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Who Played that Role? Trivia Quiz

Match the Oscar-winning actor to the description of the role for which he won the Best Actor award. In keeping with my intermittent "oldies" series of quizzes, nothing here is later than 1980. Dates refer to release dates, not Oscar ceremonies.

A matching quiz by spanishliz. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
spanishliz

Time
3 mins

Type
Match Quiz

Quiz #
380,050

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Easy

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
1765

Awards
Top 5% quiz!

Last 3 plays: Guest 163 (6/10), Guest 96 (7/10), shorthumbz (10/10).

(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.

Questions		Choices
1. This British colonel was in command of prisoners of war engaged in bridge-building.		Alec Guinness
2. He was a New York cop, striving to bust an international drug operation.		Lee Marvin
3. He was a peace-loving man who became a war hero.		Gary Cooper
4. This professor wondered why the English couldn't teach their children how to speak.		David Niven
5. He helped some nuns build a chapel.		Gene Hackman
6. He was a resident of a seaside hotel, and perhaps not the gentleman the others thought he was.		Sidney Poitier
7. He was the King of Siam.		Ernest Borgnine
8. He was a drunken gunslinger (with a similarly afflicted horse) and his adversary, with a metal nose.		Rex Harrison
9. He competed in a chariot race.		Charlton Heston
10. He was a 30-something butcher who still lived with his mother.		Yul Brynner

Select each answer

1. This British colonel was in command of prisoners of war engaged in bridge-building.

2. He was a New York cop, striving to bust an international drug operation.

3. He was a peace-loving man who became a war hero.

4. This professor wondered why the English couldn't teach their children how to speak.

5. He helped some nuns build a chapel.

6. He was a resident of a seaside hotel, and perhaps not the gentleman the others thought he was.

7. He was the King of Siam.

8. He was a drunken gunslinger (with a similarly afflicted horse) *and* his adversary, with a metal nose.

9. He competed in a chariot race.

10. He was a 30-something butcher who still lived with his mother.

Most Recent Scores

Nov 18 2024 : Guest 163: 6/10
Nov 14 2024 : Guest 96: 7/10
Nov 06 2024 : shorthumbz: 10/10
Oct 22 2024 : Guest 35: 10/10
Oct 17 2024 : Guest 73: 10/10
Oct 16 2024 : polly656: 10/10
Oct 07 2024 : Guest 24: 10/10
Oct 01 2024 : Guest 98: 10/10
Sep 30 2024 : Guest 173: 10/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This British colonel was in command of prisoners of war engaged in bridge-building.

Answer: Alec Guinness

Alec Guinness won his award playing Colonel Nicholson in "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957), a complex character who at first refused to allow his officers to participate in building a railway bridge for their Japanese captors, and suffered because of this. As the story progressed he became obsessed with building the best bridge possible, and nearly prevented the mission sent to destroy it.

Guinness was earlier nominated as Best Actor in "The Lavender Hill Mob" (1951), and later for Best Supporting Actor in "Star Wars" (1977) and "Little Dorrit" (1987).

"Bridge on the River Kwai" won seven Academy Awards in total, including Best Picture and Best Director (David Lean).

2. He was a New York cop, striving to bust an international drug operation.

Answer: Gene Hackman

The cop was Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, and the movie was "The French Connection" (1971). Hackman's portrayal of the rough-edged policeman who tried to bring down a suave French drug runner won him the Oscar.

Hackman won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "Unforgiven" (1991) and had a number of other nominations in both leading and supporting categories.

"The French Connection" won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (William Friedkin).

3. He was a peace-loving man who became a war hero.

Answer: Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper played the title role in "Sergeant York" (1941), based on the true story of Medal of Honor recipient Alvin C. York, who distinguished himself during WWI by capturing a large number of German soldiers single-handed. The film also explores York's abhorrence of war, and prowess as a sharpshooter.

Coop won a second Best Actor Oscar for his performance as the beleaguered sheriff in "High Noon" (1952).

"Sergeant York" won a total of two Oscars, from 11 nominations.

4. This professor wondered why the English couldn't teach their children how to speak.

Answer: Rex Harrison

Professor Henry Higgins took on the task of teaching flower seller Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) how to speak properly in "My Fair Lady" (1964), with some success.

Harrison had also been Oscar-nominated a year earlier, for his role in "Cleopatra" (1963).

"My Fair Lady" won a total of eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (George Cukor).

5. He helped some nuns build a chapel.

Answer: Sidney Poitier

The nuns believed that Homer Smith (Poitier) had been sent in answer to their prayers in "Lilies of the Field" (1963). He was less certain, but the chapel was eventually built.

Poitier had received an earlier nomination for his role in "The Defiant Ones" (1958).

"Lilies of the Field" received four other Academy Award nominations, but Poitier's Best Actor Oscar was its only win.

6. He was a resident of a seaside hotel, and perhaps not the gentleman the others thought he was.

Answer: David Niven

David Niven appeared in "Separate Tables" as Major Pollock, whose past misdeeds are discovered by some of the other hotel residents, all of whom have their own problems and secrets.

Surprisingly, this was Niven's only Oscar nomination, though he won a Golden Globe for the same role, and another for "The Moon Is Blue" (1953).

Wendy Hiller also won an Oscar for "Separate Tables", for Best Supporting Actress.

7. He was the King of Siam.

Answer: Yul Brynner

Yul Brynner was the king in "The King and I" (1956). This very strong character had hired a British woman to teach his children and ended up learning from her himself.

Brynner is also remembered as Chris in "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) and for his roles in "The Journey" (1959) and "Westworld" (1973).

"The King and I" won five Oscars in total.

8. He was a drunken gunslinger (with a similarly afflicted horse) *and* his adversary, with a metal nose.

Answer: Lee Marvin

In my opinion, it is Kid Shelleen's horse who stole the show in the comedy western "Cat Ballou" (1965). Marvin played Shelleen, who straightened himself out long enough to help Cat and her friends avenge her father's death at the hands of bad guy Tim Strawn (also Marvin).

Lee Marvin's other credits include "Paint Your Wagon" (1969) and "The Dirty Dozen" (1967).

"Cat Ballou" had five Oscar nominations, but only Marvin's win.

9. He competed in a chariot race.

Answer: Charlton Heston

The chariot race scene in "Ben-Hur" (1959) has stayed with me since I first saw it on the big screen as a nine-year-old child. Charlton Heston played the title character, who was enslaved by the Romans and forced to participate in the race, as well as having served time at the oars of a galley.

Heston is also remembered as Moses in "The Ten Commandments" (1956) and the astronaut in the original "Planet of the Apes" (1968).

"Ben-Hur" won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (William Wyler).

10. He was a 30-something butcher who still lived with his mother.

Answer: Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine as "Marty" (1955) wasn't your typical leading man, but the quiet little story of his courtship of an equally lonely school teacher was quite enchanting. Marty Piletti dreamed of owning his own butcher shop, but had become resigned to being forever single, until he met Clara one Saturday night.

Borgnine also appeared in "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), "RED" (2010) and as the eponymous hero of TV's "McHale's Navy" in the 1960s.

"Marty" won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (Delbert Mann).

Source: Author spanishliz

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor jmorrow before going online.
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