Born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov in London, England. Burly, multi-faceted talent who by his mid-20s -- after serving as a private in the British Army as batman for Lt. David Niven -- had achieved considerable success in both theater and cinema directing, writing and acting in cultivated, witty comedies. Ustinov reached the peak of his fame in the early 1960s with two Oscars® for best supporting actor and a couple of superb directorial efforts (which he also produced, starred in and wrote): ROMANOFF AND JULIET (1961), a biting Cold War satire based on his own play, and his bracing adaptation of Melville's BILLY BUDD (1962). In 1963, the Mirisch Company sued him for canceling out of THE PINK PANTHER, which was in production in Rome with his replacement, Peter Sellers. From the late 1970s he was chiefly known for his performances as Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot in a series of Agatha Christie mysteries. Ustinov was fluent in French, German, English, Italian, Russian and Spanish and could pass in Turkish and Greek, among others. In 1971 he became the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. Awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1975, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990. With his Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Lentulus Batiatus in SPARTACUS (1960), Ustinov stands as the only actor to win an Oscar for a Stanley Kubrick film. In fact, Peter Sellers is the only other actor to receive so much as a nomination.  Nominated for Supporting Actor 1951: QUO VADIS?  Supporting Actor 1960: SPARTACUS  Supporting Actor 1964: TOPKAPI  Nominated for Writing (Best Story and Screenplay written directly for the screen) 1968: HOT MILLIONS 4 nominations, 2 Awards