoirist and novelist.

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