Born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills in North Elmham, England. Distinguished star of some of the finest mainstream British features of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Made his first screen appearance in 1932 in THE MIDSHIPMAID. Mills's repeated casting as a stoic, often war-time hero (IN WHICH WE SERVE, 1942, WE DIVE AT DAWN, 1943, SCOTT OF THE ANTARCTIC, 1948) tended to obscure the range of his talent, although he appeared in more diverse character roles later in his career. (He won an Oscar® for his performance as the village idiot in the film, RYAN'S DAUGHTER, 1970.) Although his eyesight failed almost completely in 1990, he continued to act, playing both blind and sighted characters. In 2001, at age 92, he and wife Mary, age 89, renewed their marriage vows at St. Mary's Church, next to their home, Hills House, in Denham, England. When they had wed 60 years earlier, he was denied a church service because he was serving in the Army during World War II. Other notable screen credits in a career that spans eight decades include GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS (1939), GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1946), WAR AND PEACE and AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (both 1956), I WAS MONTY'S DOUBLE and DUNKIRK (both 1958), SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON and TUNES OF GLORY (both 1960), THE PARENT TRAP (1961, in an uncredited role as Mitch Evers' golf caddy), THE CHALK GARDEN (1964), KING RAT (1965), THE WRONG BOX (1966), OH! WHAT A LOVELY WAR (1969), YOUNG WINSTON (1972), OKLAHOMA CRUDE (1973), THE BIG SLEEP (1978), GANDHI (1982), SAHARA (1983), WHO'S THAT GIRL? (1987), HAMLET (1996), BEAN (1997), CATS (1998), and the BBC-TV movie THE GENTLEMAN THIEF (2001). Married to actress Aileen Raymond and, from 1941, writer Mary Hayley Bell, in some of whose plays Mills appeared. Appointed a C.B.E. in 1960 and knighted in 1977. Father of actresses Hayley Mills and Juliet Mills.  Supporting Actor 1970: RYAN'S DAUGHTER 1 nomination, 1 Award