British television, film and stage actor Peter Guinness was born on May 3 1950 in Whitstable, a small English seaside town famous for its oysters. At school he revealed a talent for drawing and painting, a talent that subsequently led him to study art and qualify as an art teacher. But it was while working in a south London comprehensive, he became interested in theatre and in 1973 he auditioned for the Central School of Speech and Drama where he met his future spouse, Roberta Taylor. Graduating from Central in 1976, Guinness has been a ubiquitous presence on stage and screen ever since.